Kingston diving community mourns death of local instructor

A diving instructor from Kingston, Ont., who drowned on a dive in the eastern Ontario city earlier this month is being remembered for his passion, intelligence and kindness.

Chris Haslip, 47, was scuba diving the afternoon of April 13 when he went into medical distress and drowned, according to his father, Daniel Haslip.

"It was, I think, a freak accident. Chris was an excellent diver by anybody's standards, and most passionate about it," Daniel said Monday.

Emergency crews were called to the shoreline along Ontario Street at around 3 p.m. on April 13 after getting reports of a diver in distress.

Firefighters were able to haul one diver who had minor injuries into a boat, but a second diver had disappeared beneath the water's surface. 

The coast guard, fire department, Kingston Police and Ontario Provincial Police all took part in the search, with Haslip's body recovered the following morning.

Although no cause of death has been released, Daniel believes his son's pre-existing heart condition and more recent diagnosis of diabetes could have played a role in his death. 

Ran a father-and-son diving shop

"He really did love diving," Daniel said. "We would go out after I got done with work and everything, and we'd do a short dive, and we'd always have fun."

Chris fell in love with diving in his early 20s after taking a course with his father.

One day, the pair bought a scuba diving air compressor to fill tanks for their friends. As demand grew, they eventually opened Explorer Diving.

Chris Haslip later got certified as an instructor and organized regular weekend dives, becoming a pillar of knowledge in the local diving community.

"His enthusiasm for it was just infectious to a lot of people, and they felt safe with him in the water and kept diving," his father said. "Just about everybody that started diving with us is still doing it, and I think that's a testament to his enthusiasm for it."

Despite losing his left foot to meningitis about a decade ago, Chris continued diving and remained passionate about underwater exploration, Daniel Haslip added.

"He didn't stop diving. He kept going, just [with] a little bit of help," he said. "And he could actually swim in circles around a lot of people, just with one leg."

'We do not have gills'

On Monday, people who knew Chris Haslip showed up at Explorer Diving to celebrate his life.

Pat Coyne, who takes divers out on the water, said he got to know him through his work.

"He's been on my dive boat. He's instructed people on my dive boat. You know, he was just a really solid, excellent, calm individual," Coyne said.

"I always call him 'kid,' because he's a lot younger than I am, and I've known his father for 30 years," said Steve Flaherty, who was on shore watching over Chris and the other diver the day Chris died.

Flaherty said the dive they were doing was simple, one they'd done hundreds of times before — but he added that there's always a risk something could go wrong.

"Diving is a physically demanding sport, and the risk is always [that] you're underwater. So you know what the ultimate risk is," he said. "We do not have gills."

Coyne said scuba diving deaths are rare, but they do happen.

"Everybody's really very stunned about it, because they knew how keen he was and how [much of] an excellent diver he was," Coyne said.

"So people are quite upset."