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Old 10-07-2018, 09:33 PM   #1
CuzzA
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Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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Originally Posted by TJ Haas
Uncontrolled accent resulting in Tier 2 deco sickness (Edited version)
U.S. Coast Guard Clearwater medevac



Anybody know these guys or anything about this incident? I just happened to come across it the other night. Looks like they were probably spearfishing given the gun rack on the transom.
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Old 10-08-2018, 03:19 AM   #2
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

Geeesh...some people will do anything for attention.
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Old 10-08-2018, 11:13 AM   #3
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

I hope the person evac'd invested in some DAN insurance before their trip. It is interesting that the captain had the boat in gear while the helicopter was dropping a crew member to the boat & when they hoisted'em back up. I would've guessed they'd prefer a stationary boat.
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Old 10-08-2018, 11:13 AM   #4
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — The Coast Guard medevaced a 49-year-old man Thursday, Aug. 16, from a fishing boat 70 miles north west of Anclote Key.

Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders received a distress call via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 at 9:25 a.m. from a crew member aboard the 25-foot fishing boat, Awesome Angler. The crew member reported that Sean Haas, 49. suffered from a diving-related illness and needed emergency assistance.

A flight surgeon from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater recommended Haas be medevaced and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from the air station was launched.

An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Clearwater was diverted to assist with communications and crew members aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station St. Petersburg also launched to assist.

The Jayhawk aircrew arrived at 11:05 a.m., hoisted Haas and medevaced him to Florida Hospital Orlando.

https://patch.com/florida/tarponspri...iving-accident
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Old 10-08-2018, 11:16 AM   #5
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

Lakeland diver who suffered the bends warns of dangers of malfunctioning equipment

LAKELAND, Fla. -- A Lakeland man who was on the brink of death a week ago following a diving incident in the Gulf is warning other divers of what they should look out for to stay safe in the water.

Lakeland diver warns of dangers of malfunctioning equipment
Sean Haas suffered the bends when diving last week
Haas almost died due to corrosion built up in the servo valve
Sean Haas is now almost fully recovered.

Last week, Haas dove more than a hundred feet in the waters off Anclote Key when a piece of equipment that controls divers' buoyancy malfunctioned.

"I heard the air rushing and I grabbed my inflater again, but at that point, as I started letting air out, it was going in faster than I was going out," Haas said.

In less than five seconds he shot up to the surface and started losing feeling in his arms and legs.

"I'm in trouble, I think I got the bends," Haas recalled.

From there, Haas started having seizures. Others on the boat quickly radioed the Coast Guard which flew him to Orlando where he spent seven hours recovering in a hyperbaric chamber. Haas said doctors didn't think he would survive.

"The quick response from the Coast Guard and the doctors played a miraculous result in me being alive and the grace of God. So many things played a factor," Haas said.

Haas is now warning others of the potential life-threatening situation all because of a little valve.

"Due to corrosion built up in the servo valve, it caused it to malfunction in the open position," he said. "Service your BC. Check out all your equipment."

Haas said he used to check it every two years, but now plans on checking it every year.

Doctors said Haas can't dive for the next six months, but after that, he said he plans on getting back in the water.

"That's part of my life!" he said.

http://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/new...ause-the-bends
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Old 10-08-2018, 02:29 PM   #6
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

Yikes - never had anything like that happen, but I hope I would have the presence of mind, if it did, to grab my knife and puncture my BC to help me regain control.
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Old 10-08-2018, 03:38 PM   #7
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

Eibwen, thanks for posting the corresponding story.

Grey2112, a stuck inflator is actually a fairly common failure. I tear down my inflator and soak it in vinegar in the off season. If it happens to you, just detach the inflator hose from the BC inflator and oral inflate from there.

I know it's close to Halloween and all, but no need to go hacking up your BC.

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Old 10-08-2018, 03:44 PM   #8
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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Yikes - never had anything like that happen, but I hope I would have the presence of mind, if it did, to grab my knife and puncture my BC to help me regain control.
I had a similar thought although this guy said it was "five seconds" to surface. I know that falling objects fall at 32ft/sec^2 but have no idea how fast an inflated BC shoots to surface.

I think the lesson from this guy is not just having equipment serviced every year (as he is quoted in article) but also the regular post-dive maintenance of giving equipment a good long soak & rinse in fresh water. Soaking allows salt to dissolve whereas spraying with a hose won't remove much salt that has already dried on/into gear.
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Old 10-08-2018, 05:39 PM   #9
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

The same thing happened to me earlier this year. For whatever reason I had trouble disconnecting the inflator hose quickly so I held the dump valves open while I hit the valve as hard as I could against my speargun. The valve finally closed and I dumped more air out of the BC than I needed to, making me negatively buoyant. I then reverted to a slow swimming assent just like people did before there were BCs. Once on the surface I hit the button again and it stuck until the tank was drained.

At that point I decided I had enough fish and called it a day. If I had continued to dive with the hose disconnected I wonder how fast oral inflation would have dumped out thru the stuck open power inflator valve? You got to remember it is a mini dump valve when it's stuck open and no hose connected.


Disassembly revealed it was a dry o-ring, not corrosion that forced the valve to stick. I lubed the o-ring, reassembled, and it works fine. BTW, my valve is a Zeagle that no longer has the little Zeagle logo on it, as you have to remove it to get to the disassembly screw.

Edit: I'm not so sure how much trouble I could have ended up in if knocking the heck out of the valve had not released it - so lesson learned - just as stated earlier, even your BC deserves annual maintenance!
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Last edited by Gary H; 10-08-2018 at 05:48 PM.
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Old 10-08-2018, 06:36 PM   #10
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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Originally Posted by CuzzA View Post
Eibwen, thanks for posting the corresponding story.

Grey2112, a stuck inflator is actually a fairly common failure. I tear down my inflator and soak it in vinegar in the off season. If it happens to you, just detach the inflator hose from the BC inflator and oral inflate from there.

I know it's close to Halloween and all, but no need to go hacking up your BC.

ROFL - yeah, but sometimes it can be tough with gloves on to disconnect the hose. If this guy really DID shoot up that fast (which I sort of doubt) then I think my solution would be more apt to work.
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Old 10-08-2018, 06:38 PM   #11
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

Thanks for the posts and all the commentary. Good points to ponder.
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Old 10-08-2018, 10:29 PM   #12
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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ROFL - yeah, but sometimes it can be tough with gloves on to disconnect the hose. If this guy really DID shoot up that fast (which I sort of doubt) then I think my solution would be more apt to work.
No doubt. Tougher to do with gloves and admittedly, I've never had to do it. I'd certainly rather stab my wing than be bent or dead.

My BC has a pull dump on the corrugated hose of the inflator. Some people argue it's a failure point, but with a stuck inflator you can simply pull on the hose while trying to disconnect the quick connect.
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Old 10-08-2018, 10:30 PM   #13
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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Thanks for the posts and all the commentary. Good points to ponder.
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Old 10-09-2018, 04:20 AM   #14
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

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Thanks for the posts and all the commentary. Good points to ponder.
Yes, very true. Amazing how so few people really stop and think about the "What ifs" of this hobby of ours. I know my brother does now after his last shark encounter and what he thought was an equipment failure that cut off his air, causing him to shoot up fast from 70 feet. Thank God he didn't get bent, but it was sheer luck or the grace of God.

Gotta stay calm underwater when bad shit happens, and hopefully have thought through these worst case scenarios and have a plan in mind.

(I have a mantra I go through in my mind in many scenarios, not just underwater. It is somewhat silly and not meant to be taken literally, most of the time, but it goes like this - "Be nice, be calm, but have a plan to kill everyone in the room.")
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Old 10-09-2018, 06:38 AM   #15
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Re: Scuba incident/accident/Rescue via USCG Florida Middle Grounds 08/16/2018

That is one reason why I like the air 2 inflator/regulator. The disconnect hardware is MUCH different and much easier to disconnect. If you are diving with neoprene gloves or even mittens and your hands are cold, the standard BC inflator collar is nearly impossible to work.

Some people add an after market flange or collar that can assist, but I have said for years that the current design is ridiculous and it should be changed for safety and convenience, but nobody wants to change the "standard" I guess.

This accident also might serve to demonstrate the disadvantages of diving with a BC that has a ton of lift capacity. I don't like really tiny wings for most diving, but if you have 45 lbs of lift and diving in shorts and a t-shirt and a single tank, all that extra lift capacity becomes a liability in my view.

Also, if the diver can flair out and lay on their back and spread out, then this should go a long way toward slowing the ascent and should put them in a good position to vent the BC.
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