Diver dies after hose failure

Mike Swanson

A Laguna Niguel man with rescue-diving training died Sunday after he

sank near Treasure Island Cove while trying to fix a faulty inflator

hose on his scuba gear.

Daryll Shatz, 55, was 10 to 15 yards offshore when he tried to fix

his equipment while still wearing his weight belt, Chief of Marine

Safety Mark Klosterman said. Shatz also hadn’t put on his fins yet,

waiting until he had passed the surf line as many experienced divers

do, Klosterman said.

A friend diving with Shatz swam ashore and called 911 when he

couldn’t help keep Shatz above water. When authorities reached Shatz

about an hour later, he was underwater about 10 feet out and couldn’t

be saved, Klosterman said.

“This is a sad, sad case,” Klosterman said. “It’s frustrating for

us that he was so close to shore.”

Shatz’s diving buddy said they were on their 101st dive and that

both had been trained in rescue-diving techniques.

“You’d hope that he’d either drop the weight-belt or kick 10 or 15

yards to shore to fix his equipment,” Klosterman said. “It looks like

it took him longer to fix [the hose] than he thought, and they were

both too tired when the situation became grave.”

The city’s lifeguard staff is lightest from November through

February, with only one two-person unit patrolling the beaches from

Irvine Cove to Treasure Island, Klosterman said.

Marine safety officers recommend that all scuba divers learn to

become proficient free divers before going under with gear.

“We always suggest that all divers, regardless of their

experience, become more skill-dependent than equipment-dependent,”

Klosterman said. “There’s always a chance that equipment can fail.”

The cause of Shatz’s death is pending toxicology tests by the

county coroner’s office.