Ab diver Missing

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ejowest

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I read in the paper this morning that an Abalone diver is missing in a possble shark attack near Ft. Bragg.
 
I saw the same report on the local TV news last night (Sunday 8/15/2004). However the local news did not specify whether the buddy pair was ab diving or scuba diving. The reports did say that recovery efforts would resume today (Monday).
 
mossym:


...I was diving with my normal buddy yesterday in Sonoma and the conditions were calm although visibility was only 2-3 feet...a bit muddy, you could say....There were several small harbor seals that came to check us out during the dive, one even nibbling on my fins and then brushing my legs....I started thinking about being part of the food chain at that point. I felt compelled to pull my limit quickly and when my buddy and I got back to the car I remarked that it "Felt a little sharky out there today"....he definitely agreed with me.

I'm not sure what that is...the "sharky" feeling, but I've felt it before when diving and surfing....something about conditions or just an eerie feeling you get from it I guess...

The reporting in the article is really disappointing....there are virtually no details...perhaps more are forthcoming...

As for the missing diver, I feel for his friends and family. My thoughts are with them......As an abalone diver, this story really resonates with me...
 
humanFish:
...I was diving with my normal buddy yesterday in Sonoma and the conditions were calm although visibility was only 2-3 feet...a bit muddy, you could say....There were several small harbor seals that came to check us out during the dive, one even nibbling on my fins and then brushing my legs....I started thinking about being part of the food chain at that point. I felt compelled to pull my limit quickly and when my buddy and I got back to the car I remarked that it "Felt a little sharky out there today"....he definitely agreed with me.

I'm not sure what that is...the "sharky" feeling, but I've felt it before when diving and surfing....something about conditions or just an eerie feeling you get from it I guess...

The reporting in the article is really disappointing....there are virtually no details...perhaps more are forthcoming...

As for the missing diver, I feel for his friends and family. My thoughts are with them......As an abalone diver, this story really resonates with me...

i hear ya, have gotten that feeling a few times myself in Monterey, hace swam through it though, you start giving in to the fear you'll be calling every dive after 10 mins...at least i would!!
 
Yesterday morning my son and I were ab diving about 15 miles south of where the ab diver went missing. I feel for the family of the missing diver as well. It doesn't sound like the witness positively i.d. a shark. We do lose ab divers every year on the north coast. The newspaper report seems a little sketchy, I guess we'll have to wait and see if more details come around.
 
humanFish...I'm not sure what that is...the "sharky" feeling:
I have had that feeling at the Sonoma coast on occasion too. When it comes, I make sure I am inside the kelp, somewhat protected by it, and not too far offshore. The main danger, I believe, is when freediving on the outer side of the kelp, in search of the monster ab.

Once after dropping an ab, I saw what looked like 2 large lings dart in and start to fight over it. That startled me, because I had no idea the lings were anywhere nearby.

I was tempted to get my spear off the float and come back for the lings, but they would have probably been long gone, by the time I swam back, assuming I could even find the ab again in the murky water after they had scared me away from it.
 
ejowest:
Yesterday morning my son and I were ab diving about 15 miles south of where the ab diver went missing. I feel for the family of the missing diver as well. It doesn't sound like the witness positively i.d. a shark. We do lose ab divers every year on the north coast. The newspaper report seems a little sketchy, I guess we'll have to wait and see if more details come around.


Ejo, the buddy of the missing diver, according to the evening news yesterday (Oakland Ch 2), reported seeing a big fish and then a blood slick, and afterwards no more buddy.
 
ejowest:
Yesterday morning my son and I were ab diving about 15 miles south of where the ab diver went missing. I feel for the family of the missing diver as well. It doesn't sound like the witness positively i.d. a shark. We do lose ab divers every year on the north coast. The newspaper report seems a little sketchy, I guess we'll have to wait and see if more details come around.

Yeah, regarding the reporting in the article...seems strange that they saw a "big fish surface"...but no mention of size, dorsal fin, proximity, etc...

Hopefully they will find the diver soon and be able to work out what happened....
 

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