BAHAMAS (10 June 2008) — A young British crew drowned in the Bahamas while attempting to "free-dive" 110ft in less than a minute without oxygen, an inquest has heard. Joe Garraway, 26, a first mate on a private yacht, lost consciousness as he returned to the surface from the attempt after taking photographs of a shipwreck. The tragedy led to a warning from a coroner over the possible dangers of free-diving - the increasingly popular sport in which participants descend to greater and greater depths on a single breath. At the inquest in Taunton, Somerset, Coroner Michael Rose said such feats should only be undertaken with help close at hand after hearing of the practice's "high mortality rate". Mr Garraway, from Fitzhead, Somerset, was one of nine crew members working on the privately-owned yacht Talon when he drowned off the coast of New Providence in the Bahamas on November 29, 2005. Diving sergeant Bob Randall, of Avon and Somerset Police, told the hearing at Taunton Shire Hall, attended by Mr Garraway's mother Sally Taylor, that he had been free-diving to a depth of 110ft (33.5m). Although he was alone, a state-of-the-art diver's watch which recorded his final movements in the sea in detail. The court heard that yacht master Steve Burns dropped Mr Garraway off by jet ski at a wreck buoy at 1.30pm, when the ship was between New Providence and the city of Freeport, on the island of Grand Bahamas. When he returned at 2.20pm he found Mr Garraway face down in the water. The crew attempted to resuscitate him but he was later pronounced dead at Princess Margaret Hospital, in New Providence. "During his final and fatal dive, he reached 33.5m (110ft) in 55 seconds, with an immediate ascent towards the surface," Serg Randall said. | | "He rose about 10m (32ft) and after one minute and 26 seconds his ascent changed. "It slowed before the diver reached the surface after one minute and 44 seconds. "It's at this time Mr Garraway lost consciousness and subsequently drowned." He added: "It would have been a challenging dive. "Free-diving is a sport becoming more prevalent worldwide, and it carries a high mortality rate." Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Michael Rose, said: "It is dangerous free-diving to these depths. "It should be undertaken when one has people stood by." But he added that he was "loath to give a homily to the young" on health and safety issues commenting: "He died doing what he enjoyed doing." |
