98 replies to this topic

[maninthesea]

Hello All
I logged on to see if I could find out what happened on the Spiegle Grove? Anyone got the scoop?
Cheers
jim

[DandyDon]

Hello All
I logged on to see if I could find out what happened on the Spiegle Grove? Anyone got the scoop?
Cheers
jim

Something happen to the wreck or to a diver?

We're going to always see diver incedents there, as most Ops will take anyone. But I found the story - and it was more advance divers. Don't know if they were qualified for what they attempted, tho...

Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Daily Crime and Information Report


March 16, 2007

Three die diving on the Spiegel Grove

Key Largo - Three divers are dead today after diving the wreck of the Spiegel Grove off of Key Largo.

Four men were diving together off of the commercial dive vessel Scuba-do. They were reportedly advanced certified divers, intending to perform a penetration dive of the wreck when something apparently went wrong.

One of the divers was stationed at the entrance and the other three went inside. The one left outside the wreck began to run out of air, according to detectives, so he surfaced safely. Two divers from another boat went down to look for the others. They surfaced with one diver who was in distress. That diver was taken on board a Coast Guard vessel where Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation was performed all the way into shore. Paramedics met the boat and transported the victim to Mariner's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The two other divers did not surface and initial searches of the area failed to locate them. Just after 2 p.m., a dive team from Key Largo Fire Rescue that was searching the wreck located their bodies inside the wreck. According to detectives, the bodies are so deep inside, it will be extremely difficult to recover them. More divers from that team will be deployed to the wreck Saturday and will make another attempt at recovery.

Sheriff's Detective Mark Coleman is investigating the incident. Names of the divers are not being released pending notification of next of kin.

Sad loss - not one but three...!

[echo3]

...According to detectives, the bodies are so deep inside, it will be extremely difficult to recover them...

wow, will be interesting to see the full report when it comes out.

[PerroneFord]

Well, stuff is out on the technical boards.

Basics look like this:

4 Guys from NJ decide to penetrate the wreck.

Claims are that they hold AOW cards and are not certified to do wreck penetration

They ran no guideline according to witnesses

3 divers went inside, 1 stayed out

Diver #4 began to run low or air and surfaced safely

A nearby boat rendered assistance and found one of the divers and surfaced him. Got him to a Coast Guard boat, they did CPR all the way to shore, but he didn't make it.

Rescue efforts found the bodies of the other two deep in the wreck, but the area they were found in will require significant effort to get to and retrieve.


Anyway, that's what seems to be details thus far. Obviously we don't know all the details or the mindset, but it's clear from the result, they should not have been doing what they were doing. By the way, it appears they were all wearing single AL80s. Certainly not what someone versed in doing wreck penetration would wear.


Sad.

[dustbowl diver]

Tragic news indeed -My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends!!

[Capn Jack]

Sad, truly sad.

Edited by Capn Jack, 17 March 2007 - 04:02 PM.

[Boatlawyer]

Sad, truly sad.

\Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Daily Crime and Information Report
March 17, 2007 - 6:45 p.m.

Detectives investigate deaths

Key Largo, Fla. - Monroe County Sheriff's Detectives are investigating the deaths of three divers who entered the wreck of the Spiegel Grove Friday and never came out.

Lead Detective Mark Coleman says he has discovered some reasons why this terrible tragedy may have occurred, besides the fact that the men were diving in an area of the ship not intended for such forays.

According to Detective Coleman:

The men, all experienced divers, did not have a dive plan. A dive plan, he says, is crucial in order to make sure all participants in the dive know what to expect, and to make sure the divers are properly prepared for the coming dive.

The men had no dive reels with them to show them the way out of the wreck. Dive reels are spools of line which are attached at the entrance to the dive. The divers let out line as they progress and, thus, are able to find their way out again.

The men did not take enough dive tanks with them to complete the dive. Normally, according to Detective Coleman, divers planning an extensive penetration dive such as this one take down "stage tanks" which are staged all along the dive route so they have new tanks when they run low on air. These divers had several stage tanks with them, but they were staged much higher in the vessel, and closer to the entrance, than their bodies were found. They only carried single tanks with them. Had they had a safety line, they may have been able to find their way back to the tanks.

Detective Coleman said when he interviewed Howard Spralter, the lone survivor of the group, he admitted they did not take all the safety precautions they should have to complete the dive.

"The divers who went in to recover the bodies said this portion of the ship has large amounts of silt built up inside," said Detective Coleman. "It doesn't take very much movement to kick that silt up and cause problems with your ability to see. Without a line to follow out, and with lots of silt in the water, it would have been virtually impossible for them to find their way out of the wreck," he said.

The Spiegel Grove is a popular dive spot off of Key Largo. The upper portions of the ship have many areas that have been prepared specifically for penetration dives with holes cut for ingress and egress, and markings on the walls showing clearly which ways to go. The portion of the ship these divers were in were lower down, where all the entrances were sealed to prevent entrance. It is unknown how the entrance they used was opened, but it was not intended for use as an entrance to the wreck.

The men's bodies have been transported to Key West and autopsies will be performed to determine the cause of their deaths. Assisting in the body recovery today was Key Largo Fire/Rescue, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the United States Coast Guard.

[shadragon]

How deep is the wreck...?

[pir8]

How deep is the wreck...?

I believe it runs from 60-130 Ft but haven't had a chance to dive it myself yet.

[BubbleBoy]

I don't penetrate wrecks, yet. Howver, I'm probably going to train for it soon so that I can explore some of the many we have up here in the NE. One assumption I've already made from unfortunate events like this, and others I've read about, is that when penetrating a wreck, silting can cause the vis can go to zero at any time. In the book Shadow Divers, this was a constant nemisis, even for the experts.

I can't help but wonder what was going through these divers minds as their peril unfolded. Perhaps after their primary exit became invisible they started going deeper into the wreck where they could still see, in hopes of finding an alternative exit.

[Latitude Adjustment]

According to their LDS on the 10pm news last night, the SG was an annual trip for these "experenced NE wreck divers" and one was an instructor but agency affiliation wasn't given. Why they didn't lay line is beyond me.

[CaptSaaz]

How deep is the wreck...?

I believe it runs from 60-130 Ft but haven't had a chance to dive it myself yet.

The sand is at 134ft... the top, depending on the tide is between 60 and 65ft. We dove it last summer and never went lower than the main deck... 90-95ft and there is a whipping current that runs from the starboard side of the stern to the port bow.

[Dennis]

If these guys were truly wreck certified/trained, the violated their traning. For starters they didn't run a line. It's a shame. The current isn't always there, sometimes it is nice and calm.

Edited by Dennis, 18 March 2007 - 08:10 AM.

[Basslet]

The story was on the front page of my paper today, probably because the dudes are from NJ. I was hoping my mom wouldn't see it but no such luck. Besides, she did see it on the news last night. I assured her that I would never penetrate a wreck without proper training and equipment.

Diver's Death called Preventable.