Coast Guard rescues missing divers

[Bulit7]

Reported by: Associated Press
Last Update: 5:14 pm

The Coast Guard says it has located two divers who didn't return to their boat in the Florida Keys. According to a news release from the Coast Guard, authorities
received a call Saturday night that said a 42-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman didn't return to the boat.

Crews used a helicopter in the two-hour search, and the missing divers used a flashlight to draw the attention of rescuers. The Coast Guard says the divers, who were found about three miles northwest of their boat, weren't injured.

[Smudge]

Lucky!!!! Thank goodness they were found...

[jerry1000]

always good to hear that..

[KeysKid]

Wow, its great to hear they were found. What day was this?

[keezdiver]

saturday....and TRUST ME....you have no idea how glad we are they were safe.

[Bottomcrawler]

Sounds close to home "Keezdiver"? Not looking for details, just glad to hear everyone is safe.

[pirate_diver]

way to go coasties. thank god they are safe. stay safe out there everyone.

[jfjf]

It is great that they were looking at night. I always thought that the night time would be the easiest time to find divers (assuming they are using helicopters and the divers have lights or strobes).

[Guacamole]

Now that said party is safe, one wonders what do you do when a fresh current comes along and you're down stream of your boat low on air? I really have wondered about this at times and have no idea what I would do. Besides the obvious prevention like having a boat driver, using a compass, staying upstream from your vessel, and never allowing your boat to be anchored without a chain and long scope. What would you do after the fact?

We're all human and sometimes let our guard down. You always check your tide tables and make sure your on the right side of what ever flow may begin when you're in the water. I've only dived the reef off Key West a few times, yet it was enough that I saw no current one hour and the next hour found it time for a drift dive. I'm of the idea there ought to always be a driver on board, but real life and rare time off does not always allow that.

I know I'm being a bit overboard on this but it may save someone's life with some discussion and real life experience offered here. What about those inflatable orange shafts? I’m sure this has been discussed many a time but wonder what some would offer now? Knowing what it's like to be at sea, these folks are very fortunate to be found.

Ray

[keezdiver]

i've had the scary pleasure of BEING downcurrent of the dive boat 200yrds...5ft seas...30mins to sunset...in january.

a sausage won't help much if the boat is not looking for you yet.

we were diving a wreck i'm very use to. followed a fish off the wreck (normal for me) into some rubble. got my fish and turned around to a pair of aggressive jewfish and a FAT bullshark. i made the decision to surface, but with the current and being off the wreck 75ft or so...i ended up WELL behind the boat.

the other people on the boat weren't expecting me for another 10mins or so, and were not really looking yet.

i ended up floating for almost 20mins. about every 5th wave i could see the boat. after the first 15mins or so, i started thinking "ok...you may have to swim tonite" (less than 5 miles off the keys). so i ditched my weights, ditched my 40lb Amberjack, and ditched the broken shaft i was hanging on to. inflated my BC and turned my air off.

not long after that i noticed the boat pull the bouy line in....he had spotted me holding my gun vertical and came to get me.

my whistle did NOTHING against the 15knt wind blowing. following that i invested in a Dive-Alert. those little bitches will make you deaf. and save your skin.

i forgot to ask the parties involved if they had a Dive Alert. i'm guessing they didn't.

[jfjf]

Prevention:

Never dive from an unattended (especially anchored) boat (unless you don't really care if it is there when you return).

Rig the anchor line with a float so the boat operator is not hesitant to throw the anchor and line to come get you if needed.

Run a long, long line and float off the back of the boat which may allow you to catch the boat even if you come up behind it.

Have a dive alert to signal the boat if you come up away from it.

I did a dive a number of years ago from an anchored boat (when I knew better) and I basically had to ditch my wife and apply 100% of my effort to make the anchor line as I ran very low on air in a current. I figured it was better to ditch her and try to make the boat alone, rather than have both of us drifting off (togther) with only a yapping poodle on the boat. I did not feel good at all about having to make that decision.

I was so surprised when (after turning my back on my wife and swimming like hell) that she was somehow able to hang with me and also just barely made the anchor line.

I think it is a much better idea to dive solo and leave one person on the boat.

[UaVaj]

Glad they both are safe!

[mjphawk]

Originally Posted by keezdiver

saturday....and TRUST ME....you have no idea how glad we are they were safe.

I agree with you 100%. Just got off the phone and realized this article was about someone I know well. Glad everything worked out well.

Originally Posted by jfjf

Have a dive alert to signal the boat if you come up away from it.

Of all the advice you just gave this is the only one that might have had an impact on the situation.

The Coast Guard stated that their safety sausages were the reason they were spotted when they were. Shining a light along the length of the tube at night turns your light from a needle like speck to a streak of color in a black night.

Don't skimp on your safety gear. Buy a large and bright sausage, always have a light, and invest in a dive alert. Everyone be safe out there.

[rjnjupiter]

Always carry 2 lights. One you use and one you test every dive and only use at night. I remember the USCG saying they woul not search for Nikki until Tony assured them she had a light. Good to see the Keys people made it back. I don't know how many times we lost an anchored boat in the Keys and Miami. I am real happy to be drift diving with an attended boat now herte in Jupiter

[FredT]

One option is to always have a chem-light, unopened, with a "closed" tube sausage. The light can either be inserted into it through the duckbill valve or attached to the outside. Carter's have a method to attach them outside. 12 Hr chem lites are flexible enough to pressure balance to reasonable depths. Beyond a 150 feet or so you may want to swap the unit out after every dive day, or at least open and inspect for a glow. Be sure to heavily foil wrap if opened as the chemistry in them photo degrades if exposed to ambient light. Be aware also they do have a shelf life that is impacted by getting them hot in the sun.

The best bet is still a PLB with GPS. That setup pretty much eliminates all that "searching" stuff as they'll have real time data on where you are, and have been, so they have a sold line of drift. If airborne searching once within 10 miles or so the 121 screamer co-broadcast will home them right in. This tool also starts the search BEFORE you've been missed by the boat!


Having done a couple of really long swims to the beach in the past, and having been faced with it but for considerable luck a few other times, the best advice I can give is to be sure your "plan B" is solid. Plan B is the way home WITHOUT using the boat you went out on. Off the front side of the keys a swim WNW will generally get you to shore in 6 hours or so, and often to "standing depth" water in half of that. From Miami to Delray modify that to WSW. North of WPB the beach goes west faster than you can swim if in a northerly current, this brings us back to the PLB again.

For the central Gulf of Mexico this plan often involves the rig generally down current from you, and requires a swim ACROSS the current to set up the drift to it. In any case in the central GoM the target is to GET OUT OF THE WATER BEFORE DARK! Very few survive overnight in that large predator filled environment. Recovering bodies is rare there too, for the same reason.

Other places other rules, but the PLB should be high on the "wanted hardware" list unless diving fringing reefs in minimal current.