Another Dive Accident in Port Washington

[Vtach]

Sure, we would all like to know if a buddy would have made a difference.  However, there have more than enough deaths on open circuit and closed circuit in the presence of "buddies" who were unable to help and it sounds like the death on the Northerner may have been one of those situations.  In the other fatality, you really need to understand the type of dive he was executing and reduce the focus on typical open water protocols from the evaluation of potential causes.  To simply say that having a buddy would have prevented this particular accident seems a bit unrealistic given the depth and equipment used.