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Bay Area hull cleaner killed on the job?

5K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Fstbttms 
#1 · (Edited)
Have heard from two other hull cleaners that Sausalito-based William Swanson of Got Zinc? was killed while working in the Jack London Square Marina on Friday (5/3/13) but can find no independent verification of this. Phone calls and e-mails to Swanson's business have not been returned and I find nothing in the media about it. I hope it's not true, but does anybody have any info on this?
 
#2 ·
This is from Latitude 38 today.

Estuary Diver Found Dead

May 6, 2013 – Oakland-Alameda Estuary

We've received word that the body of William Swanson, who owned the boat diving service Got Zinc, was found dead in the water near Jack London Square early Saturday morning. It's been reported that his wife called police last night when he didn't return home Friday night. It appears Swanson was working on boats behind Scott's on Friday, but police are investigating.
 
#3 · (Edited)
It is unclear whether Swanson was found in the water or not. Here is the unpublished press report from a local TV station, which I supplied to Latitude (I also provided other details, gathered from a marina employee) upon which they based their story:

IN OVERNIGHT NEWS:
OAKLAND POLICE FOUND A BODY IN THE OAKLAND ESTUARY. POLICE SAY THEY LOCATED THE MAN AT ABOUT 3:30 THIS MORNING, ON A PIER NEAR JACK LONDON SQUARE.
THE MAN'S WIFE TOLD POLICE HER HUSBAND CLEANS BOATS WORKING UNDERNEATH THEM OFTEN, AND SHE CALLED 9-1-1 WHEN HE DIDN'T COME HOME LAST NIGHT.
RIGHT NOW, POLICE SAY THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF FOUL PLAY, BUT THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES.
 
#4 ·
Spoke to the Coroner's Office today. Was told that they're,"Deferring the cause of death, but looking at natural causes." What I take from that is that they don't have autopsy results yet but found nothing to indicate foul play or accident. So maybe a heart attack or something along those lines.
 
#8 ·
Fast - just out of curiosity, do you typically test for current in the water before going in?
No. Electric Shock Drowning (ESD) is extremely rare in saltwater. Almost all occurrences of ESD take place in freshwater. That being said, I unplug every boat I work on before I get in the water. Assuming that this death was not actually work-related, to my knowledge there has never been a serious injury or death in the hull cleaning industry in the Bay Area during the 18+ years I have been cleaning boat bottoms. And we're talking well over 1,000,000 in-water service events during that time. That's an impressive safety record IMHO and speaks volumes about the relative safety of working in marinas.

And what's the "range" of such electrical current from a source in saltwater?
No idea.
 
#11 ·
Fstbttms - do you guys go down alone when you clean bottoms? No-one on deck while you're down?
 
#14 ·
Sorry I never responded to this-

In answer to your question; no, we typically do not use tenders or "spotters." I do know some hull cleaners that work in pairs, but both divers are in the water. Again, injury or death is extremely rare in this business and I think most hull cleaners would tell you that having a tender would be an unnecessary expense.
 
#15 ·
I live right near a super popular diving spot (Whytecliff Park) and every year numerous divers are brought out by ambulance or the CG hovercraft. We can tell if it's a diving accident by the Doppler of the sirens. ;)

When I got certified, one of the main things they harped on was NEVER DIVE ALONE.

Of course, that was in reference to scuba, not hookahs.
 
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