Diver Killed off Catalina Yesterday -- Archive

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Subject: Diver Killed off Catalina Yesterday

Author:
Jim Morris

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Date Posted: 939076045PDT

http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/METRO/t000089192.html=20

Power Boat Strikes 2 Divers Off Catalina, Killing 1

One man died and his diving partner was seriously injured Sunday morning
when a power boat accidentally struck them after they came up for air in
waters off Santa Catalina Island, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department spokesman said. The men, described only as in their 30s, were
diving without air tanks in an area called Eagles Reef.

I just received the following email from Ken Kurtis over at the
"Reefseekers" dive shop in Beverly Hills.

Best regards,

Jim Morris

Forwarded:

We heard most of this on the marine radio yesterday while we were on our
way

out to Farnsworth Banks (backside). Here's what we have found out.

Accident happened about 9AM. Apparently the two victims were free-divers
from a
private boat that was anchored near the shoreline.

The Mr. C (San Pedro charter dive boat) had anchored up on Eagle Reef,
which
is
a few hundred yards out from Catalina and is well-marked by buoys. Dive
flag

was flying.

Apparently the two victims were brought out by dingy from the private
boat
by
another person, who had the divers enter the water near the Mr. C (not
sure
how
close) and then the dingy went back to the private boat, presumably to
pick
the
two free-divers up later. Don't know if they were spear-fishing or just
sight-seeing, and don't think it matters much either way.

The captain of the Mr. C said that he saw another boat, a 30' private
boat,
heading towards Eagle Reef, and the general area in which he was
anchored,
at
what appeared to be full speed. He (the captain) ran into the wheelhouse
and

began blowing his horn while others on deck yelled at the approaching
boat,
but
to no avail.

The boat, still moving at a very fast speed, ran directly over the two
free-divers. (Don't know how close or far from the Mr. C they were at
the
time.) Right after the impact, the boat stopped, circled back to the Mr.
C,
and
the boat driver supposedly said, "I think I may have hit one of your
divers."
At this point, divers from the Mr. C were already in the water towing
back
the
victims and a call was put into Isthmus Baywatch, which is about a mile
away.

The surviving diver apparently had cuts and lacerations over his legs
and
torso. We heard a report of a broken leg. The other diver unfortunately
was
hit
in the head, apparently by the prop. I will not describe anything here
other

than to say it was pretty obvious he wasn't going to make it.

Baywatch took the victims (I'm assuming) to the Catalina Chamber for
medical

treatment. We also understand the boat was escorted into the Isthmus
area
and
the driver was "detained" and the boat impounded.

Don't know if any charges have or will be filed but many of us are
SPECULATING
that manslaughter is a possibility, given the proximity of the Mr. C,
the
presence of a dive flag, the close approach and excessive speed of the
other

boat (California law requires boats to stay 100 yards from another
vessel
flying a dive flag), and the buoys on the reef.

Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instructor #5936
Co-owner
Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, Ca.

Forwarded:

"Not surprising"

Posted by Yutaka (on the main message board at
http://www.sport-fish-info.com) on Oct-04-99 at 09:21 AM (PDT)

Opening weekend of lobster season, it's an absolute circus out
there around the isthmus. All the
sport boats (diving) are out there along with every yahoo with a
boat trying to get in on the action.
Safety goes out the door when it comes to lobster hunting on
opening weekend. The last time (and I
mean the LAST time) I was at the isthmus for the opener, it was a
battle zone. You could hear boats
criss-crossing above you as you were diving. Scary.

Two years ago I almost got ran over by a sailboat which decided to

motor through in between the
dive boat (Atlantis) and the LB breakwall which we were diving.
Unbelievable. I was on the surface
swimming back to the boat, when it approached. When I realized
this moron was going to pass inside
the Atlantis and straight through me, I turned on my dive light
and signaled to him. He turned away
from me, and right towards two other divers on the surface. I
started yelling and signalling, and they
finally realized what they had done. They zig-zagged through the
area, luckily avoiding all the divers
on the surface and continued on.

I'm taking three of my friends out this weekend for a 3 day
lobster hunt, and we have a set drill. We
put a team of two in the water while the other two stay on board.
One of the two on board
constantly scans the water for divers in trouble and any boat
traffic. The other suits up and preps
for the dive. When he is ready, he takes over the watch while the
other one preps. When the first
team returns, the second team enters the water, and the roles are
swapped. Pretty simple. The key
is that we always have a person above the water looking for signs
of trouble. While there are no
absolutes, one can do a lot to minimize the chances of tragedy.

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
What a drag, but not that surprising	Jim Day	939109037PDT