Over the weekend, I went on my annual lobster diving trip. What started out so great ended so bad. I boarded the boat Friday night and got all set-up for a long ride out to our first dive site near San Miguel Island. The total motor time was about 7 hrs as it was 65 miles from shore. Things started off great. The water was calm with perfect visibility which is rare in these parts. We dove off a pinnacle that was in the middle of the ocean with no land near. The dive site started about 70ft below dropping to a max of 180ft. Marcus, Julie and I stayed in the 70-90ft range and found tons of big scallops, beautiful coral, and anemones. We all filled up our game bags with scallops. I got 8 - not a bad start when the daily limit is 10 and they were big.
Things started to change when we were back on the boat. About 10 minutes after we surfaced there was a distressed diver that popped up about 100ft from the boat. The dive master assisted the diver getting back on the boat. It was Rich Christensen, one of the owners of the dive shop and the most experienced diver on the boat. When he got on the boat he said he couldn't get any air off his rebreather or his sling bottle which forced him to come to the surface from 108ft in less than a minute. We were all a little concerned, but he demanded that everything was okay and he had been fighting a cold.
After this, things went back to normal with all dive efforts going for the coveted prize of lobster. I was the first one on the boat to bag one. It was on the second dive and my first grab of the year, not a bad start, but that was the only one I ended up with. These bugs are fast! Marcus cleaned up with six and a few others were also lucky. The water was really cold on this trip at about 54 degrees and I was freezing in my wetsuit. I wish I had my dry suit, but I am afraid of ripping the wrist seals reaching under rocks for lobsters. Next year I am wearing my dry suit no matter what. I am becoming a pussy in my old age, the cold water never bothered me in the past.
The following morning started off like any other day on the boat - wake up, throw down a quick bite to eat, then jump in the water. We had moved to Santa Cruz Island over night to get us closer to Ventura to make the ride home quicker. We were still 30 miles and a 3hr boat ride away. After the first dive is when things went bad. As we got out of the water Rich was in the galley and his condition was deteriorating fast. He was uncoordinated and was was loosing basic motor skills like writing and talking. He was really off balanced and had a hard time walking. The boat Captain Kevin told Marcus he had to make a decision fast and talk Rich in to letting us get him help from the Coast Guard, which he had previously refused. Finally, he agreed. After a call to the Coast Guard they had Rich on 100% oxygen and were waiting for the USCG response. Within a few minutes they said they were sending a helicopter out to do a boat rescue. At this time we had to pack all of our gear to get ready for the helicopter. As everything was secured, we all had to huddle in the galley while they loaded Rich in a basket and raised him into the helicopter. We couldn't see anything due to no windows facing the back of the boat, but what they did was drop a basket with one of their divers, got Rich loaded, then loaded him in the chopper, and then off they went. We were told they were taking him to the Catalina Hyperbaric chamber; however they ended up bringing him to the UCLA Medical Center because they thought they could help him better based on his symptoms.
After the boat arrived in the harbor the USCG was waiting for us so they could interview the people involved in the dive and also the crew. It took about 2 hours until they were done and they took Rich's gear to inspect it. They needed to check if it was working correctly. Marcus and Julie stayed in L.A. to go see Rich and help coordinate his wife Mavy and dad getting out there. Since he arrived in UCLA he has had several treatments in the hyperbaric chamber and they had to sedate him because he kept ripping out his IVs. We are not sure on the outcome until he wakes up in about 4 days according to the medical staff. Based on the CT scan, they know he suffered a stroke; however long term effects cannot be determined until he wakes up later in the week. Please keep Rich and his family in your thoughts and hope all goes well for a quick recovery.
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