Gulf fishing community bands together for search, fundraiser after fatal diving accident

On March 13, 36-year-old Drake Sweet went missing nearly 70 miles off the west coast of Florida in the Gulf.

Sweet was with a friend diving a wreck and shooting fish in 140 feet of water. At around 4 p.m., he never surfaced from a dive. The friend called for help and a search began with the Coast Guard leading the lookout by air and sea.

Sweet by all accounts was known as one of the best free divers who has an impressive showcase of fish across his social media accounts. The next day his speargun and weight belt were recovered at the original sight. Reports are that his gun was attached to a fish but jammed.

News spread quickly of his disappearance. While the weather deteriorated, a large search effort continued. Not only the Coast Guard but also individuals who spent hours looking despite poor weather conditions the following days.

“Sadly, we were unsuccessful looking for Drake,” posted captain Bill D’Antuono on Facebook.

D’Antuono and others joined the search on their own vessels.

“The wreck was 140 feet. Coast Guard plane was doing diligent work flying a grid within a 20-mile radius,” he said. “Our crew did two dives and Chad Tripp found his gear with jammed line.”

Across the spearfishing community, many believe the cause of Sweet’s disappearance was a shallow water blackout. Shallow water blackout is a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive in shallow water. It is typically caused by hyperventilating just before a dive, which lowers the carbon dioxide level and delays the diver’s urge to breathe.

“A sharp reminder no trip is guaranteed,” D’Antuono said in his post.

As someone who heads offshore often, I’ve had this conversation with loved ones. Being offshore is such a freeing experience not to be taken for granted. Humans aren’t designed to be water animals and we put great faith in our own abilities along with the equipment we use to trust with our lives.

I, and many others, are aware of the inherent danger of being so far offshore. There is a long delay in receiving help and you are often up to being your own emergency response team. It is often not a matter of when, and not if, the next emergency will happen.

All we can do is prepare. The Gulf seems to get smaller each passing year and more small boats push their limits further offshore. With the ability to make a phone call home, see the radar from a satellite weather service or be in giant center consoles that can cover hundreds of miles easily, it is easier to seem comfortable while heading to taller waters. Problems can occur anywhere at any time on the water, but added distance makes help difficult.

Drake Sweet had a reputation as a world-class free diver with countless hours in the sport he loved. But accidents like this are a reminder like D’Antuono said. He and many others put in their own time and resources to try and help. He knows it could be any one of us who doesn’t make it home.

The outdoors community always comes together in times of need and so many did what they could to try to help.

The Drake Sweet fundraiser can be found at www.GoFundMe.com.