Dan
Contributor
October is the beginning of rainy season. If they were still in Strait of Sunda and landed on an island, they might be able to collect some fresh water.
3 divers missing off of Java
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Dan
Contributor
Found this diver blog interesting. He experienced similar situation to those 3 lost divers.
Terseret Arus Bawah di Sangiang — matriphe! personal blog
This similar incident happened in October 29, 2012 (7 years + 5 days before this incident)
The English translation text would be too big (> 3900 characters) so I just translated the important parts.
"...But towards the end of the dive, the situation changed. When doing a safety stop (diving at a depth of 5 meters to release the nitrogen content), suddenly there is a down current.
This current came without us knowing. I even thought that my dive computer was broken because it suddenly showed increased depth even though I was trying to ascend. From a depth of 5 meters, it immediately drops to 12 meters in no time! But the Submersible Pressure Gauge (pressure gauge and depth located on the regulator hose) shows the same thing.
Not to mention that I suddenly lost my buddy and orientation. Around me is the blue! I panicked, but still tried to calm down. Moreover, the air in the tank is only a quarter. In order to avoid drifting deeper, I decided to rise to the surface.
Once on the surface, then I know my position. It turned out we were all scattered quite far. The ship immediately came to pick us up one by one. I am grateful to be able to escape the terrible downcurrent. My dive computer recorded a maximum depth of 24 meters with a 47 minute dive.
The current in Sangiang added to my experience to keep trying calm in facing difficult situations. Although you could say this is nearly death experience, I am grateful and happy with this trip."
I dove there in November 30, 2008. Thank goodness nothing happened. Smooth diving in murky water with lots of volcanic ashes from the Anak Krakatoa covering the corals.
Terseret Arus Bawah di Sangiang — matriphe! personal blog
This similar incident happened in October 29, 2012 (7 years + 5 days before this incident)
The English translation text would be too big (> 3900 characters) so I just translated the important parts.
"...But towards the end of the dive, the situation changed. When doing a safety stop (diving at a depth of 5 meters to release the nitrogen content), suddenly there is a down current.
This current came without us knowing. I even thought that my dive computer was broken because it suddenly showed increased depth even though I was trying to ascend. From a depth of 5 meters, it immediately drops to 12 meters in no time! But the Submersible Pressure Gauge (pressure gauge and depth located on the regulator hose) shows the same thing.
Not to mention that I suddenly lost my buddy and orientation. Around me is the blue! I panicked, but still tried to calm down. Moreover, the air in the tank is only a quarter. In order to avoid drifting deeper, I decided to rise to the surface.
Once on the surface, then I know my position. It turned out we were all scattered quite far. The ship immediately came to pick us up one by one. I am grateful to be able to escape the terrible downcurrent. My dive computer recorded a maximum depth of 24 meters with a 47 minute dive.
The current in Sangiang added to my experience to keep trying calm in facing difficult situations. Although you could say this is nearly death experience, I am grateful and happy with this trip."
I dove there in November 30, 2008. Thank goodness nothing happened. Smooth diving in murky water with lots of volcanic ashes from the Anak Krakatoa covering the corals.
Google translate link
https://translate.googleusercontent...700283&usg=ALkJrhg-KA0_vIkaX6GrNwYvc40GDPEwFg
Dan
Contributor
I found the story you mentioned:
Stranded divers had to fight off Komodo dragons to survive
they were very lucky indeed
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Good find. I was amazed that one of them still had her weight belt on when they reached shore. Here is the lengthy thread, where I am sure I said that they had no chance: Missing Divers - Komodo National Park
Combined prices on PLB & dive canisters are cheaper than I ever now. Any diver who can afford to travel or any dive leader can surely get them now.
People, people, people, please . . .
Could we keep this thread to its subject matter?
Add onto the old Komodo thread if you want to talk about that
Could we keep this thread to its subject matter?
Add onto the old Komodo thread if you want to talk about that
Dan
Contributor
There is a big different between the 2008 Komodo incident and this one in Sangiang. Just check yourself on Google Earth. The lost divers in Komodo got lost from Tatawa Besar, which is in North Komodo and there are many small islands for them to beach themselves on before heading to the open Indian Ocean. There are very few islands between Sangiang and Indian Ocean.
If you don't have a good signalling device with you when you are lost in Sunda Strait, you just pray to God that the current will take you to Ujung Kulon National Park or Panaitan Island before getting into the cold Indian Ocean.
If you don't have a good signalling device with you when you are lost in Sunda Strait, you just pray to God that the current will take you to Ujung Kulon National Park or Panaitan Island before getting into the cold Indian Ocean.
If you don't have a good signalling device with you when you are lost in Sunda Strait, you just pray to God that the current will take you to Ujung Kulon National Park or Panaitan Island before getting into the cold Indian Ocean.[/QUOTE]
I have been diving and leading groups around Sangyaing, Krakatoa and Temperung and the wrecks HMAS Perth and the USS Houston for 11 years. Diving at least twice a month in this area. Currents can be strong. It is truly tragic what has happened. I feel deeply for the families of these lost divers. I will not speculate or share information or what I have been told of this incident. But I can explain the geography of the island and conditions. The eastern side of the island is often dived as a drift dive. Conditions vary with visibility between 2-15m average, although I have experienced 20m plus conditions, in fact in recent weeks the visibility has improved. The reef has a shallow wall that bottoms out mostly in the 30m range. The depth from there is a sand slope gradually desending beyond 40m. It is long swim from the reef to these depths. On the southern end there is deep canyon that drops beyond 50m. The current can flow in either direction but mostly flows south. There is very deceptive area of reef on this side that can also lead you out into deeper water. There are bays on the western side of that are sheltered and it is possible to dive in calm and shallow conditions. In the middle of the straights the current is extremely powerful. I have never experienced down currents except at the northern tip of the islands and around Pulau Temperung. Here it is only possible to safely dive in lee of the islands, during slack or when general conditions allow, which are not even predictable by the lunar cycle. One side if the island can rarely be dived and is dangerous. The diving though can be excellent we have seen everything from Bulls, Black/White Tips, many turtles, GTs, Barracuda, Marlin, Dolphins over the years. As far as I am aware diving wise there are no local guides just Jakarta based local DMs who are not always experts. It is vital to have a boat captain who knows the currents, there is a ferry channel also to be aware of in the north. SMB's, Mirrors, Torches are mandatory as is a vigillent crew. As soon as you get caught in strong current SMB need to be deployed, followed. Its not impossible for the local 5 knot boats to struggle against the current and these speeds are common. I hope that clears up any questions about geography of the area and conditions. I have Nautilus Lifeline but not convinced of its effectiveness in Indonesia. Firstly you will need to find a boat with a VHF, also Indonesian language skills. We had a boat with a flooded engine in a serious storm and we were dragging on an anchor we phoned for assistance and were told we would need to pay in cash first at the water police base before they would come and assist. In the end we fixed the engine ourselves and reached shore at 2am. Had other times when divers on the surface have needed help from local boats and have been ignored, waved and smiled at and left floating even when blowing whistles and waving two hands. SAR are now very professional and hard working. These guys have been doing everything this week to find these lost divers and deserve considerable respect. But mostly you on your own out there if you have a problem.
I have been diving and leading groups around Sangyaing, Krakatoa and Temperung and the wrecks HMAS Perth and the USS Houston for 11 years. Diving at least twice a month in this area. Currents can be strong. It is truly tragic what has happened. I feel deeply for the families of these lost divers. I will not speculate or share information or what I have been told of this incident. But I can explain the geography of the island and conditions. The eastern side of the island is often dived as a drift dive. Conditions vary with visibility between 2-15m average, although I have experienced 20m plus conditions, in fact in recent weeks the visibility has improved. The reef has a shallow wall that bottoms out mostly in the 30m range. The depth from there is a sand slope gradually desending beyond 40m. It is long swim from the reef to these depths. On the southern end there is deep canyon that drops beyond 50m. The current can flow in either direction but mostly flows south. There is very deceptive area of reef on this side that can also lead you out into deeper water. There are bays on the western side of that are sheltered and it is possible to dive in calm and shallow conditions. In the middle of the straights the current is extremely powerful. I have never experienced down currents except at the northern tip of the islands and around Pulau Temperung. Here it is only possible to safely dive in lee of the islands, during slack or when general conditions allow, which are not even predictable by the lunar cycle. One side if the island can rarely be dived and is dangerous. The diving though can be excellent we have seen everything from Bulls, Black/White Tips, many turtles, GTs, Barracuda, Marlin, Dolphins over the years. As far as I am aware diving wise there are no local guides just Jakarta based local DMs who are not always experts. It is vital to have a boat captain who knows the currents, there is a ferry channel also to be aware of in the north. SMB's, Mirrors, Torches are mandatory as is a vigillent crew. As soon as you get caught in strong current SMB need to be deployed, followed. Its not impossible for the local 5 knot boats to struggle against the current and these speeds are common. I hope that clears up any questions about geography of the area and conditions. I have Nautilus Lifeline but not convinced of its effectiveness in Indonesia. Firstly you will need to find a boat with a VHF, also Indonesian language skills. We had a boat with a flooded engine in a serious storm and we were dragging on an anchor we phoned for assistance and were told we would need to pay in cash first at the water police base before they would come and assist. In the end we fixed the engine ourselves and reached shore at 2am. Had other times when divers on the surface have needed help from local boats and have been ignored, waved and smiled at and left floating even when blowing whistles and waving two hands. SAR are now very professional and hard working. These guys have been doing everything this week to find these lost divers and deserve considerable respect. But mostly you on your own out there if you have a problem.
- Messages
- 53,667
- Reaction score
- 7,840
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
PLBs are effective and affordable, depending on good local SAR is.
One body found. Identification challenged: Fishermen find body of one of three missing divers
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