A happy ending for those concerned......

[Gavin Yates]

Well guys - I have dived with Rich and he's a very good diver indeed. I spent five days with him in Thailand around the Similans. Lovely bloke and extremely sharp on safety matters.

In this case he had both a DSMB and a whistle and one would have thought that the boat should have got him and his partner.

As to making a few quid - fair play to him.

The mis-reporting is probably nothing to do with him but the overenthusiastic imaginations of the reportage.

I hope he'll be back diving again soon.


Gav

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by Divingchef

I thought that DSMB's where a legal requirement in Queensland

No, I don't think so. They are viewed as techie.

And, there are no "legal requirements" for equipment as such, there are guidelines from the Qld version of the HSE, but they are very basic and simply follow what most divers would carry..........ok, some might be unhappy with the snorkel thing, but when in Rome.

These are the general requirements for conduct of rec diving in Qld....all of this applies to charters/dive centres only, not to individuals or clubs diving privately.

Notice that the only stuff on dangerous animals relates to jellyfish stings.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Mike Cunningham

aww No i was expecting to get 50k for a lost snorkel story .. ahh well back to the drawing board

I thought it was GUE who 'lost' your snorkel in the box of 'things you won't be needing anymore'

Safe diving,
Steve

[James The Badger]

Originally Posted by Richard Mason

These are the general requirements for conduct of rec diving in Qld....all of this applies to charters/dive centres only, not to individuals or clubs diving privately.

They were on a dive charter, that would surley put them in this catagory?

[hogen-deifar]

I ask the question. IF this happened to you and an agent approached you and said I can get you £[any sum of money] for selling your story, would ANY of you say no?

Hell, I wouldn't. Even if it were only £5,000, I'd sell my story! And I doubt any of you would say no! Self preservation and all that.

I saw these two on the TV today and they sounded quite hurt about the things that are being said about them. Perhaps we're being too quick to judge. Someone who knows him says he's a good guy, safety conscious. Just remember, there are always two or three sides to every story, and one person may perceive things differently to another.

At the end of the day, whatever the reason, they could've died. They're bloomin' lucky to survive this - if it did happen the way it's been told - so why shouldn't they sell their story if they were approached to do so.

Now, if they plotted the whole thing AND it's all fake, then that's a different story.................

[milldog]

Originally Posted by hogen-deifar

Now, if they plotted the whole thing AND it's all fake, then that's a different story.................

You have just given the film rights a twist for the ending:

two divers walking off into the sunset with a case full of cash, and the news guy says "do you think we were tricked" role credits

Graham

[milldog]

Originally Posted by David

some people just believe they can do anything.

who was that nutter talking about diving twin j's :-)

could he of been stopped ?

Muuuahahahahahhaha I Can !!
and No

Graham

[Mike Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Steve S

I thought it was GUE who 'lost' your snorkel in the box of 'things you won't be needing anymore'

Safe diving,
Steve

Ahh thats where it is thanks steve now where is that 50G

[Jay_Benson]

I can't say that I blame them for taking the cash - I cannot conceive that anyone would fake this sort of thing as the risks are just too high. If they hadn't got the money then no-one would have asked them for the cost of the rescue.

Its amazing how the conditions of the sea change during the story that Mr Cawkwell - the sea was flat calm whilst they were searching but it had been getting rough before the dive. Mr cawkwell certainly seems to have not shared any love for either of them after the event. Jealousy perhaps?

Would I take the money - with a heavy heart I would have to accept it

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by James The Badger

They were on a dive charter, that would surley put them in this catagory?

Certainly does..........I was pointing out that dsmbs aren't a "requirement" in Qld, that the requirements, such as they are, are pretty basic.

As for the last part of my comment, I was simply emphasising that none of applies to the private individual. There is a lot of confusion here as to the extent of so called "legal requirements", many people are under the misapprehension that they also apply to private individuals diving off private boats.

Qld, incidentally is the only State which has provided any guidelines on these matters, although this is understandable as probably 80+5 of charter dives in Aus are run out of Qld ports.