Dover Coastguard Locate Missing Diver Using RADAR Technology

[Scuby]

Originally Posted by Andy the Commie

Nice post for your first,, normally a intro would be nice.

I have to say, as an impartial observer (I've never dived out of Dover) that he does make a valid point. I have noticed that you often post in threads about incidents / boat problems / whatever with probably what i'd best describe as "subliminal advertising". Whenever someone reads about a problem with another boat, they'll always see that you've been in there saying "if they'd done it this way, like Taurus does, ... ...".

I have no idea what you are like as a skipper, like I said i've never even been to Dover, never mind dived out of there, but your posts do often come across as "my way is better than their's" or "xxx is dangerous, so dive with me". By the sound of it you're doing well with your boat, so maybe he has a point about being a bit too quick to criticise others (as in this situation it seems that the information you had was wrong). If you're as good as you seem, then let your own and others' services speak for themself - it'll be far more effective than, for want of a better phrase, "slagging [other skippers] off"!

Just my thoughts...

David

[Uncle Fester]

Right,

I'm going to put my views across and they are the FACTS of what happened, just to avoid any more slagging and bitching and put it into touch. These are the FACTS......

1. The diver in question that was "lost" had a dive time of 1 hour maximum run time.

2. Myself and my buddy were on the line with 30 minutes of deco to do when the diver went past us on his way down.

3. Upon surfacing we were asked if the diver "was on the line". We told the skipper he was not and that we could see no bubbles either - not a problem at this point as he still had 30 minutes run time left. We explained that we felt the anchor tripping and dragging for a short while during our deco.

4. After the hour was up, with no sign of the diver on the line and no visible SMB, we did a quick visual search and the skipper quite correctly decided to bouy the line where the diver was last known and cast off to look for him.

5. As a quick search revealed nothing, the coastguard was contacted. We gave details of the missing diver and our location.

6. Having been in french waters, we were referred to the french coastguard. Now the fun begins and this is the point I am going to clarify fully - there was a slight language problem, the skipper not being able to decypher the coastguards very heavy french accented English - I assisted with this as best I could - two further problems here, when we understood what he was asking we gave all the details, but it took several attempts to get what he was asking - second problem - traffic on the channel was hindering our reception of the coast guard, to the point of totally blocking our ability to receive - probably from other vessels in our proximity but not close enough for those back in Dover to hear - (if anyone wants an explanation of radio waves and how they work, PM me and I will gladly enlighten you).

7. All this was done within approximately 20 minutes of the diver being "missing" - bearing in mind that we had to do it all twice, once to dover and again to the french authorities.

8. There was absolutely no "funny business" going on - this was just a straigt forward dive with the aim for a few YBOD divers to get more experience in deeper waters along with the OC guys who regularly use Sundancer. NOTHING WAS LIFTED, TOUCHED, MOVED OR TAKEN - NOR WAS IT THE INTENTION OF DOING SO - this was my first time on the boat and I'll be going back for more.

9. The thought of searching for a body is not a pleasant one - thanks to the supreme being for getting him back safely - myself and one other diver had the capability of doing a second dive and were willing to go and do a quick search if nothing had been found - quite an eye opening conversation - not pleasant and one I hope to never have again.

10. The missing diver surfaced several hundred metres from the boat, with a tidal current of several knots was out of sight very quickly and so not seen - at this point of surfacing he was well under his run time so we were not actively looking - (myself and buddy were probably still on the line at this point so the attention would have been on us at the time he surfaced or very close to it). This cannot be clarified so don't bother trying to ask about it - I don't have the run time of the diver.

11. The Rolnik quickly located and "shadowed" the diver, staying close enough to offer immediate assistance should it have been necessary - he was NOT recovered to any vessel but picked up by Sundancer.

12. The french SAR chopper were on the scene very swiftly and also monitored the diver - who was in perfect health and good spirits.

The root cause of the diver becoming adrift was that the grapple had broken free and then re-hooked in further down the wreck and out of view of the diver. Upon returning to where the grapple WAS....nothing was found. He quite correctly deployed his SMB and came up on that. On the surface, when he realised we had not seen him, the diver inflated his yellow SMB as well as his red. Before anyone speaks about what method to use to shot a wreck(shot/grapple/anchor/whatever) this is the way it's done on that particular boat and it's ALWAYS WORKED WELL - I have not heard of any wrecks being missed or the shot failing to find the wreck - so my point here is do not slag the skipper off - save your breath - he has years of experience and knowledge and is well respected and established. If you do have an opinion in any way shape or form - think very carefully before you go blurting it, or better still just simply keep it to yourself - missing divers are not fun and at the end of the day he was found safe and well, proper procedures were taken and the relevant authorities informed.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, perhaps things could have been done slightly different, perhaps not. Simple answer is unless this type of incident has happened to you personally - keep your nose out - it's not a situation any skipper or diver would like to be in.

If anyone wants to take a positive away from it, it's how swift the agencies were and the assistance offered by nearby vessels (including a high speed ferry).

The professionalism shown by the agencies, other skippers and in particular the Rolnik and SAR chopper was outstanding - along with the skipper of Sundancer, who in the face of things, showed great integrity and seamanship.

before anyone posts anything about the skipper, the boat or procedures.... go learn the meaning of the word Nemesis.

S&F,
Tim.