Australian woman, two sons and DM "lost" in Fiji

[JasmineNeedsGills]

Australian mum and sons say dive boat had disappeared when they surfaced from scuba dive

When Justine Clark and her sons Felix, 18, and Max, 20, surfaced from an offshore dive in Fiji on August 14, their dive boat was nowhere to be seen.

A diver with more than 30 years’ experience, Ms Clark had booked an afternoon dive at an offshore site called The Supermarket.

Their dive party included an English tourist and the divemaster, who worked for Viti Water Sports, a company subcontracted by Captain Cook Cruises.

On the way to the dive site the weather had deteriorated, but the party pushed on.

"We travelled into an approaching storm and out in open waters in what appeared to be a large channel about 20 kilometres from any island," Ms Clark said.

After a regulation drift dive of about 40 minutes, she surfaced with her eldest son.

"No tender boat was visible on surfacing, the swell was two metres, it was dark with grey clouds and high wind," Ms Clark said.

She said their divemaster was next to surface.

"He was shocked at the events and stated this had never happened in his 27 years of diving," Ms Clark said.

All survived and were picked up a few hours later by a garbage collection boat, after the group attempted to swim to an island, and they were reunited with their vessel.

In a written response to the ABC, Captain Cook Cruises explained that the tender boat had blown away from the dive site and that surface conditions made it difficult for the operator to follow the divers' bubbles.

The company said the situation was unprecedented and that a full internal review had been undertaken, resulting in "already tight" safety procedures being changed.

"I think it's really important operators are prepared for those situations that may be rare but can still occur," Ms Clark said.

Thankfully the mum was pretty experienced and held it together, and everyone arrived back safe and sound. Going forward, at this site (sounds pretty remote spot, and a drift dive is added complication for surface cover) it seems like ensuring the DM has an SMB for the boat to easily keep track of throughout the dive would be a good move.

 

[Pressurehead]

Australian mum and sons say dive boat had disappeared when they surfaced from scuba dive

Justine Clark and her boys were enjoying a cruise holiday in Fiji when they decided to go diving for the afternoon. What followed was anything but relaxing.

www.abc.net.au

 

[johndiver999]

So they went diving in stormy conditions and the boat had trouble following the bubbles? Is that what I am reading?

 

[DandyDon]

A diver with more than 30 years’ experience, Ms Clark had booked an afternoon dive at an offshore site called The Supermarket.

I have to wonder about a diver with decades of experience who would take her kids to sea without a PLB, but I guess it's still common. She is nice looking.

On the way to the dive site the weather had deteriorated, but the party pushed on.

And I have to wonder about a dive op that would continue into a storm instead of sacrificing refunds.

 

[waterone]

So they went diving in stormy conditions and the boat had trouble following the bubbles? Is that what I am reading?

Pretty much.

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PLBs and DSMBs

This thread has been split off from Australian woman, two sons and DM "lost" in Fiji I have to wonder about a diver with decades of experience who would take her kids to sea without a PLB, but I guess it's still common In all my years of diving (30+) I've only met one diver who had a...

scubaboard.com

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[JasmineNeedsGills]

So they went diving in stormy conditions and the boat had trouble following the bubbles? Is that what I am reading?

Yep. 2 metre swell, according to the article. Can't imagine following the bubbles working too well in those conditions

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[txdamselfish]

Newbie question but wouldn’t you always want to have 1 diver or DM carrying a surface marker buoy in your drift dive instead of just following bubbles?

PS - for sure have a PLB on my wish list.

 

[waterone]

Newbie question but wouldn’t you always want to have 1 diver or DM carrying a surface marker buoy in your drift dive instead of just following bubbles?

PS - for sure have a PLB on my wish list.

Depends on the place and the conditions. 20 miles out, Id want something on the surface.
.
If you dive in place like cozumel, you won't see much more than follow the bubble trail for all drift dives.

I always carry my own safety items though as diving separation happens.

 

[kelemvor]

Newbie question but wouldn’t you always want to have 1 diver or DM carrying a surface marker buoy in your drift dive instead of just following bubbles?

Yes, you always should want that (or a flag). Unfortunately, it's not required by law in many places other than Florida.

Do yourself a favor, buy your own safety gear, and carry it. There are a lot of threads on the specifics but I think many divers try to carry an smb, mirror, and whistle (although I carry more than that). These things are small enough that you could tuck them into a pocket and not have to think about them very often.

If you're diving in the ocean, a real PLB is a wise decision. Unfortunately, they're expensive at just over $300. The other stuff is very cheap.

 

[boulderjohn]

Newbie question but wouldn’t you always want to have 1 diver or DM carrying a surface marker buoy in your drift dive instead of just following bubbles?

I don't know about the location of this incident, but in some places you really can't do that.

A good example is Cozumel, where divers are weaving through towering coral formations. Any floating device being hauled would snag on those formations above the divers.

Similarly, a lot of Pacific formations are what are often called "bommies," tall skyscraper-like formations that are dived in an ascending spiral. Again, a float on a line would snag, especially given the currents that are typical of such locations.