Missing Divers - Komodo National Park

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Did you know you made the national press in the UK with that quote?

Fears grow for British divers missing off Bali | UK news | The Guardian

guardian.co.uk:
On the Scubaboard internet forum yesterday, divers were discussing the perils of exploring the waters around Komodo. One woman (our own SCUBAJENNIFER) wrote: "The only plus that I can think of is that if they were able to surface, there are so many small islands, it shouldn't be that much of a task to find somewhere to get out of the water.
"In the 40 dives I've done there, I don't recall not being able to see some island nearby."
This is just too cool of an outcome for such a dire set of circumstances.
 
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On the Scubaboard internet forum yesterday, divers were discussing the perils of exploring the waters around Komodo. One woman (our own SCUBAJENNIFER) wrote: "The only plus that I can think of is that if they were able to surface, there are so many small islands, it shouldn't be that much of a task to find somewhere to get out of the water.
"In the 40 dives I've done there, I don't recall not being able to see some island nearby.".

I wonder who will be the first to accuse these guys of faking their adventure to make money?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3586876-post103.html

Can't believe the Guardian is pulling quotes off webforums, especially when it has so recently been demonstrated the person they are quoting jumps to conclusions and repeats false information, like missing divers carrying "shark repellent devices" when they were not.
 
Jennifer quoted in the news?
WOW
Way to go Jen!!!!!:D

Rick
 
been following this and very glad it worked out. divemasters with EPRB really sounds like a good idea in remote places like this
 
I have also been thinking about EPRB.. I havn't done any research yet but I wondered how equipped emergency services would be for tracking these?

I recall reading they didn't have any fuel for the spotter aeroplanes in this location, and they enlisted the local fisherman to help - and it seems they came up trumps.

With so many missing divers recently (I recall Taiwan, Australia, the Galapagos and now Komodo) in places I have or want to dive it really makes one think about the dangers - especially when it happens to a divemaster on a topnotch facility like Reefseekers.
 
DARN, that's a good idea!

Also, what if a product had a small RF beacon with a float and a line? If you're lost, deploy the beacon and boats/planes can hone in quickly!

This "got to find them visually" stuff is sooooo last century.

Woops:dork2:, seems this "EPRP" is what I was talking about and it already exists - I am ever so embarassed.

Regardless, great news and my best to all their families who lived that hell not knowing.
 
Missing divers found alive on Indonesian island - CNN.com

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Five Europeans who did not return from a diving trip in Indonesia Thursday were found alive Saturday morning, a search official said.
The waters around the Komodo National Park are plagued by strong currents.
The group was found at Mantaolan, which is on the island of Rinca off Komodo National Park, the head of the rescue team said.
The husband of one of the divers said he was told they were in good condition, although dehydrated.
"I'm just so relieved," said Mats Kohler, whose wife is Helena Neva Lainen. They are both from Sweden.
An official said they were being taken to a hospital for examination.
Searchers using boats located the missing divers at 11 a.m. Saturday (11 p.m. ET Friday), the official said.
They arrived at a hospital in Labuan Bajo, on the western tip of the island of Flores, about two hours later, an official said. They were one of two groups of divers who entered the water off Komodo National Park Thursday and were supposed to be gone for an hour, said an employee of the dive company, Reef Seekers. The second group came back after the hour passed but the first group failed to resurface, she said.
Earlier, an official with the Komodo Divers Association said the group that returned comprised six snorkelers.
The missing included one British man and four women -- two from Great Britain, one from France and one from Sweden. Among those who went missing was one of the owners of the dive company, Kathleen Mitchinson, the employee said.
The seas that the divers were in are known to be dangerous because of their strong tides, and that's one theory being investigated in the divers' disappearance, the employee said.
 
Do most of you people carry Dive Alerts? I don't let people dive on my boat without them.

I know there are a lot of opinions out there, but based on their effectiveness and low cost, they seem like a no brainer to me. When you come up, if you can see the boat, they are going to be able to hear you.

Dave
 
Did you know you made the national press in the UK with that quote?

Fears grow for British divers missing off Bali | UK news | The Guardian

How classic for a "reporter" to take a quote from a discussion board and present it as fact. Who was that NY Times reporter that got burnt a few years back for making up quotes after reading other news reports? It may in fact be correct, but I would bet no effort was made to contact Scuba Jennifer to verify things. Who knows the real people behind SB user names? Did they?

Great they were found alive :)

AZ
 
This has made me think. I was almost lost as well this March in Sulawesi, Indonesia. We submerged with clear sunny skies above us and an hour later surfaced in a storm, huge waves and poor visibility. A strong current began to pull us out to sea and due to the high waves and squalling rain we lost sight of the boat. I thought, yeah here we go.. great. I deployed my SMB and after about 15 minutes we were picked up thankfully, (largely due to a very experienced boat crew who really understood the local current. They couldn't see us until they got very close). The point is, it could have so easily turned out very differently and has got me thinking about what kind of technology could be implemented to solve this problem. OK EPIRB's are one solution, but not ideal in many ways. Some kind of two way radio/GPS communication system which can send your position seems like a potential solution... in any case, I intend to solve this because it happens too often.

As for Kath and the others, so glad they are safe. Having dived there many times I know how easily this can happen. You have to see the currents there to believe them. Whirlpools swirling on the surface literally.
Still they have done thousands of dives there, and frankly sometimes S%&t happens no matter what precautions one takes.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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