Dive Boat Operator Abandons Divers in the Water?

acooper · Mar 8, 2014

I would love to hear the rest of this tale...

Hawai'i Police media release... (Boater arrested for DUI 03-07-14)

At 10:13 p.m. Wednesday (March 5), the U.S. Coast Guard notified police that a commercial dive boat and its operator had been reported missing. Another tour company picked up the boat’s customers from a dive spot off the Kailua-Kona coast.

The inflatable boat Sea Wolf and its operator were later found drifting offshore and were towed to Honokōhau Harbor by another boat. Shortly after midnight Thursday, police arrested the operator of Sea Wolf, 30-year-old Spencer Erwin of Kailua-Kona, on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. He was released at 1:30 a.m. pending further investigation.

chillyinCanada · Mar 8, 2014

Doh!! But I bet they got the dives for cheap.

fisheater · Mar 8, 2014

Yikes! That's one dive op to scratch off my list as I plan my trip there for next month.

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scuberd · Mar 10, 2014

I was so planning on doing that this weekend. But no, one guy in Kona goes and spoils my plan to be first.

Chugwhump · Mar 10, 2014

What?
Nobody seems to have a sense of humor anymore!

Chug
Would swim for shore.

fisheater · Mar 10, 2014

Chugwhump:
What?
Nobody seems to have a sense of humor anymore!

Chug
Would swim for shore.

Chug: The problem would be that your wallet would be on the now-missing boat. Sure, you'd make it to shore (a bit scratched and bruised by the coral and a'a), but you couldn't buy any Mai-Tais. That's a tragedy in my book.

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LeadTurn_SD · Mar 10, 2014

Yeah, I read this in the newspaper. I don't have any additional info other than what was printed, but wow!!

If I read the story correctly, it sounds like the boat operator untied from the mooring buoy and motored off, leaving the divers... incredible. Depending on which mooring, at the very least this would have been inconvenient, but at some moorings you have a low cliff face or lava shelf that may be very dangerous or even impossible to exit the water... lucky the divers were picked up.

Best wishes.

fisheater · Mar 11, 2014

There are more boats than moorings for the night manta dive, so they tie off bow to stern. I imagine that the drunk captain's boat was at the end of the line. Likely, he passed out, letting the line go free and he drifted out to sea.

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teknitroxdiver · Mar 11, 2014

fisheater:
There are more boats than moorings for the night manta dive, so they tie off bow to stern. I imagine that the drunk captain's boat was at the end of the line. Likely, he passed out, letting the line go free and he drifted out to sea.

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Unless he didn't have the line properly secured it would have taken positive action to release it.

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RickyF · Mar 11, 2014

scuberd:
I was so planning on doing that this weekend. But no, one guy in Kona goes and spoils my plan to be first.

Thanks for the warning! LOL

Dive Boat Operator Abandons Divers in the Water?

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