Dr. Guy Garman

Hey...I'm, just asking a few questions not posing any conspiracy theory.

Alana, Nitrogen Narcosis is not going to be the cause of death here- much more complex forces are at work under those pressures.

That scuba phillipines article really summed it up the best. When Buckley said "no one in the world knew more about deep water diving" that was a huge red flag. Garman is the victim of being the biggest fish in a little pond. When you pass your instructors by leaps and bounds, you need to find new instructors.

In the end, I feel it was the positive feedback echo chamber that got him killed.

I agree. When I posted originally, I had never heard of Dr. Garman or his deep diving attempt to set a new record and was only familiar with my own experiences over the decades as a diver and dive master.

When I read the various articles it became much clearer that it would be much more complicated than just nitrogen narcissism on a deep dive.

About the recovery - has anyone seen anything other than as reported in the VIC, which really didn't tell much. The police recovered him - how? Did they pull up the descent line or had he gotten unattached?

Haven't seen or heard anything other than body recovered in the consortium's uninformative blurb.

BTW- I did type nitrogen narcosis but my auto spell check decided I must mean narcissism.

Here's an article on Egyptian Ahmed Gabr who holds the world record that Dr. Garman was trying to beat.

I find it strange the Guinness World Records was on site to verify his record dive but no mention of any Guinness rep has been mentioned by Dr. Garmans team. Ahmed had 9000 dives under his belt and trained for his event for 4 years. Very different scenarios.

http://scoopempire.com/inside-worlds-deepest-dive-egyptian-ahmed-gabr/#.VdUAK-DD_mw

Interview prior to his record breaking dive:
http://divemagazine.co.uk/skills/6767-interview-ahmed-gabr

About the recovery - has anyone seen anything other than as reported in the VIC, which really didn't tell much. The police recovered him - how? Did they pull up the descent line or had he gotten unattached?

The "authorities" hired a contractor to recover the body. I haven't spoken with him yet but heard he said it was a rough day. It was by no means his first such recovery. It was accomplished fairly quickly so I assume Garman was still on the descent line. I assume they used lift bags in stages, but they could have used a winch. The descent line was installed earlier this year with what was said to be a 250# anchor in 1300' of water.

Very interesting on Ahmed Gabr - doesn't seem like he would have made it back had he not been equipped mentally to deal with the symptoms of HPNS and to have the presence of mind to start back up short of his original goal.

I'm sure it's a comfort to Dr. Garman's family that he's been recovered.

i was under the impression that dr. garman did not want his body recovered if something were to happen?

i was under the impression that dr. garman did not want his body recovered if something were to happen?

That was reported but with the family acknowledging that there may be a legal impediment to doing so - which I assume was the case.

Seriously, authorities are not going to allow a dead body tethered to a deep anchor line left in the water, regardless of anyone's wishes.
I find that totally unrealistic to begin with.

thanks

People would try to pull him up to steal his gear.

Any further updates?

I just came across this:

SCUBA Tec just posted this on Facebook:
The following statement by Christi Garman is being re-printed here at the request of the family:In the week since Dr. Guy Garman's failed world record attempt dive there has been a lot of rumor, presumption, and misinformation. The only facts that are known for sure at this time are as follows-
-he descended on Saturday morning at 6AM and did not return from depth
-his body and equipment were recovered from the water on Tuesday morning
-his body went away with the Medical Examiner
- his equipment is in US Coast Guard custody and will be inspected and possibly returned to his family
-the Medical Examiner has ruled his death a drowning
Anything more than these few facts is conjecture. The family will decide in the future what information to make public as it becomes available to them. Until that time, they ask that the public respect their privacy and to please refrain from further speculation.

Unfortunately, Dr. Garman made his attempt public as did Scuba Tec with their videos and Facebook posts so it only follows that there be public speculation about his fatal attempt to beat Ahmed Gabr's world record and especially in the worldwide diving community which is very critical of his inexperience.

I would have to agree with them. I cannot see how he thought he was ready to jump to a 1200 ft. dive after only one 800 ft. dive previously and only 4 years diving experience total.

"Gabr and Garman were worlds apart in experience and training, at the very least. Gabr had about 9000 dives, was ex-special forces, passed a USMC Combatant Diver course, which includes drownproofing, and spent 4 years training specifically for his world record dive."

Here's an interesting article about factors in deep scuba diving:
https://decodoppler.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/factors-in-deep-scuba-diving/

Agreed. Gabr was a special forces military diver, and had been training for that ONE DIVE as long as Garman had been diving period. Another tragic testament to the "smallness" of the VI--it often distorts or perceptions of quality.

http://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/guy-garman-world-depth-record-fatal-dive/

So after an article asking for less speculation, you link to an article that is all speculation?

"Unfortunately, Dr. Garman made his attempt public as did Scuba Tec with their videos and Facebook posts so it only follows that there be public speculation about his fatal attempt to beat Ahmed Gabr's world record and especially in the worldwide diving community which is very critical of his inexperience."

There is a lesson to be learned here.

Agree with your post above Alana. There are important lessons to be learned from the results of his record attempt, as no doubt someone else will want to try it sooner or later.

And the lesson is…don't?
What else does anyone know about it so far? Any undertaking like this is deemed foolhardy unless it's successful- then most will apply the "got lucky" label. And unless there is a real, verifiable cause of death (besides drowning, maybe I should say catalyst to drowning) that can be determined, there's not much else will be learned from this.

No, the lesson is to prepare properly, do due diligence, do the work, gain the experience needed and necessary. He may have been knowledgeable but obviously due to the outcome he wasn't knowledgeable enough nor was his "team."

One bounce dive to 565 ft. (If true) and 1 to 800 ft. does in no way, shape or form, prepare anyone for a 1200 ft. rapid descent.
How every one on his team and family believed he was prepared to do this and survive is mind boggling.
It is an unfortunate cautionary tale and that is just one lesson to be learned here.

Here's what someone had to say about the body recovery:

"Body recoveries past 200' are generally pretty gruesome and I believe safety divers saw him well beyond that mark. Most of the body's tissues fall in the "fast" category. Slow tissues are generally less aqueous like cartilage and bone. Gas is driven into solution at a very rapid rate and tissues will absorb gas from the blood until "equalized", past the time the heart actually stops pumping."

I hear that there are people that think we can send a man to the moon and get him back safely.

What fools.

:@)

I think you should specify "sending a man to the moon dressed in a star wars costume from Kmart and believe you'll get him back safely."

How long do they train for? Certainly longer than Dr. Garman.

Although I didn't know him, I feel saddened when I read the comments from the "key-board experts".
The family is grieving, and people still find it appropriate to make their negative comments. Really? What if it was your family member? Have some respect folks.
My first thought wasn't positive, upon learning of what happened, but I certainly won't disrespect the family with my uninformed opinions.