Written by Susan Shroder from Sign On San Diego

SAN DIEGO — The deaths of two men in separate scuba-diving incidents have both been determined to be accidental, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Autopsies were done on both victims. Results of autopsies can be delayed due to toxicology tests. Examinations are also done on diving gear.

The body of Jimmy Somphirigna Tanovan, 35, of Oceanside, was found Oct. 9 floating in rocks near the shoreline of the Children’s Pool in La Jolla. The other diver, James Daniel Kinane, 56, of San Diego, died on July 2, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

The autopsies determined both men also had cardiovascular disease, a medical examiner’s investigator said Friday.

A man who had talked to Tanovan several hours before his body was found said that Tanovan had told him he was going diving for lobsters.

Kinane had been diving with friends off the coast of Mission Beach when he was found in distress at the surface of the water, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. His friends jumped in the water to help him, but he became unresponsive.

Paramedics and lifeguards from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department tried to revive him, but Kinane was pronounced dead at lifeguard headquarters.

According to a published obituary, Kinane was a U.S. Navy veteran and a volunteer diver with the California Science Center.

Tanovan also was a Navy veteran and was a musician, according to a memorial post on scubaboard.com.

The original article can be found here.

The only thing not perfect with this day, is that there was really thick fog blanketing 90% of the South Bay; the air was warm, and the sea was calm – I mean flat as a lake.

Dive N Surf was there, with their club’s monthly beach dive along with the regular Divevets crew.

I paired up with Air Force Chris (formerly know as Not New Chris) and Dennis G.

Logged SCUBA Dive #392

Dove with Air Force Chris and Dennis G.
Off the Cove and to the right, Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 42 feet
Waves: Flat
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Water Temperature: 56 degrees
Air Temperature: 69 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 59 minutes

The entrance was too easy; we swam to the right.

I pulled out my camera and took a picture of Chris, with the Terranea Hotel in the background.

After a little more surface time, a duck landed next to me; I pulled out my camera to take a picture.

Why won’t my camera turn on?

Upon close inspection, I concluded that the root cause of my camera not turning on is a direct result of my camera case being half filled with seawater.

Yep, my camera case flooded – after many faithful, and sometimes unpredictable years of service – SCUBA Diving, River rafting, camping, Gold Prospecting – the macho-cam was dead.

Calling the dive because of this tragedy would be fruitless, so I continued.

We descended.

What a crappy time to have my camera flood!

The visibility was great – up to 20 feet in most areas.

Luckily, Air Force Chris was able to document highlights of the dive:

You can watch this video on YouTube by clicking here.

The “buddy system” in SCUBA diving makes more sense to me now; if one camera floods, your buddy with his camera can document the dive.

With no camera, obviously I have no pictures to post.

We circled back half way through our air and made an extremely easy and uneventful exit.

One topic of debriefing was with Chris From Detroit – Why is SCUBA diving in the Southern California scene such a sausage fest (a.k.a. male dominated sport)?

I mean, half the students who get certified here are women – so where do they all go once they get a C-card?

Chris From Detroit basically had the hypothesis that women who get certified either do it because they’re going on vacation to dive in warm water, or their boyfriend dives, or they take up diving to meet someone.

The latter reason intrigued me; Chis From Detroit continued, “Once they meet someone diving, their objective has been met and they stop diving.”

So that’s where they all go?

Debriefing continued until a little after noon.

I soaked my camera in 95% denatured alcohol and hung it in front of a fan to dry out.

The prognosis does not look good for my camera – I am searching for a new one.