Coast Guard: Man Dies After Dive Off Coast Of St. Marys

WJXT-TV

updated 9:46 p.m. ET, Tues., Dec. 30, 2008

For the second time in 10 days, a diver has died off the coast of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

The Coast Guard said a man was scuba-diving Saturday from the Mayport-based Reef Raider II in the waters off St. Marys.

The diver, whose name has not been released, came up to the boat and collapsed, apparently from decompression sickness. The diver was dead by the time the vessel got to shore.

On Dec. 20, Jordan Anqyalfy was found unresponsive at the bottom of the ocean about 25 miles east of St. Augustine. Anqyalfy, who was described as experienced diver was pulled up and given CPR, but could not be revived.

To view this article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28437887/

Comments from Atlantis Divers:

First, our prayers and sympathies go out to the family and we are saddened to hear of their loss.

Sadly, this type of story is a reminder to all divers that we must continue to observe safe diving practices. SCUBA diving is an extreme sport. As much as it breaks our hearts to post stories such as this one, it serves as a warning to the rest of the dive community.

It happens to the best of us. As we continue to progress in our dive experience, and as our comfort and confidence level grows, our margin for error seems less likely to occur.  We develop a “it’s not going to happen to me” mode of thinking.

The truth of the matter is, every time you don your gear, take a giant stride and enter that water, you become a potential candidate for something bad to happen. All of us have the potential to fall victim to a dive accident.

This message isn’t to warn off people from diving, but it serves as a reminder that no matter how experienced we are, no matter what our certification level is, no matter how good our gear is…we are all subject to the same rules of physics and circumstances.

So how do we protect ourselves & still have fun?

Our message to our students and divers is as follows:

• Keep up on your training – if you haven’t been in the water for a while, sign up for one of our Safe Diving Practices seminars or attend one of our dive review classes
• Dive at least 30 dives a year
• Progress to the next certification level – as we teach our students about the basic and advanced techniques of diving, we also begin to develop an awareness type thinking of observing  other divers and their activities while diving
• If you don’t know the answer, ask us – we’re here to help you
• When in doubt rely on your training – if you find yourself faced with a potental incident, rely on what you learned in class…it may very well save you or the person (people) you are diving with
• Know your limits – if the seas look too rough, the current too strong or you have a loss in confidence with the dive operation, there is NOTHING wrong with aborting the dive…it too may very well safe your life
• The strongest c-card in diving is the VISA card – in the dive industry, not all organizations play by the same set of rules. We are not hear to tear apart our dive operation-brotheren, however, there are many published articles about dive operations or charters who are eager to earn their keep for the day.

We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable 2009.

The Atlantis Dive Team

www.atlantisdiversvastore.com  www.atlantisdiversva.com