POWAY: Diving community looks for answers after death : North County Times – Californian
By COLLEEN MENSCHING – Staff Writer
As word spread of the ill-fated dive of a Poway father and his son, the diving community began speculating about what happened in the waters off La Jolla Shores.
On Saturday morning, a lifeguard at La Jolla Shores spotted a scuba diver in distress, officials said. It turned out to be 19-year-old Josh Sonsteng, whose father, John, had run out of air more than 100 feet below.
The pair, whom officials have said were newly certified divers, tried to share the younger Sonsteng’s air during a 150-foot ascent, but John Sonsteng, 45, never made it to the surface. He was found hours later by a search crew.
“This could very well be a case of two divers exceeding their capabilities and paying a terrible price —- or there could have been equipment failure or even medical conditions contributing to this,” said Tom Perrine, a diver whose son was a childhood friend of Josh Sonsteng.
On Monday, San Diego Lifeguard Service officials were unable to provide details about the condition of the Sonstengs’ scuba equipment, the contents of their diving log books or what their dive plan was on Saturday.
“We all want to know what happened,” Perrine said Monday. “We will eventually know much more.”
John Sonsteng, a father of three, ran a hobby shop. His wife, Deb, runs a day care.
Perrine and his wife, Donna Woodka, remember John Sonsteng as a good man who, along with his wife, was protective of his children.
Perrine and Woodka praised the teen who played at Midland Elementary School with their son.
Because he surfaced so quickly Saturday, Josh Sonsteng was taken to UCSD Medical Center in San Diego as a precaution. He was not in the hospital Monday, according to officials.
“Josh is a great kid,” Woodka said. “I know he did the right things and really tried his best to save his father.”
She said that even though her husband and son dive in larger groups, she still waits for the call that lets her know they surfaced safely.
Woodka, who has taken a break from diving because of health concerns, said she remembers the 40-foot, “out of air” ascent she had to complete to become certified.
“It is terrifying, even with a good instructor with you,” she said.
The situation is more dire 150 feet down, she said.
“At 150 feet, nitrogen (in the blood stream) acts like a drug,” she said. “You can run out of air in five minutes at that depth.”
The “buddy breathing” technique used by the Sonstengs is one of the first things taught in scuba diving classes, said Randy Shaw, training manager for the Florida-based nonprofit National Association of Underwater Instructors.
Shaw said new divers are discouraged from descending deeper than 60 feet. And all divers are expected to resurface with 15 percent to 20 percent of their air supply left, he said.
At that point, they either can refill their tanks or call it a day, but they should never run out of air, Shaw said.
If John and Josh Sonsteng were as deep as officials say, and had as little diving experience as has been reported, a trip 150 feet down would be highly unusual, according to other divers.
“For whatever reason, they got into a situation they never should have been in,” Shaw said.
Perrine said local divers have been speculating privately about what went wrong for the Sonstengs.
“That is one way the diving community tries to both prevent accidents and … get closure after these terrible events,” he said.
But, Perrine said, the focus should be on the Sonsteng family —- “on just how good Josh is, and his dad was, and how strong they all need to be.”
Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.
One Response
THANKS
FOR WRITTING THIS 0N -LINE. JOSH IS WILLING TO GO
ON THE SAN DIEGO NEWS TO TELL WHAT REALLY WENT ON UNDER THE
WATER ON THAT OCTOBER 4TH DAY 2008. JOSH IS HOLDING UP SO
WELL. GOD IS GOOD. WE HAVE A GREAT SUPPORT AT OUR
CHURCH CALLED “THE WELL”AND POWAY HIGH SCHOOL. JUST WANT
EVERYONE IN POWAY WHO HAVE HELPED ME THANK-YOU VERY MUCH!
HOW GREATFUL WE REALLY ARE. WE ARE ALSO VERY GREATFUL FOR
THE BRAVE SCUBA DIVERS WHO RECOVERED JOHN’S BODY.
GOD LOVES US SO MUCH AND HAS BLESSED US. THANKS TO EVERYONE
WHO HAVE PRAYED FOR US AND HELPED US OUT.
YOUR FRIEND,
DEBBIE SONSTENG (POWAY STILL HAS THAT SMALL TIME COMMUNITY)
HAVE DONE FOR ME, JOSH JODY AND
RACHELLE.