Steve Berman..

[jbdvr]

Steve was my full cave instructor in sept. 99. we took it the week that hurricane floyd caused a evacuation of flordia but thankfully everything went OK. Steve's friend gary gentile even dove one day with us. I miss getting gas at his "fill shack" with kelly and others. i wonder if it is still there? he is missed. joe b

[Cindy]

I talked with Steve two days before he died. He was happy, looking forward to the upcoming Social and in general his normal good nature. He told me he was trying to get the map done in time for the workshop.

There are a lot easier ways to commet suicide in a cave than trying to push a cave and dying trying to return after a survey dive. Taking O2 deep for one. He was on his way out of Ginnie with survey data and ran out of gas.

I was told he had a Cardiac problem. He had a blockage. I also heard the Suicide Rumor. It made me sick then and it does now.

He was a great diver and a good man. He was pushing the edge of his skills and his physical abilities as many of us do. He didn't come back and the world is a slightly lesser place without him in it. Leave it be people. Let him rest in peace.

[MichaelAngelo]

Hello
I have been reading these threads about Steve and decided to tell the one story I have of him.
I only knew Steve in real life for 5 minutes, while alone in the parking lot of Little River. I was in my final training dive of my Aprentice course with Rose Meadows. I meet Steve in the parking lot when he stopped by to say hello to Rose while we were gearing up. I knew who he was and was thrilled just to meet him. My course had not been going well, in fact it was kicking my butt, but I was learning. Early into the dive I got some pretty bad leg cramps. After trying to pull them out, I called the dive. After getting me back to the surface Rose continued the class with the other students. While degearing in the parking lot I felt broken. I was convinced I failed the course and would never be a cave diver. To be honest to this day I can only figure Rose saw something in me worthwhile keeping and had me continue training. In the parking lot alone it took all my manhood to keep the tears back as I degeared. Steve approached me put a hand on my shoulder and to me not to worry and just keep with it. He told me I would get it. Even as I write this my eyes well up abit remembering a random act of kindness made to me by a complete stranger. I was touched by his karma. I did keep trying. About 4 weeks later back in Chicago I heard of Steve's passing. I keep working at it. A year later I was full cave and was producing many drawings of the caves. I donated prints of these drawings to the training organizations as a way of giving back to the community. At one point at a social I happened to meet a widow of a diver who had recently passed in a cave. She related to me how Her late husband won one of the prints and loved it. She continued to tell me how having that print now has help her remember him and help her thru the difficult times. I think it was the proudest moment as an artist. I also think I was able to help someone with my art only because I meet Steve for 5 minutes in Little River parking lot. I think I was graced with a small bit of his Karma and I know how Steve died is not important, it was how he lived that is.

[Ken Hill]

I wonder why the speculation and interest about Steve keeps popping up? Three very good cave divers died while surveying caves. They are Steve, Ron Simmons last year and and Don Black, the year before Steve. The commonality of the three events was that they all ran out of breathing gas, they were solo, and they did not make it to air or stage bottles.

The nature of mapping makes it easy to be delayed either by their tasks or by an exit that was just too far away. Every cave diver should speculate on a the effects of a free flow, discomfort or illness, complacency, or down right bad luck. Then there are visibility problems, disorientation, restrictions that go easy one way and are awful on the way out. They had no redundant brain of a buddy nor a long hose to signal for!

What happened to Steve was a sad event and you can't go wrong if you figure it was something in the above paragraph that made him meet his end. Then believe there are even more factors and all should be a part of every dive plan along with the sober thought "it can happen to me!" /Ken

[Gary]

I wonder why the speculation and interest about Steve keeps popping up?

There is no wonder to this at all. Every time a cave diving death occurs there is massive interest and speculation into the causes. There is kind of a desperation on the part of cave divers to find a reason for it. Not just a reason for the death but actually a reason why it can not happen to "ME" on the part of the divers who are speculating. What specifically that the dead diver did WRONG or different that means this will never happen to them even as they continue to go cave diving themselves.

Three very good cave divers died while surveying caves. They are Steve, Ron Simmons last year and Don Black, the year before Steve. The commonality of the three events was that they all ran out of breathing gas, they were solo, and they did not make it to air or stage bottles.

Ron Simmons had reported on the previous dive that poor conditions delayed his exit and he reached the surface with only 1000 psi of a 6500 psi start. His death was easily explained. Don Black I'm afraid I don't remember what accident he was involved in but I expect it was either explained or not heard of.

Steve died in a cave that many people dive and had no readily handy explanation. He was also well known and well liked in the cave community. He was a cave instructor and knew the cave so well he was mapping it. People found no handy explanation why he could die and why it would never happen to them.

Those who were against solo diving finally found their poster child and managed to push a "no solo diving rule" through one of the agencies and were satisfied that "it would never happen to them" because they never solo dive. Those who don't believe a person can die of loneliness have continued to wonder why the man ran out of air.

The nature of mapping makes it easy to be delayed either by their tasks or by an exit that was just too far away. Every cave diver should speculate on a the effects of a free flow, discomfort or illness, complacency, or down right bad luck. Then there are visibility problems, disorientation, restrictions that go easy one way and are awful on the way out. They had no redundant brain of a buddy nor a long hose to signal for!

What happened to Steve was a sad event and you can't go wrong if you figure it was something in the above paragraph that made him meet his end. Then believe there are even more factors and all should be a part of every dive plan along with the sober thought "it can happen to me!" /Ken

Not only did Steve die but he was well known and well liked. People both mourn his passing and yet want to put an answer to the question of what killed him up between them and dying. But most of all they want to believe "it can't happen to them".

It's not just Steve's accident but every death and every accident. Desperate speculation into the causes of what the victim did that breaks some rule or tenet or some group's method that explains why "it can't happen to them".

When John and Craig (two trimix trained cave divers at Eagle's Nest) died they had all the training and equipment they should have had. They even had buddies! But the reasons why they likely encountered trouble were discussed and they were not at a highly trafficked site. Their deaths were much better understood and thus didn't capture the ongoing obsession of "why" that Steve's death has caused.

There were a lot of problems surrounding Steve's last dive. Reasons why he was diving from the river instead of the land, many things that might have bother or distracted him. Plus the usual "effects of a free flow, discomfort or illness, complacency, or down right bad luck." Also he was mapping and may have been additionally distracted. A lots of finger pointing and upset people after the dive about one thing or another. Rumors, accusations.

The rumors and accusations that surfaced to the public level were never enough for most people to point a finger at and say "that did it - that's the thing that I don't do that caused the accident"

It's sad and to say that on his dive Steve may have just had too much going on, too much distracting him from his dive and that he maybe did need a second diver there, or just call it, or just needed to not gone diving that day.

But as you said the answer is not something that is probably easy to point at and that "it can happen to anybody". There probably were reasons but they weren't the kind you can say "that was it" and they weren't discussed or understood by those who still wonder and still ask "why".



So anyway that's the "why" the question keeps popping up. The answer to why Steve's accident occured will likely remain somewhat foggy even among those that where close enough to be aware of the other factors.

[jj1987]

This thread had some stuff come up and I really regret starting it at this point.

I had a few minor details that needed filling in to complete my understanding, and frankly it's to a point I have no doubts of what happened anymore. I PM'ed a moderator about it's deletion, but was informed that wasn't possible, so I'm going to attempt to bring some things into focus here.

Gary, I've received several PM's and phone calls about the subject that most don't want to share online. The #1 reason EVERYONE kept going back to is that there was a major blockage to the heart. Anyone who dove Ginnie around that time knew the cave flow was tremendous, and the exhaustion could have easily caused fatigue.

Let's be honest here......we KNOW why he was diving from the river. I appreciate you not bringing it to light on a public forum, but there is not speculation on why he was doing that.

The suicide theory IMO holds no water, and it's upsetting that it even gets mentioned. It was based off of him selling gear cheap and a few issues that was between him and Ginnie, which had a lot of internal political crap going on at the time that extended beyond him.

There were almost no divers forums back then, no ebay, and no craigslist, so if you wanted to sell gear quickly, you had to make it so cheap someone who wasn't really wanting to buy it would change their mind. Anyone who thinks Steve sold all of his gear off is flat wrong. There's still to this day enough gear in his shed to outfit 4-5 divers easily, and if memory serves me correctly a large boat as well......certainly didn't sell all his equipment as I've heard too many times. Steve was also a step parent, one of the most difficult roles anyone can play in life. His kids NEVER looked at him that way. He didn't have to be their father, he stepped up and chose that role in life, and did a great job at it, as you can see by the respect all of his kids have for him. I can't imagine him giving that up. Also let's face it, if you're going to take your own life, there's so many easier methods of doing so.

Edit- my post sounded directed at Gary, it was not meant to be.

[Cindy]

Before this turns into another analytical slugfest I have a request. I have one of Steve's tanks at the museum but no photos. Can someone please PM me at [email protected] some photos. I have a low dpi one of him on the Andrea Dorea that is too poor a quality to hang up. Anyone who personally knows him might write a nice article for the UWS. Much better ways to remember him as a person than analyzing his death to the last detail. Thanks so much, Cindy Butler

[Kelly Jessop]

. Much better ways to remember him as a person than analyzing his death to the last detail. Thanks so much, Cindy Butler

I agree there was a lot to learn from this very talented person.
PS I have one of his tanks with a pink bottom-anybody remember the story behind this?

[Gary]

Yes, I was foolish to even mention the suicide theory. Yes it was one of the stories circulating but not one worthy of mention. The information I was told was probably wrong and I was taken in by it. Worse, I referred to it online where everything runs off in a different direction then what you intended - while trying to make a point about something else.

I apologize.

My point was that the death likely boiled down to something that didn't require a change in the way people dive. Whatever the cause it didn't need to be explained specifically to accept it and to continue diving confident that the cause was avoidable without special measures.

As to why Steve's accident is a reoccurring concern it is because he was a qualified diver doing dives he considered safe. There is no single point that satisfies many people as to "why" the accident happened to him but they feel justified in saying it could never happen to them. Steve was well known, well liked and highly qualified in a cave system everyone dives. The situation is one that everyone can relate to as pertaining to them and that is why not having an acceptable answer bothers so many people.


Thanks jj1987 for your help on this. And thanks for the thread topic, I learned something important and lost a few bad data points.