Jonathan Starr
Contributor
Rescuers find divers swept away by strong current
Trip starts at Molokini, ends 6 hours later off Kahoolawe
By EDWIN TANJI
City Editor
MAALAEA Eight scuba divers caught in a fast-running current were hauled out of the ocean off Kahoolawe at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, six hours after they were reported missing by their dive boat.
Jeff Moore, captain of the Maui Diamond II, said two instructors with his crew and six visitors went down on the backside of Molokini islet at about 9 a.m. for what was supposed to be a 40-minute underwater tour.
They were supposed to be down to 60 feet for 40 minutes. The profile was all correct, except for the current, he said.
The dive group was caught in a strong current that pulled them well away from their dive spot toward Kahoolawe about four miles from Molokini.
Capt. Kelly Bryce, with the Prince Kuhio tour boat, said he heard about the missing divers and volunteered to assist in the search after dropping a load of customers at Maalaea Harbor.
As the Kuhio headed toward Kahoolawe, where Bryce suspected the divers might be found, the searchers received a call from the Coast Guard that an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter out of Barbers Point had sighted the group in the water and dropped smoke flares and other rescue gear to help the boats locate them.
The Kuhio and the Piper, a charter boat operated by Capt. Steve Avichouser, pulled the dive group out to bring them back to Maalaea Harbor.
None of the divers was injured while they were pulled by the current more than seven miles from Molokini.
When they came back, they asked for a second dive, Moore said.
Bryce said the ocean conditions made the search-and-rescue effort difficult.
Its smoking out here, he said as the Prince Kuhio was headed back in to Maalaea.
Chief Petty Officer Tony Ochoa, with Coast Guard Station Maalaea, said swells were running 6 to 8 feet with the winds blowing at 32 to 38 mph when the missing divers were located.
The instructors with them kept them all together, which was a good thing, he said.
He said there was a flotilla of volunteers assisting the Coast Guard, which sent out the helicopter, a C-130 Hercules search plane and a 25-foot rescue boat from the Maalaea station. The Maui Fire Department Air One helicopter also assisted in the search effort, along with a number of other private boats besides the Kuhio and Piper, he said.
Moore said when the dive group failed to return to the Maui Diamond II, he called the Coast Guard and began to search the ocean downwind from where they had gone in.
He said he had not anticipated that the current was pulling the group in another direction.
But Katie Velasquez, a naturalist with the Prince Kuhio, said Bryce was familiar with the currents that run through the Alalakeiki Channel and headed to an area just north of Kahoolawe.
The helicopter spotted them off Kahoolawe while we were about a half mile off, she said.
Moore said his two instructors were well trained in procedures to follow, including the need to keep the group together.
He also said he appreciated all of the assistance.
I have to give my thanks to the professionalism of all of the people who were helping, he said.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Todd Offut, senior investigating officer, said he will conduct an investigation of the incident because it involved a licensed boat operator.
Rescuers Find Divers Swept Away by Strong Current
Trip starts at Molokini, ends 6 hours later off Kahoolawe
By EDWIN TANJI
City Editor
MAALAEA Eight scuba divers caught in a fast-running current were hauled out of the ocean off Kahoolawe at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, six hours after they were reported missing by their dive boat.
Jeff Moore, captain of the Maui Diamond II, said two instructors with his crew and six visitors went down on the backside of Molokini islet at about 9 a.m. for what was supposed to be a 40-minute underwater tour.
They were supposed to be down to 60 feet for 40 minutes. The profile was all correct, except for the current, he said.
The dive group was caught in a strong current that pulled them well away from their dive spot toward Kahoolawe about four miles from Molokini.
Capt. Kelly Bryce, with the Prince Kuhio tour boat, said he heard about the missing divers and volunteered to assist in the search after dropping a load of customers at Maalaea Harbor.
As the Kuhio headed toward Kahoolawe, where Bryce suspected the divers might be found, the searchers received a call from the Coast Guard that an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter out of Barbers Point had sighted the group in the water and dropped smoke flares and other rescue gear to help the boats locate them.
The Kuhio and the Piper, a charter boat operated by Capt. Steve Avichouser, pulled the dive group out to bring them back to Maalaea Harbor.
None of the divers was injured while they were pulled by the current more than seven miles from Molokini.
When they came back, they asked for a second dive, Moore said.
Bryce said the ocean conditions made the search-and-rescue effort difficult.
Its smoking out here, he said as the Prince Kuhio was headed back in to Maalaea.
Chief Petty Officer Tony Ochoa, with Coast Guard Station Maalaea, said swells were running 6 to 8 feet with the winds blowing at 32 to 38 mph when the missing divers were located.
The instructors with them kept them all together, which was a good thing, he said.
He said there was a flotilla of volunteers assisting the Coast Guard, which sent out the helicopter, a C-130 Hercules search plane and a 25-foot rescue boat from the Maalaea station. The Maui Fire Department Air One helicopter also assisted in the search effort, along with a number of other private boats besides the Kuhio and Piper, he said.
Moore said when the dive group failed to return to the Maui Diamond II, he called the Coast Guard and began to search the ocean downwind from where they had gone in.
He said he had not anticipated that the current was pulling the group in another direction.
But Katie Velasquez, a naturalist with the Prince Kuhio, said Bryce was familiar with the currents that run through the Alalakeiki Channel and headed to an area just north of Kahoolawe.
The helicopter spotted them off Kahoolawe while we were about a half mile off, she said.
Moore said his two instructors were well trained in procedures to follow, including the need to keep the group together.
He also said he appreciated all of the assistance.
I have to give my thanks to the professionalism of all of the people who were helping, he said.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Todd Offut, senior investigating officer, said he will conduct an investigation of the incident because it involved a licensed boat operator.
Rescuers Find Divers Swept Away by Strong Current
