Dive boat sinks near Islamorada 1 dead 7 rescued

[DandyDon]

what is there to learn from this mishap? Too much water in the boat is all I got so far.

Is this bottled water? was there a storm? large swells? someone left plug out of boat?

Most of the lengthy discussion and discovery is on this other thread: Scuba Shack's Boat Get Wet Sinks in Key Largo

Mostly it boils down to selecting reputable operators (except I'd seen recommendations for this one previously), pay attention to safety briefings on the boat - and ask to see the life vests, and having a good exit plan ready to use. Similar accidents happen around the world often really. We tend to view boats as our floating safety islands, but just not always the case.

Excerpting for a new story today: Melbourne man recalls Thai sinking ordeal - ABC Melbourne - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"When your daughter is grabbing your arm when you are jumping in saying 'don't let me die', it is certainly something I will never forget," he said. "It was horrible."

Mr O'Ryan says the crew were ill-equipped to deal with the situation."We didn't get told what to do about life jackets or where they were," he said.


"We had to find them ourselves, wack them onto the kids, and about 10 minutes later we were jumping into the Indian Ocean."


Mr O'Ryan says he should have spent more time checking out the operator before booking the charter.

[ccx2]

Any current news/facts since this has been investigated ?

[ccx2]

Any current news/facts since this has been investigated ?

REALLY Folks, 46 pages on the other thread and three on this one of opinions and speculations and since the investigation has surely been done no one has anything else to say? No one knows ANYTHING ? Did anyone bother to follow up on the incident after giving their expert opinion?. Thanks for any replies.

[Ayisha]

Well, you revived the thread. Did you follow up?

[ccx2]

Well, you revived the thread. Did you follow up?

Ayisha,DandyDon,Splitlip, buy reviving the thread is the only way I know how to follow up. I dove with this Operation and found them to be top notch, it really sadened me to hear of the tragic mishap but I didn't post any opinions on the thread because I didn't have any facts. It was kind of like the Travon Martin/George Zimmerman thing in that people were forming opinions and assigning quilt on rumors and speculations,very few facts. I thought the more vocal ones in the thread would follow through after the investigation,not just drop it after all the gossip. I thought the whole concept of the discussion of it was to learn from the mistakes after the Facts have been brougt to light.
I love Scubaboard since finding it, I usually stay on the Basic Discussion Forum and have had many questions answered by generous and knowledgeable people that have gained my great respect,some of these same people that I respect posted a lot on this accident.
I'm not trying to yank anyones chain, I would like to know if anyone has followed it through and can give me/us some more information. Thanks.

[MX727]

The NTSB (ntsb.gov) did not issue a report. I doubt they even investigated, but instead let the Coast Guard handle it. Searching either database yields nothing, so the report isn't published anywhere that I can find. That could mean the report isn't ready or more likely, there isn't going to be a report published.

With that in mind, everything has been posted. There really is nothing to update. The shop closed up. I'm not even sure what happened to the boat. There may be civil litigation, but unless the parties make it public, it's not something that we would easily be aware of. There just isn't much else to add. The boat started riding low at the stern, the captain moved people forward to try and trim the boat and when the boat went down, two people were trapped, with one of those drowning.

As far as Don or Aishya following up, one is in the Panhandle of Texas and the other is near Toronto, Canada. I'm closer to Florida, have been down there in January and March and have many friends in the area. I dive with one of the operations that offered assistance. I've asked around and the story hasn't changed.

[ccx2]

Thanks MX727 for the information, I wouldn't know how to follow up and you did it and explained it well.
The only reason I singled out anyone in my post was because they "Liked" Ayisha's post without adding anything,and posted a lot in the original post, I meant no harm.

[Ayisha]

ccx2, we often don't get all the facts that we might be curious about. Most of the time, we hope for locals or those in the know to tell us what they can and it's often enough to learn from and examine our protocols with. Even if the details are not entirely accurate, we get the big picture and learn different ways of preparedness for various issues. It's not cut and dry and requires some filtering, but the messages are still worth the trouble.

Heck no, I can't investigate it. My plate is full with investigating accidents involving Ontario divers and it's tough to get information from other countries. Often locals or frequent visitors are the best unofficial source...

[mselenaous]

To answer a few of the questions...the vessel, Get Wet sits abandoned at a marina in Key Largo. I have heard that criminal charges are pending against the Captain and that a trial is pending. Im sure more information will come out then. We can probably assume that civil litigation will also come after the criminal issues are decided and that alot of that will be kept confidential.
Sent from my GT-P7310

[flots am]

To answer a few of the questions...the vessel, Get Wet sits abandoned at a marina in Key Largo. I have heard that criminal charges are pending against the Captain and that a trial is pending. Im sure more information will come out then. We can probably assume that civil litigation will also come after the criminal issues are decided and that alot of that will be kept confidential.
Sent from my GT-P7310

I don't get it. How do people get trapped and die on a small boat on a shallow reef?

The dive site is only slightly more threatening than a swimming pool.

Even if the boat sank (which it apparently did), how did that cause anything more dangerous than some divers floating around on the surface?

flots.