Image source: agnesmilowka.com

Melbourne cave diver Agnes Milowka, age 29, died on February 27, 2011 while exploring the extensive labyrinth of caves known as Tank Caves, in Mt. Gambier. While the sad event played out much like an incident out of the recent James Cameron scuba movie ‘Sanctum’, Milowka actually worked as a stunt diver for the two female characters in the same movie.

True to the character she played in the movie, Agnes was a passionate cave diver and explorer who  lived to go where no man had before. Captivated by the sheer mystery of unknown passages and where they led to, cave exploration became more than just an obsession for her. Exploring, mapping new cave systems, pushing the boundaries and bringing back images from her adventures to share with the world what very few would ever see with their own eyes, was the center of her existence. Having dived Florida’s cave country and the Bahamas extensively, Agnes turned to her own country and set her sights on Tank Cave, a maze-like system with more than seven kilometers of underwater passages, located near Mt. Gambier in South Australia which is famous for it’s sinkholes,  underground waterways, caves and caverns.

A highly experienced cave diver, Milowka was said to have dived the Tank Caves many times before. She had previously written about the Tank Cave system for Cave Diving Down Under and described it as the “crowning jewel” of the caves in the region. She went on to write-

“The cave is stunning, it is relatively shallow (a max depth around 20m), there is no flow to fight and the water is crystal clear – you can’t go wrong really.”

But she also wrote that the system was complicated, “like a spider web gone wild” and meant divers must learn the cave carefully to navigate tight restrictions and often zero visibility. She wrote of a new passage in Tank Cave she had discovered with a colleague, and described numerous “tight bits” where some divers may have had to take off their tanks to squeeze through. She wrote-

“The walls and roof to begin with are quite soft and squishy, which means that large chunks of the roof rain down on you as you exhale and the visibility is quickly reduced to zero,”

“This is not only a hazard when coming back out through the small restrictions but it also means that this section of the cave is particularly fragile and needs to be handled with a bit of tender love and care.”

On the day of her tragic accident, no one really knows what went wrong. She was believed to have left her buddy and never returned. Her fellow divers reported her missing and one of them was able to identify the area within the cave system where she was last seen.  Her body was found overnight about 600 meters inside the cave system.

On her website, Agnes says she is well aware of the risks she faces everytime she submerged into the dark subterranean world of cave diving.  And in a recent interview with a Polish radio station when asked if the death of a fellow diver scared her a little, she replied-

” I am not scared of diving. Anyone at any point can pass away. So you have to live your life as if tomorrow could be your last day. I love diving, I am passionate about it and I don’t think anything will stop me from doing it. Unfortunately there are risks; in every extreme sport there are dangers. It doesn’t always work out but you do everything possible to not only do that one dive, but to keep on diving over many years. That’s what it’s all about after all, longevity. You have to dive safely but live as if everyday is going to be your last.”

Sources:

• Herald Sun
• The Sunday Morning Herald (Smh.com.au)
• agnesmilowka.com

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2011. | Sanctum Stunt Diver Dies In A Real Life Cave Diving Tragedy is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 3 comments

Many divers are opting to ‘take the plunge’ quite literally with a SCUBA Wedding. Underwater weddings are becoming increasingly popular in a lot of dive destinations,  South Florida, Thailand and Australia in particular.

While not an entirely new concept, underwater nuptials have become a lot more do-able and interactive due to advanced technology. An underwater wedding usually starts of with a boat ride to an off shore dive site, not too deep but with clear waters. Sail boats are often used and many packages offer a pre dive as well as post dive champagne and snack on board. Although the couple can choose to wear traditional wedding attire, simplicity in choosing the clothing is called for or just black and white wetsuits are recommended.

Earlier and in some locations even today, vows were taken by holding up signs like “I Do’”. But today, with the latest in underwater communication technology divers and the attending guests are fitted and shown how to use underwater communications gear, allowing them to answer each other verbally. Some operators like Pro Dive have glass bottom boats for guests who prefer not getting their attire wet, to view the ceremony which includes the vows, exchange of rings and the 1st kiss. Many a times the signing of the certificate takes place on the boat and pictures with the license taken back underwater.

With the possibility of underwater photography, videography and even music Scuba weddings are a perfect setting for Scuba lovers, with the deep blue ocean backdrop or even a wreck or reef, colorful tropical fish in attending it’s a natural themed option. Think about how much you can save on flowers and decorations, chairs and a gazebo.  The post ceremony celebration is easily arranged either on a boat or back on the beach, what could be a more memorable day? A destination wedding and honeymoon in one!

So if you are one to show how deep your love is, consider an underwater ceremony you and your significant other won’t ever forget. With the endless options and possibilities of a Scuba wedding, love won’t just be in the air but in the oceans as well!

* Image credits: Photos by Nemo’s great uncle, snikrap on flickr

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2011. | Taking The Plunge With A Scuba Wedding is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments

LeisurePro’s very own Ben Teichberg, dive store manager and PADI Master Instructor, has had his hands rather full lately with a new project aimed a serving the community. His local fire department- Forest Volunteer Fire Department in Kimbles, Lackawaxen Township stepped up their operations to include not just rescue from fire, but the water as well with a new dive rescue team.

The idea had been in the pipeline for long, and the need for such a team equipped for water rescue was clear, as the Lackawaxen River running through the town is visited by many for recreation, from anglers to rafters. Costs however, for the equipment and to provide the necessary scuba diving training for a rescue dive team was rather prohibitive, up until recently when volunteer Ben stepped up. Ben offered to train and certify the Forest Volunteer divers at no cost, provided he could join the team. This got the ball rolling. They now have 13 certified divers, 11 men and two women, many of whom are also volunteer firefighters with Forest Volunteer. The department even acquired a raft costing around $2,500 with a 40 h.p. motor to improve the response to water related incidents. With regular drill training in progress, the volunteer dive team is now ready for any diving emergency they may be called for and is expected to extend their services not just to the river, but also several lakes in Lackawaxen Township including ones in the Woodledge Village, Tinkwig and Woodloch Springs developments.

We got in touch with Ben Teichberg and asked him a few questions, and here’s what he had to say-

Q- What drove you to initiate the dive team?
Ben: “Ever since my family and I moved to Shohola, Pennsylvania you quickly realize that you are not in the city anymore and specialty emergency response personal is not as abundant as let say a major metropolitan area. In addition I live on a lake and in a county with hundreds of bodies of water from streams, pond, lakes and rivers where the potential for water related accidents from recreational sporting activities is greatly increased. I called my local Fire Department to ask who was responsible for responding to water emergencies. The response I received lets say was less than comforting. There were a few scattered teams that could respond some not even in the state, let alone in a reasonable time. This made me realize I need to do something to help even the odds. I wrote a letter to my local Fire Department listing my background in Scuba Instruction and Rescue Diving. The letter explained that a Dive Rescue Team needs to be assembled to be able to respond in a timely fashion to local water emergencies. Sadly my letter seemed to fall upon deaf ears. It seemed bureaucracy found its way up to the boondocks. A year later I received an email from a different Fire Department Forest Fire Department Station 81 that some how got a hold of my original letter to help. The asked if I was still interested in spear heading a top notch Dive Rescue Team even though they weren’t my local department. They said they just acquired a boat but lacked the funds to try and put a team together for years. They even offered me monetary compensation but I immediately declined. I explained to them it would be my pleasure to assist them in any way I could. Hence the Forest Fire Dive Rescue Team was born!”

Q- Can you give us a gist of what training for a rescue team like this, would include for a volunteer.
Ben: “The only difference between a volunteer and a paid Rescue Diver is just that “paid”. Make no mistake; the members of this team are professionals. They face the same hazards and training that paid divers do. I actually find that the best people for an inherently dangerous job, is the ones who volunteer. The training involves Surface Rescue, Ice Rescue, Rapid Response Diving and Underwater Search & Recovery. Being in the diving Industry for 20 years I have managed to acquire a vast database of experts in the field. We are currently receiving training not only from me but from Instructors operating in the Fire Department of New York City Dive Rescue Team and New York City Emergency Services Unit. Our goal is to be able and prepared for any type of water emergency and hopefully never be called.”

Q-There are tens of thousands of divers across the US. Do you feel the need for other counties to initiate their own volunteer dive teams and achieve a better response to water related accidents?
Ben: “I believe that every county needs to evaluate its position on whether or not they have enough emergency response personal to suit their water environment. Living in Northeast Pennsylvania with tons of tourist attractions that involve water, I felt that we were understaffed with regards to Dive Rescue personnel. I’m extremely grateful to Chief Wayne Rosengrant of Forest Fire Department Station 81 in Kimbles PA, for having the same insight and realizing the vital and fundamental need for a Dive rescue Team in our area.”

So far, Forest Volunteer have spent around $10,000 to get the dive team started and equipped with the necessary diving gear and equipment. Some volunteers at present are using their own sets of gear, which the company would like to change with your help. They believe the volunteers are generous in giving their time to serve the community and shouldn’t be asked to shell out from their pockets as well. So here’s a shout out for those who’d like to contribute- Anyone wishing to make a donation designated for the dive team, can send it to -
Forest Volunteer Fire Department,
1129 Towpath Rd., Hawley,
PA 18428.
Telephone: 570-226-3491
Fax: 570-226-5022
Email Addresses: The Department – fvfd@forestfirerescue.com

Visit www.forestfirerescue.com for more.

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | LeisurePro Store Manager Founds New Dive Rescue Team For Local Fire Department is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

A few days back we had posted a Scuba news story where a scuba diver was dragged to a depth of 300 feet by a Giant tuna in Manila, Philippines. (If you missed it Click here). More recently more details on the incident and the condition of the diver were released.

We felt like the a giant tuna getting caught up in scuba diver, Ramir Te’s scuba diving gear and dragging him to the depth of 300 feet didn’t seem very plausible, and we were right! As we suspected, the diver who is now in stable condition but still undergoing decompression treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, was reported to have been taking part in fishing competition at the that time, where they needed to catch the biggest tuna fish to win. Turns out that when Te was around 80-ft below the sea surface, he spotted a giant tuna and immediately took aim of the fish using a spear bow with rope. After hitting the big catch, he placed the rope around his waist without noticing that the fish was still alive and he was pulled down below few seconds later. The giant tuna was said to be over 50kgs, which isn’t as big compared to sized this species can get to which is around 450 kgs, but it was still was pretty decent sized to have manage to drag a diver down with him. The diver freed himself by cutting the rope around his waist (yet another display of the importance of dive knives!) and inflated his buoyancy compensator (BCD) to make it back to surface.

Unfortunately, the quick ascent back to the surface after being so deep, Ramir Te is now facing a diver’s ultimate nightmare- Decompression Sickness (DCS) also known as Decompression Illness, ‘The Bends’ or ‘Diver’s Disease’. Decompression stops and careful procedures for ascent, require divers to spend time at different depths for a certain period of time, before surfacing. This is to safely eliminate the absorbed inert gases he breathes during the dive, from the diver’s body. Mr. Te is still temporarily half paralyzed due to the unfortunate incident and although his condition has greatly improved he will continue to undergo treatment for Decompression sickness after the hyperbaric chamber.

*Pictured above: a giant tuna ensnared off Spain to show how big the fish can get in size. Image source NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/fisheries/image7.html

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | Follow Up On The Giant Tuna Drags Diver To 300 Feet Story is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments

Reported in the news recently, in Manila- Philippines, a scuba diver was accidentally dragged to a depth of around 300 feet (91 meters) by a giant tuna.

Scuba diver Ramir Te was said to be on a recreational dive near Kiamba on Saturday, October 23, 2010. According to reports, he was diving at around 80 feet (24 meters) when a giant tuna somehow got entangled in the diver’s harness and was pulled down to 300 feet (91 meters). There’s no information on how the tuna got tangled with the diver or how he managed to free himself and surface. However, the man survived and was rescued by members of the Coast Guard Special Operations Group (CGSOG) rescue divers after it took place. He was then immediately airlifted by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopter in Cagayan de Oro City to be treated in a hyperbaric recompression chamber inside a search & rescue vessel ‘BRPSan Juan’ (SARV-001).

Although the species and size of this particular tuna is unknown, giant bluefin tuna are capable of reaching well over 450 kilograms (992 lb) in weight and around 4.3 meters (14 ft) in length.

The details of the incident seem a little sketchy to me as it’s not very believable for a giant tuna to get caught in a divers gear, even as a freak incident. Was the diver spearfishing? It does seem more plausible then, doesn’t it? Guess we’ll have to wait on more details on the incident.

However fishy the story smells, a lesson to be learned from all this if it happened as reported, and the fish got tangled in the divers harness, is the importance of streamlining. For more on this read our post titled- Scuba Tips: Streamlining To Reduce Drag

NOTE: Since this post was published, new details of the incident and the condition of the diver have emerged. You can read more about this in the Follow Up On The Giant Tuna Drags Diver To 300 Feet Story

*Pictured above: a giant tuna ensnared off Spain to show how big the fish can get in size. Image source NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/fisheries/image7.html

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | Scuba News: Entangled Giant Tuna Drags Diver To 300 Feet is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

We here at AquaViews thought it would be a good idea to bring you a collection of some pretty unusual, some bizarre and some simply amazing Scuba diving stories that we’ve come across over the years . And remember if you’ve got an amazing story or experience of your own to share, you can e-mail us at aquaviews@gmail.com and to see it featured here.

Here’s one from Netherlands (Aug 18, 2007): In a fishing story to rival all others a Dutch scuba diver became the surprise catch of the day for a 13-year-old boy fishing in the Netherlands when his hook got caught in the man’s lip. “I heard a sound on my head and immediately I felt a jerk on my lip,” Wim van Huffelen, who had been swimming in the North Sea, was quoted as saying by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

The diver had been swimming close to the shore near the southern Dutch town of Zierikzee. A doctor managed to free him from the hook.
- REUTERS (source: www.nzherald.co.nz)

*Photo Credits: photo by dizznan on flickr

More Scuba Stories-
Amazing Scuba Stories: Man Escapes Fire Using Scuba Gear
Former Coast Guard Captain Saved his life with a Snorkeling Vest while Swimming in Pacific Ocean

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | Unusal Scuba Stories: Young Fisherman Hooks a Scuba Diver is an original article from Aquaviews.net | One comment

AquaViews Reader- Peter (aka Aquaman) shares his first-hand experience of coming face to face with one of the most mysterious creatures of the deep- The Giant Squid… And remember if you’ve got an amazing story or experience of your own to share, you can e-mail us at aquaviews@gmail.com and to see it featured here.

Many years ago I saw several large squid off Green Cape south of Eden, New South Wales, Australia. I have been a diver for over 50 years, 30 years professional abalone diver from Lakes Entrance to Coffs Harbour and since 1992 to today still an active amateur diver also working with different underwater research divers and groups since 1992 for a period of 10 years. I have dived to depths of 198 ft deep and many depths between this also spent several years in the 1960’s hunting sharks and catching crayfish underwater for a living. So plenty of opportunity to observe marine species.

At the time of the sighting unusual weather conditions prevailed.

Early in the morning of said day a thick sea mist rolled in, as all that week we had experienced hot conditions and the water was quite warm. A cool breeze was blowing across the surface of the ocean. We set off from Eden in my boat, which is a 30 ft Timber Cruiser. We could clearly see all around us with the Radar and observe our position on the GPS. As we crossed the bay we observed on the radar a large echo from a 50,000-ton Japanese Wood Chip Boat entering the bay. Woodchips are exported from Eden (Australia) to Japan.

As we progressed across the bay I noticed another smaller echo heading rapidly for the chip boat, this was a shark cat abalone boat as portrayed by the classic secondary echo from the rooster tail wash or wake bar echo’s. We noticed it seemed to head straight into the chip boats echo then disappear.

A couple of days later the deck hand from the shark cat told us his boss had decided to go out diving that day in the dense fog and they nearly rammed the side of the chip boat.

On the south side of Twofold Bay near Eden is a woodchip mill that turns native forest timber into woodchips to be exported by ship to Japan for use in paper manufacturing.

We proceeded down the coast to Green Cape some 18 miles south of Eden where I anchored in the fog just a few yards offshore. Usually most Sea mist disappears by 10 am but this particular day it did not clear until 3 PM. A sea swell started to build so at about 4 in the afternoon I moved the boat offshore and anchored in about 80 ft of water.

I dived in and pulled myself down the anchor rope, visibility was clear to murky with much jelly blubber and sediment in the water. The first 40 ft was quite warm then I struck cold layer of water about 16 degrees C the unusual thing I noticed is that the current was flowing from North to South which that close to Green Cape traditionally and usually run from South to North inshore along the coast, also one would expect a current flowing from a Northerly direction would contain warmer waters instead of cold. As I swam deeper I came back into warmer water. I found a drop off from the “barren’s” reef edge onto sand and started to gather abalone.

After about 10 minutes or so I was in the process of starting to swim out from the edge of the reef across the sand to deeper water to search for more reef. Upon looking towards the surface it was then that I saw the squid. I literally froze with fear. I could see about four or five of them in about 60 ft deep, which would put them in the cooler layer of water flowing in a southerly direction. The largest was about 35 to 40 ft long including a couple of longer thinner tentacles protruding out of the main group of thicker tentacles. The smaller of these squid were about 14 or 15 foot long. Further into the gloom to the south I could dimly see another half dozen dim shapes just drifting along with the current.

Normally Giant squid are usually down thousands of feet in the pitch black. They can just hang motionless as their body contains pockets of ammonia that help them stabilize buoyancy.

They can also luminesce their eye flashing blue and red. This attracts in prey, which they quickly seize with their massive tentacles. I suppose what had happened with the unusual counter clockwise current it had swept them up from their underwater domain from canyons thousands of feet deep.

I do not know how long I observed them but in the end I slowly pulled myself along the diving hose back to the boat.

By this time it was starting to get dark so we lifted the anchor, put the boat on autopilot and headed home to Eden, The sky went quite dark and it started to rain, then I noticed on the radar about six miles out to sea two very intense echo’s on the radar screen. I would estimate them about 60 ft in diameter and about quarter of a mile apart. Suddenly the came together and formed a cigar shaped echo across the radar screen.

As the radar swept around the cigar shaped echo jumped across the screen towards us. Because of the strange weather conditions that day I imagined the two intense echoes might have been two Waterspouts and that they had collapsed into a mini tidal wave that was bearing down on us quite rapidly. I made a fast decision and told my deck hand to secure the forward anchor hatch and throw anything loose down into the fore part of my boat, along with the blankets, pillows and bedding. I thought we would head full speed towards the onrushing wave and just before it struck both of us would dive into the fore part of my boat, and maybe survive the impact.

As the echo neared my vessel I peered out into the gloom and heard a loud rushing noise. I sighted what I thought was a long wall of white water rushing towards us, it simply turned out to be an intense wall of rain chopping up the water. I did not have time to turn into it and as it struck the boat like a solid fist the whole vessel heeled over.

Then we were in the midst of the storm there was water everywhere, Lightning was striking the water around the boat and all the electrical equipment on the boat went haywire. The motor kept running being diesel powered but the compass spun around and all other equipment failed. The chap who was with me called out ‘look at the rails’ and I noticed the stainless handrails were emitting a blue glow and I looked up at the steel radar tower and metal flying bridge and they were also emitting the same blue glow.

Within a couple of minutes we came out of the storm and the sea calmed down to a long rolling swell and the skies cleared and the stars were visible. We looked to the south of us and saw the storm like a mini cloud at sea level with angry orange flashes within it.

The next day a low pressure trough came into the state bringing large rough seas and some flooding occurred for about four or five day’s.

Another such Giant Squid Encouter I’ve heard of:

A Brisbane based company WBM that I assisted with marine research Monitoring the marine environment around the construction of the Eden Naval Wharf, that have a branch in the US told me of two divers diving during the night, below them water, hundreds of fathoms of deep water.

One diver down at about 90 ft and the other another 30 ft below him in over 120 ft. Both were collecting marine specimens with use of torches and catcher equipment.

Suddenly the diver in 90 ft looked down as his diving buddy’s torchlight suddenly started to wave violently around and along with his mate disappears into the depths.

Later as his diving buddy rapidly surfaced and told him he had been grabbed by a large squid and quickly taken down to over 350 ft then released unhurt, and luckily for him had made it back to the surface.

- Peter (Aquaman)

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | A Scuba Diver’s First-Hand Story of His Encounter With Giant Squids is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments

Captain Dave Truitt former Flotilla commander of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and skipper of the Intrigue one of the main USCGAUX rescue boats in Chicago is well known in the Chicago maritime community, as chairman of the “Chicago Marine Heritage Society” which sponsors many of Chicago’s well known Marine events and the preservation of many sunken 19 century mercenary boats that litter the floor of lake Michigan and he also serves as captain of the famous “Christmas Ship” that lightens up the hearts of many Chicagoan families on the holidays.

He has seen his share of marine rescues which served him well on a swim he took in the Pacific Ocean that turned nearly deadly, and it wasn’t a vessel or chopper that saved his life it was a simple yellow ScubaPro Snorkeling Vest that he bought from Leisure Pro a week before he left on vacation that saved him from the abyss of the Pacific.

Captain Dave Truitt on the Right

It all happened while vacationing on Tamarindo Beach in Costa Rica with his girlfriend Charlotte. Both, passionate swimmers who have swum in many exotic oceans and rivers around the globe, desired to swim to an island 1 mile off the beach. After all he did this stretch 6 years before without a hitch, but this time around the waves were very rough due to gusty winds that didn’t stop since their arrival.  On the 6th day of the vacation his intuition told him he could finally conquer this stretch of water.
He geared up in his usual swim protection gear,  flipper boots, gloves and his new ScubaPro Cruiser Snorkeling Vest, and as additional protection he arranged with his girlfriend and another local to kayak out to the island before him. As soon as the kayaks paddled out the captain, with an adrenaline rush of an athlete at the start of competition, dove into the ocean.

About 200 yards off the beach he looked up and scanned the horizon for the kayakers, but only saw one of them and going off course. The ferocious waves forced them back leaving his backup plan out of commission. He thought it’s just a minor diversion caused by the waves and they would correct themselves soon. He kept on swimming, to quoted the captain “I was in paradise”, his adrenaline pumping and his eyes staring towards his goal.

To reach the island one has to swim northwest of the island and then swim back east to the western edge because of  razor sharp lava rock that surround the island on the south making swimming there very dangerous. It takes a bit longer but safer. After battling his way through the ferocious waves he finally made it to the western tip of the island just 300 ft away, half his feat (he still had to swim back) seemed conquered. He turned right and started swimming to the island but the ocean had other plans that day. He got caught in a rip current, exhausted from his swim he was in a deadly situation.

He started swimming at a 10 o’clock angle towards the island, not to be in direct opposition of the currents path. He didn’t move any closer, the current actually pushed him farther away. He tried several different angles but to no avail. After many attempts with no progress he inflated his snorkeling vest to help keep afloat and preserve the little energy he had left for his struggle with the ocean. He then tried desperately again and again to reach the island but the current kept on pushing him farther back into the vastness of the Pacific. As a former coast guard captain he quickly realized that without a fight this is certain death. He kept on battling for his life but every time he thought he made progress the water picked him up and pushed him back, it was like the ocean was playing a sadistic death game of chess with his life, with each of his move he threatened checkmate. Knowing that death is waiting on the other side it gave him determination to battle on, to quote the captain “I was determined not to die at sea but rather die trying”.

What seemed like his 30th attempt he was finally able to grasp tips of rocks with his toes which gave him some grip of land but water rushing underneath his torso pushed him back again. He decided to turn around on his back not to let water bridge under his torso and with the heels of his feet and hands he crawled forward like a turtle. After awhile he felt big shells sticking out of the sand which gave him a stronger grip and slowly but surely he crept onto the island.

He finally stepped foot on the island, a barren one to say the least. Being in direct path of open ocean winds, no livable thing could survive here only thorny cactus trees and huge shells that dug themselves deep into the sand, but for the moment this was paradise for Captain Truitt.

He realized of course that this was just the beginning of his survival, he won his strangulation battle with an angry ocean, but the game was far from over, with no coast guard to rescue him he had to hope his girlfriend would be able to scratch together a rescue team from the locals, but first he needed to signal a sign of life that he arrived to the island because no one on the beach in their right mind would think he ever made it, swimming back was of course not an option

An anxious crowd had gathered on the beach by now scanning the ocean for signs of him, but no one saw him, desperation started to grow, but his girlfriend Charlotte kept assuring everyone that Dave never turns around when he goes he goes and gets there, but with no sign of life it was hard to convince.

Island as seen from Beach (with Telephoto Lens)

The problem was that the island seemed much closer to the beach then it actually is because with no other objects in the field of vision from the beach to the island the perception of distance makes the island appear much closer then its actual distance, they were convinced that if they can’t see him then he is not actually there.
Back on the island his first instinct was to signal the folk on the beach, he took off his vest and started waving it, but his survival mode kicked in and as a veteran seaman he knew that what the ocean didn’t do the equators sun will finish, he went a bit higher up ground and built himself a hovel by weaving leaves together and hanging it  on cactus trees to protect him from the sun, and laid down to gather strength from his exhaustion, every 15 minutes he went out and waved his vest in the direction of the beach but to no avail.

After numerous attempts waving the vest with his hands and raised on a branch he came up with an idea to deflect the yellow of the vest in the direction of the beach it was maybe desperate logic but with no alternatives everything goes, It worked like magic, while Charlotte who has peripheral vision was running up and down the beach with hotel staff and others searching for him on the island she caught the glimpse of the yellow with her left eye, it was just a glimpse but she knew it’s a signal of life and that her love is reaching out for help, she felt relieved, her intuition was correct.

A couple which made their acquaintance during this trip came up with an idea to use their camera with telephoto lens to search for him, so they went back to their hotel room to grab it and started searching through the cameras viewfinder and snapping images, at last they enlarged one of the images through the cameras screen and they saw an outline of him with the yellow vest hanging on a branch above him.

Euphoria erupted on the beach.

The hotel staff which by now joined in the search arranged for a local to kayak to the island to bring him back, the captain was watching as the kayak paddled out, but after half the distance he saw him turn around, he knew the reason was because the guy thought he is much closer to the island and since he could see him it was no use to battle the rough sea, back on the beach Charlotte convinced him to try again that she could see him, so he went back once more, the captain knew that a kayak rescue will not work since there is no way they could both get into the kayak and paddle out without overturning, they needed a launch boat in order for both to be able to get in and get off the island as soon as he arrived he tried to explaining it to the local with the little Spanish he knew, but the guy who was huge wasn’t convinced so the captain went into the bow of the kayak, but soon the wave throw him up in the air and overturned him landing on rock cutting a gash in his foot, reluctantly the kayaker went back overturning his kayak several times on rocks pretty hard.

Rescuer Smashes Into Rocks on His Way Back

Meanwhile the captain saw a party boat coming in from the ocean, he started waving and yelling to them but they didn’t hear his cries for help.

Back on the beach they arranged for a launch boat with two other people to go to the island and déjà vu to the dismay of the captain he saw him returning midway again the same perception of distance illusion, but this time around they had a cell phone on them so they called to the people on the beach that they could not see him but they assured them that they could see them via the telephoto lens, so the turned around and finally reached the island.

Launcher Aprroaches Island

but getting everybody into the launcher and back into the ocean wasn’t an easy task either, being in the coast guard he knew a thing or 2 about getting into a boat, so with scraps of Spanish he tried to explain to them that he needs to get into the ship by the bow and someone should push them out but the guy insisted in the middle of the boat and everyone in it so he went into the middle and again the tried to sail out and the wave picked them up threw them on the rocks and cut an even deeper wound in his foot, frustrated he forced them to listen to his instruction he went into the bow the other rescuer stayed on the beach and pushed them into the ocean and then they threw him a line and reeled him into the boat.

After a four hour ordeal he was finally on his way to safety and the outstretched arms of his girlfriend.

A Happy Captain Upon Reaching Shore

Charlotte is Overjoyed

With The Rescue Team

Captain Truitt has seen his share of marine rescues, swam in many oceans around the globe, scuba and free dived to great depths nothing he said scared him like this 4 hour ordeal, but as they say what doesn’t’ break you will make you stronger, two days later the captain was back for a one mile swim in a river South West of town with crocodiles up stream.

It’s amazing how a simple Snorkeling vest has so many safety applications, Captain Truitt pointed out.

1. It preserves your body temperature
2. Protects your from the sun
3. Serves as a float in emergencies
4. The yellow is a great signaling beacon

During his ordeal the captain ruptured the bladder of his Snorkeling vest so Leisure Pro sent him a new one

The ScubaPro Cruiser Snorkeling Vest that Save the Captains Life

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | Former Coast Guard Captain Saved his life with Snorkeling Vest while Swimming in Pacific Ocean is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

Not your average 6th grader, Mee Rae Firkins recently became the youngest Scuba diver ever to earn her ‘Master Diver’ level certification from National Aquatic Service.

As 11 year old Burton Street Elementary student, Mee Rae started Scuba diving as part of a family activity picked out by her mother Sue Firkins. The Firkins took Scuba lessons in the fall and went to Little Cayman in the Caribbean for their certification when the weather got better. This was little Mee Rae’s first encounter with eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda and turtles. The girl has since accomplished 80 dives and completed the necessary trainings in stress and rescue, night diving, low visibility diving, underwater navigation, boat diving and dry suit diving to reach the ‘master diver’ level, all in a span of 6 months or so.

In a sport like diving, acquiring the necessary skill sets from assembling her scuba equipment on her own, controlling her buoyancy underwater, calculating and monitoring depth and time while being careful not to surface to quickly, Mee Rae Firkins was always a quick learner and her mother credits this to her love for water and a natural talent when it comes to this sport.

While the rest of the Firkin family too dives, Mee Rae and Sue are crazy about the sport. Sue Firkin is comfortable with daughter Mee Rae as her dive buddy, saying she stays close by and is a vigilant buddy making eye contact assuring her mom she’s okay. She’s also confident that even though there are risks involved in the sport, her children are careful and responsible divers, who know to dive safely. The Firkin family have dived in the Caribbean, Skaneateles Lake, Alexandria Bay, Dutch Springs and Cazenovia Lake.

Mee Rae was last said to be taking part in an underwater pumpkin carving contest, this Halloween, not an easy task considering the 50 pounds of diving equipment a diver wears while doing this.

Information and image via Cazenovia Republican

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | 11 Year Old Mee Rae Firkins, Youngest to Earn a ‘Master Diver’ Certification is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

In recent news an Australian publication ‘The Age’ reported an amazing survival story of 4 Russian divers who went missing for over 24 hrs in shark infested waters near Marsa Alam, Egypt.

Vitaly Ivanov,Anna Filippenko, Dmitry Smerdov and Sergei Larionov were swept away by a strong current while diving at one of Egypt’s top dive locations in the Red Sea. The group were said to be among 23 tourists on board a Bohemia luxury wooden motor yacht, which runs dive tours in the area. The group was noted as missing when only 19 resurfaced. Authorities were notified and a search was sent out with no avail. As the search was called of at nightfall the 4 divers said they tried swimming back to shore.

Separated in the dark of the night and over 20kms away, Ivanov made it to shore at a near by village the next morning. Rescuers found the other 3 of his group later in that day.

The Red Sea is a very popular dive destination with it’s unique reefs as well as sharks. Spotting hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, bull sharks and tiger sharks among 44 shark species recorded here is what draws divers Red Sea diving despite difficult diving conditions like strong currents. No strangers to large dive tours, operators in Egypt don’t have a very clean track record and this sort of incident is not unheard of. Egyptian authorities have reported the deaths of 30 foreign divers last year alone.

Irresponsible operators? Or just bad luck? Here’s hoping both divers and dive operators take this incident as a lesson to tighten safety measure when diving in larger groups.

*Photos by star5112 and fearlessRich on flickr

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | Irresponsible Operators or Bad Luck? -The Survival Story of 4 Russian Divers is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments