Diving Accident

[CruiseKing]

From the Princess Boards:

I am currently onboard the CB sailing away from St. Marten and on to Princess Cays. Overall so far the cruise has been amazing, but unfortunately today a passenger passed away.

 

The female passenger was off on an excursion (diving trip) and drown. She was getting back onto the boat in choppy water and either panicked (sp?) or did something wrong and drown. Other than that, I don't know any other details. Her family of course packed up and got off the ship, and we left late 30-60 minutes late. Right now we're hitting some bigger waves than we've had so far (this being my first cruise, I'm not sure how "bad" this is, but we're really rocking. I'm sitting in the chair and falling backwards because the chairs tip back too).

Does anyone have any other information on this?

[cruzegirl]

If that is true, that is sooooo sad.. I wish we could find out more.... Not that I don't trust the info., but I just hope it's incorrect.... And right before Christmas.....ugh....

[CruiseKing]

Unfortunately it appears to be very true. Here is the link to the article that was in the Daily Herald the local news paper in St. Maarten.

http://www.thedailyherald.com/news/daily/i186/drown186.html

[cusyl]

I see they also had another accident there in April:

 

"A friend in Oklahoma was notified yesterday (April 5) that her daughter, a passenger on a Disney Cruise Ship in St Martin, was killed in a snorkeling accident somewhere on the French side of the island."

 

There are thousands of people in the waters there every year, what ever happened to the buddy system of watching out for each other when swimming?

 

According to the article on the CB passenger she was seen face down in the water around 11:00 am but they didn't find her until 1:00 pm, that really disturbs me. Why wasn't the dive operator more observant.

[marly]

Yes, this is very sad indeed. We were in St. Martin last week on Lord Sheffield. They said they could not lower the anchor for us to snorkel because the water was the roughest it's been in a long, long time.

[stingraynz]

That is very disturbing news. I would like more information if anyone has any more. Such as what time did the dive end? Was she forgotten? did she hit her head? was the crew aware of her distress?

 

I do know when we dove in St. Maarten a few years back I did not enjoy my dives there. Coincidentally I was telling a fellow ship mate while on a dive this past week on the radiance of the seas in Grand Cayman, how it was very choppy waters in St Maarten. This can be very uncomfortable when getting aboard the dive boat if you are not used to it. I also did not have a good comfort level with Dive Safari. I had a problem at depth with the reg I rented from them and continued the dive with the octopus (that did work fine). I went on to do the next dive as I was worried if I didn't get back on the proverbial horse I could lose my nerve for other dives. They offered me another reg - but I simply did not trust the equipment at this point. I new the octopus worked so I continued using the octopus.

 

Once back at the shop I did not care for the way the staff did not seem concerned when I told them to get the reg checked out or fixed and to not keep it with the other equipment for rent.

 

If in StMaarten again I would enjoy another activity. I would select another port to do a dive. But again maybe these are isolated incidents that happen with a lot of dive ops. I just don't know.

[billeelou]

I take my own reg that I have checked out, my own BCD, since I am xxl....and my own weight belt...little more to drag around but worth it when you know its right

[10X]

I too take all of my own equipment; reg, bcd (weight integrated), wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins.....

 

My reg is in for annual service right now, just to make sure it's all set to go for our 14 day cruise on the Sea Princess, 1/28/06.

 

I'll be diving in St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Bonaire. I wish it was more but my wife is a non-diver and I want to spend some time with her too.

[skypilotks]

We were in St Maarten on CB in Oct, but set up our own dive with Ocean Explorers (I never do the cruiseline dive packages, cause they are usally cattleboat ops) We had 2 GREAT and very safe dives!! I had read neg. comments about Safari on here, plus even if you setup on your on with an operator that also does the cruiselines you are still put in with the cruise package

[Twinflow]

I was on the Caribbean Princess in Oct 2005 and did a 2-tank dive with Dive Safaris. This was the second time using Dive Safaris and find them to be well trained. I ALWAYS use my own equipment and drag it along. Would you use a rental parrachute? We did two guided dives as a group. The surface conditions were ok but one diver got sea sick. The dives were excellent and well worth the money. I would recommend Dive Safaris of St. Marrten. Oh, I would call a dive if the sea conditions were dangerous. We did this in Key Largo a few months ago.

 

BTW...I just did two dives in Tortola (Carnival Liberty Cruise) using Dive Tortola. Only five divers were on the boat and it made for a nice time. We dove the RMS Rhone and I highly recommend this dive. The dives were guided and well briefed with a diagram of the site. I am waiting on a DVD of the complete dive filmed by a professional.

 

http://www.divetortola.com/

 

Tim

Fort Myers Beach, FL

:cool:

[CruiseKing]

Hi Tim,

Glad to hear you had a good experience with Dive Safaris. I will be using them in a couple of weeks with the Caribbean Princess. Could you tell me what sites you dove.

Thanks.

[Twinflow]

Bruce,

The first dive was Tieland the depth was 73' for 38 minutes. The second dive was The Maze the area was large boulders the depth was 53' for 48 minutes. We followed the guide through boulders on the bottom. Both dives were nice and beautiful sites. I would highly recommend getting a dive buddy. On the Caribbean Princess were met in a room on the ship before leaving. Here you can ask around for a buddy and see if anyone is interested. The dives are guided as groups but no one really buddies up. A buddy would at least check on you and you would check on them. You should both accend togeather!

 

The dive sites were within visual distance of the Cruise Ships.

 

The surface conditions are getting rough this time of year. So, be aware of the seas in the winter are rougher then the summer months. I do not dive the Florida Keys in the winter as the conditions are questionable.

 

Also, check over your rental dive equipment. Some of the lines and regulators were leaking on the dive. I use my own equipment...including safety devices.

 

If you have any questions go ahead and email them before Crusing.

 

http://www.divestmaarten.com/

 

Have Fun & Be Safe,

Tim

Fort Myers Beach, FL

[CruiseKing]

Tim,

Thanks for the info. I will certainly try to buddy up with someone. As you do so do I only dive my own gear. The only thing I don't bring are weights. I was wondering if you dove in St.Thomas through the ship and how that was. I am looking into the advanced afternoon dives hoping to keep the crowds down. How do you think conditions will be late January around the 31st?

Thanks Again

[pirate and his mate]

oops, double post

[pirate and his mate]

Just returned from Serenade of the Seas and I want to tell you about my dive experience in St. Thomas - I booked an excursion through the ship.

 

We had about 8 divers - one was age 14, newly certified. I have been diving for more than 20 years. Over time, I 've learned not to panic if there is a problem. I've also learned how important it is to rely on your buddy and the dive master.

 

Fortunately, nothing serious happened, but it could have. I was by myself. They didn't assign me a buddy. We were supposed to follow the dive master. Well, I wasn't able to get enough air out of my bc vest - I noticed I kept floating up a little. I had to struggle to stay down, for about 20 minutes. Tried all sorts of ways to get the air out, but it was rental equipt. Most importantly - the dive master never checked on how we were doing, just swam fast in the lead without stopping. I finally caught him after a long struggle and he helped me, but it was a very annoying and long chase to catch him. What if the 14-year-old had a problem and panicked? - the dive master wasn't watching anyone. He just swam as fast as he could, not turning around.

 

My advice - even with a dive master and a small group, arrange to have a buddy and check with them every once in a while. I plan on contacting the dive shop and RCCL and letting them know about this.

[skypilotks]

How can you say that the cruiseline dive-op was safe??

I started diving while in the army, and then started my certifcations though PADI after getting out of the army! EVERY training I have ever had tells you that you HAVE to dive with a buddy!! So saying that they never really buddied anyone up, right there would throw red flags up, that things aren't being done right!! I have never gone on a dive that the Ops didn't make sure everyone had a buddy!! Hell even in that very unreal movie "Open Water" they made sure everyone was buddied up!! Actually you answered something that was the first thing that we thought when we read that article!! "Where was her dive buddy?" Probalbly from what your saying is, she didn't have one!

You were on CB in Oct?? What week?? we were on there the week of the 15th

We cruise twice a year, and dive in every port we go to, for the last 6 cruises I have setup my own dives, and they all have been very safe, and GREAT dives, and the most people over the 4 of our family was another couple, But the majority of them have just been us.

As I said before, in St. Maartean we dove with Ocean Explorers, and in St. Thomas we dove with St Thomas Diving Club, but I have also heard that 6-Paq Scuba is really good! If you need e-mail addresses let me know and I'll get them to you.

BTW I have a 12y/o daugher (almost 13) that has been diving since she was 10. She is a VERY safe and responsible diver, When people have dove with us they all make the same comments, which is that she seems like she belongs down there!! She is a natural diver, and has plans of getting her degree in marine biology

[Twinflow]

Bruce,

Yes, I did a 2-tank dive in St. Thomas off the Caribbean Princess with Underwater Safaris. The dive crew was very friendly and helpful. The dives sites were not really that great. The first dive was Dive Flag at Buck Island. The depth was 69 feet and nothing to see. The second dive was a site called the Navy Barges. It was two small barges about 40 feet of water. I am spolled diving in the Florida Keys in the summer months. But, I did a great dive in Tortola off the Carnival Liberty. The site was the famous RMS Rhone (Royal Mail Ship) Wreck. It was EXCELLENT!!

 

Safety depends mostly on the Indivdual certified Diver....you must call the shots. I don't mind guided dives but I want to buddy with someone. I am use to watching out for another diver. Safety should always come first as this is recreation and should be fun. The dive ops in St. Marrten did not buddy divers up before entering the water. On my dives in the Florida Keys they always buddy you up but these are not guided dives. So what I am saying a Guide should never take the place of a buddy!! They are just an ad to navigate the underwater site.

[CruiseKing]

Thanks for the info Tim. I couldn't agree more on the need for a buddy. Diving in New England I am more looking forward to the warm water. I also will be using a .5 mm dive skin and no hood. I hope to be able to shed about half the weight I would normally have to use to dive up here.

[Twinflow]

Bruce,

I dove with a 0.5 mm suit in Oct but used my 3.0 mm suit in December. Water temps for December in Tortola were 82 F surface & 78 F bottom about 80 feet.

[CruiseKing]

Thanks for the update. I've discovered that I am a pretty hearty diver. Not a cold person at all. My last couple of dives up here were average depth 35ft for 45 ABT. The surface temp was 53 and the bottom temp was 45. I felt great after both dives. I do use a 7MM wet suit, boots,gloves and hood. They were single dives mainly due to the air temperatures which were only about 50.

[marly]

Has anybody seen or heard any news on what exactly happened and what the cause of death was?

 

Marly

[beemerrider]

Hello all

 

This is very sad news indeed. I am a scuba instr. and as i tell all my students, once you are certified, you are your own resonsibility. It sounds that this lady did not have an experienced buddy. These dives are guided dives, not babysitting dives. There is nowhere where one says that the diveshop shop HAS to provide an instr. or D/M on the dive. They do this as a courtesy to you and everyone else on the boat. If this lady was properly trained, why did she not drop her weight belt?? I know Dive Safaris personally and they are a great operation. I have dived with them in the past and will again in the future.

I heard that this lady only had about 10 dives under her belt, was carrying a light and a camera. Maybe she overtasked herself with such little experience. Remember what you were taught in your course, dive within your limitations. Sometimes, St.-Maarten can be hard diving, what with the swells and the current. Let's just hope that this is a learning experience, especially to all the novice divers out there.

 

My sincere condolences go out to this lady's family and friends. It is a tragedy that could have been avoided. Very very sad indeed.

 

Beemerrider

[scottlev]

Does anyone have any information on who the Dive operator was in St. Maartin?

[MichTraveler]

I was on this sailing, but do not have much info not provided in the news article. I had already returned from a morning port call and was on the promenade deck after lunch when a ship announcement was made about a code "?". I looked out the window and saw 2 boats approaching our ship. Since 9/11, security is more tight, so I watched what I thought would be them chasing away the boats. Instead, one boat had about 6 divers in it, with 2 doing CPR on a diver. I watched for 10-15 minutes -- didn't want to see it but couldn't draw myself away. The boat was allowed to tie up next to ours and 2 of the CB's crew got on the dive boat. I think one was a doctor. Had a portable stretcher. Checked for a pulse and such -- CPR stopped. Then, security showed up on the promenade deck, where about 20-30 of us had gathered, and had us move along. It was quite sobering.

[jetskier]

http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s051223.html

 

Here is a little more information about the person.

Dave