Diver Missing Race Rocks BC, Canada

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Diver missing near Race Rocks | (CKNW AM) AM980


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[themagni]

It's not me, and I have no idea who it is. I hope the guy is okay, but odds are pretty slim at this point.

 

[jodylynn007]

Oh dear, were they diving with one of the charters?


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[vancouverdiver]

Diver missing since noon on Sunday. This report has a bit more information.

Searchers hunt for missing diver near Race Rocks

The search for a missing 20-year-old diver continues near Race Rocks off southern Vancouver Island this morning after he was reported missing just before noon Sunday.
An Aurora airplane is expected to join a massive air and water search this morning for the diver who was separated from his buddy.
Race Rocks is a marine ecological reserve on the east entrance of the Juan de Fuca Strait in the Salish Sea.
Two men were returning to the surface following a dive when they experienced trouble and were separated.
“The two divers tried to come up together,” said Capt. Colin Henthorne, of the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
“Both got into difficulty. One surfaced and the second person disappeared.”
Crew on the dive boat with them called the coast guard for assistance.
“We have been searching ever since,” said Henthorne.
On the scene is a Buffalo fixed-wing plane, Cormorant helicopter, a surface coast guard 47-foot boat from Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island, a coast guard auxiliary boat, and the naval vessel HMCS Whitehorse.
Race Rocks ecological reserve includes three square kilometres of ocean and reefs and extensive marine life. The area is identified by a lighthouse.
- See more at: Searchers hunt for missing diver near Race Rocks

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

There was a 12-foot ebb followed by a 15-foot flood yesterday, and currents at Race Rocks can be swift on exchanges like that. Years back I got caught in a current at that site, and on an ascent from 70 feet I got swept nearly a quarter-mile by the time I surfaced. It's a good place to dive with an SMB, in case you encounter conditions like that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[themagni]

There was a 12-foot ebb followed by a 15-foot flood yesterday, and currents at Race Rocks can be swift on exchanges like that. Years back I got caught in a current at that site, and on an ascent from 70 feet I got swept nearly a quarter-mile by the time I surfaced. It's a good place to dive with an SMB, in case you encounter conditions like that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

That's a hell of an exchange. I was there a few years ago with a single-digit exchange and I could see the current wall in front of me. Calm kelp, calm kelp, sideways kelp.

Water temp yesterday was probably less than 10C / 50F, with surface visibility being next to nothing due to forest fire smoke. You can barely see the sun.

This morning the police updated that a washed-up body is NOT linked to the missing diver. The search was called off on Monday night, though.



---------- Post added July 6th, 2015 at 01:17 PM ----------

Oh dear, were they diving with one of the charters?

You'd have to; unless you're hilariously ambitious Race Rocks is a boat dive.

---------- Post added July 7th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ----------

We know know the diver is 27-year-old army veteran Timothy Chu:


The brother of the diver missing off Race Rocks said he’s holding out hope that the 27-year-old British Army veteran will be found.

Timothy Chu was separated from his dive master near Race Rocks just before noon on Sunday, which triggered a massive search by air and water. The Victoria Rescue Co-ordination Centre called off the search Monday night.

But Chu’s brother Joshua Chu said from Hong Kong that he wants the search to continue. He said Timothy is “skilled in survival and no stranger to challenge” having served in the British Army and named soldier of the year in 2011.

Timothy works as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police in London but was visiting Vancouver Island on vacation, Joshua said.
His next stops were Seattle and San Francisco.

Timothy, who has been diving since he was a teenage, was with a dive master from the Ogden Point Dive Centre. Timothy was last seen removing his weight belt to become more buoyant, his brother said.

Brother of diver missing near Race Rocks asks for search to continue


Good luck, Tim.

 

[scuba-bear]

Dear all - the search has been called off. There is a petition for the search to continue. Please sign this: https://www.change.org/p/british-hi...m=des-lg-share_petition-no_msg&fb_ref=Default

Thanks.

 

[chut7]

Hi all, thanks for raising the issue on this board. I'm a relative of the missing diver. I'm seeking information on companies who might be able to assist in a recovery operation, as the official search is winding down. I understand the vastness, currents, and potential danger of the area, but I'd like to speak with a professional in this regard. Please let me know if you know of anyone who can help.

Secondly, Race Rocks doesn't seem new to accidents of this nature...If anyone knows of someone who can speak firsthand about the specific perils of that area, or if you can point me to someone who has been involved in an incident there, I'd be interested in a chat.

Due to the sensitive nature, please just send me a private message, and I can give you my phone number.

Tim (the same name is coincidence)

---------- Post added July 8th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ----------

For those interested in signing a petition in extending the search: https://www.change.org/p/british-hi...twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I doubt anybody knows the area better than the folks at Ogden Point Dive Center ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[chut7]

Thanks Bob,

Ogden Point was directly involved in this incident, and I'm trying to get a third party opinion.