Dan Grenier lost at sea.

[grandturker]

I will certainly look for any photos I have from my stay a few years back. Earlier in the thread, someone also mentioned contributing to an education fund for Cody and Dakota. I would certainly like to make a donation and I am sure others would as well. Any idea how best to do this? One last thing. Like others who have written, I too found the diving to be challenging at times with high waves and strong, fickle currents. When they existed,these conditions really put all of your skills to the test. (Dan kidded me after a particularly strenuous dive that I really needed the workout However, in my 20 years+ of diving, I can say categorically that Dan ran not only the best but the safest dive operation I have ever seen. He set the standard. This weekend, I too will raise a glass to him and the sea that brought us all together. If there is anything else Dan's family needs, please let his extended dive family know. We want to help.

Hello Everyone:

This is Stacy Kaliszewski, Dans neice in-law. My mother in-law is Dan's sister, Janet.

I am writing to first of all thank everyone for all that they have done for Uncle Danny. He was obviously a very loved and admired person by so many people. His family here in the states had no idea how he touched so many people all over the world. We knew how great he was, but it is very consoling to know that so many others were able to share that amazing love.

The second reason that I am writing is to ask any of you who have pictures or video of uncle Dan and his family (as is mentioned in the message from ScubaTom); it would be greatly appreciated if you could somehow get me copies of them. We have some pictures, but since we only saw him once a year or so breifly, we don't have many. It would be nice for his family to have some pictures to remember him by. If anyone has any digital pictures that they could send me I would be so greatful. My email address is skaliszewski@comcast.net. I should be able to recieve quite a few photos at that address. If you can't email them, you can mail a CD of them to: Stacy Kaliszewski, P.O. Box 107, Hartland, MI 48353. I really appreciate any response I get to this request. Janet and her children would be so greatful.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time for all of us. We also appreciate those who have offered their time, money and experise in the dive world. Before we learned of this forum we knew nothing about diving other than that was what Uncle Danny did.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Stacy Kaliszewski



QUOTE=ScubaTom34]At this point, I think we are all realizing there is not going to be a good ending to this accident. I hope everyone involved in the search will share all possible information on the events so that we can learn from this terrible loss of our good friend.

Thanks, Mary Muir, for filling in lots of the details on Danielle's gear and the swimsuit that wasn't her's. I also agree totally with your assessment of the Dive Alert horn in the conditions there.

Last December we dove Pure Magic in similar conditions. I spent the dive doing video of Dan and Cory. Dan was practicing buddy breathing with him, shutting his air off a couple times to make sure he reacted right, which he did. Then they played with a bunch of cleaner shrimp on Magic Mountian, Dan had them crawling into his mouth, then Cory tried it too. The dive plan was to end the dive with a safety stop hanging on the mooring line atop Magic Mountain in the current, then surface and be picked up by the boat. The problem came when the mooring line was missing. You could hide from the current at about 20 feet at the top of the mountain, but once above that, the current was too much to hold your position against, at least with a big video system. I stayed at 20 feet as long as I could, then went to ten and was trying to hold my position when I saw the boat come back after picking up other divers from down current. At that point, I decided to stop fighting the current, relax and go with the flow. Even though I cut that stop short at three minutes, when I surfaced, the boat was 200-300 yards away in 4-5 foot seas. My first move was to blast on my Dive Alert horn every time I was on a crest and could see the boat. As Mary points out, when the wind is wrong and the water rough, they can't hear it. Next, I started fumbling around trying to get my sausage out while hanging on to my video system, very hard to do. Fortunately, Alisi was on top of the cabin scaning the water and looked my way while I was on a crest and saw me wave.

Ever since Dan and Danielle went missing, I've gone over and over this dive in my mind. What they were in was probably much more extreme both in regards to current and surface conditions. Knowing how fast I was moved away from the boat that I was directly under three minutes earlier, I can easily understand how they could have been totally out of reach before they surfaced.

So what to do in the future? Two things have been foremost in my mind. Early on, George Taylor mentioned that never again will he buy black gear for rental equipment. I had never thought of it, but bright colored BC's and wetsuits are a great idea in a search situation. I know Dan, just like me, always had a black one. Hell, 30 some years ago when we started diving, that is all there was, and I never gave it a thought. The bright colors looked great on the pretty girls.

The other thing I have thought of, is a review I read a year or two ago of a safety sausage developed by photographer Stephen Frink, stephenfrink.com. This is a 6 foot tall, BC mounted giant sausage. He developed it to be a hands-free system for people with their hands full of camera gear. Inflate your BC, pull the ripcord, and it's up there. At the time, I decided a six foot sausage was overkill, and it was a bit pricey too. Now, the advantage of that giant, that is permanently errect as long as your BC is inflated, appears priceless. You would be visible at a much longer range to search vessels and planes, plus, how long could you hold up that hand-held version we all carry? Think of the boat that is looking for you, that is just out of your sight. I'm not sure if that sausage can be retrofitted to my Zeagle Ranger BC, but I intend to have one before my next trip into similar waters.

I still hope my good friend is found. My hat is off to all the family members of both Dan and Danielle who have posted to this list, you have handled this extremely well, and have my deepest sympathy.

Tom Reese

[/QUOTE]

 

[ScubaTom34]

Stacy,

We have a lot of great photos from our four trips to Dan's places in Fiji. In total, we managed to spend a couple months there with him and grew to really love the Fijian people and their islands. On our second trip, we almost bought the house we stayed in then, just down the beach from Dan's present house.

My video editing always seems to take a back seat to working for a paycheck and trying to keep up with this ranch and my cattle. This is the incentive I needed to move the video to a higher priority. We will go through our photos and I'll make you a DVD.

I'd like to take this oportunity to also thank Janet for her messages here. Dan always talked about his trips back to the States and time spent with you all there and his Mom. He always tried to make time to stop here, but wound up spending it there.

There is no way to express how much our time with Dan, Alisi, his family and staff meant to us. We will always treasure that. I'm sorry that you did not have the chance to spend time there as well.

I'd also like to echo what others have said about Dan's operation. Dan was the best diver I've had the pleasure to dive with. He really understood the waters there in Fiji. It is not at all like California coastal diving, the reefs and islands make for an incredibly complex system of channels and currents when combined with the tides and winds. The action is always where the water is moving. Any time your dive included both current and slack water, the big stuff and big schools, would appear and disappear with the current. He was an expert at predicting where to be and when. Once in awhile, the currents could fool you and do the unexpected. We dove Mary's Maytag in December with a moderate current and it was a great dive, done exactly as Mary has described it.

I'm sure Dan thought he had it figured out right when he and Danielle jumped in that day. We make the best decisions we can based on what we know at the time, sadly it seems the ocean tricked him that day. Diving in the Bligh Waters can really be advanced diving. While advanced diving does involve a degree of risk, Dan always made sure everyone was capable, aware and prepared.

I for one, would gladly grab my tank and jump in there with him again tomorrow.

My glass is held high to my good friend and dive buddy.

Tom Reese

Hello Everyone:

This is Stacy Kaliszewski, Dans neice in-law. My mother in-law is Dan's sister, Janet.

I am writing to first of all thank everyone for all that they have done for Uncle Danny. He was obviously a very loved and admired person by so many people. His family here in the states had no idea how he touched so many people all over the world. We knew how great he was, but it is very consoling to know that so many others were able to share that amazing love.

The second reason that I am writing is to ask any of you who have pictures or video of uncle Dan and his family (as is mentioned in the message from ScubaTom); it would be greatly appreciated if you could somehow get me copies of them. We have some pictures, but since we only saw him once a year or so breifly, we don't have many. It would be nice for his family to have some pictures to remember him by. If anyone has any digital pictures that they could send me I would be so greatful. My email address is skaliszewski@comcast.net. I should be able to recieve quite a few photos at that address. If you can't email them, you can mail a CD of them to: Stacy Kaliszewski, P.O. Box 107, Hartland, MI 48353. I really appreciate any response I get to this request. Janet and her children would be so greatful.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time for all of us. We also appreciate those who have offered their time, money and experise in the dive world. Before we learned of this forum we knew nothing about diving other than that was what Uncle Danny did.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Stacy Kaliszewski

 

[aepuccinelli]

Hi,
My name is Arnold Puccinelli, My wife (Claudia) & I where with Tom & Betty last year at Xmas and dove with him & his wife along with other good folk like Mark Gustine, Russel & Miriam Burt. We had a hell of a good time. All excellent divers and good people. That trip was our fourth time to Crystal Divers. I cannot tell you how much fun we had!!! I have been to places where you are treated like a paying custumer, not with Dan and his crew. We spent the hoilidays at his home (all 4 times) and enjojed great food,drink and company. Dan always made you feel welcome both in his home and in the sea. We even got married on the island, Dan & Alisi and "The Girls" put on a great shin-dig for us, preacher and all. This being my first marriage in 55 years I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing and almost got cold feet! Linda (God Bless here) made sure I followed through. They decorated the yard at the Pitkin house, helped us get food and drink, shot pictures and cooked and served food. I proposed to my future bride under water (with a slate) and Dan shot video w/ my camera, he could hardly contain his giggles, I think he had more fun then I did helping me plan this caper! We had alternate plans if she said no, and a plan to get her topside if she fainted (16 year engagement!) She said yes, didn't faint but blew a lot of bubbles. We will never forget this experiance. I had been thinking about a trip to Fiji when I heard the news. I live in the Sierras in central Calif. but when I get to the sea, I will tip a drink for old Dan. We will return to Fiji soon, until then our regards to his great family!!

 

[saildiver]

This is a sad post to make. The search effort that was resumed in late September in Fiji has unfortunately failed to find Dan or Danielle or any new clues of what may have happened to them. Despite the search team's untiring and dedicated efforts, bad weather, rough seas, poorly charted reefs, boat damage, and dwindling funds have brought the search efforts to an end. Both families were notified earlier this week.The families' courage, inspiration, and encouragement has meant a great deal to the search effort during the hardest and darkest times. We would like to thank all the donors who made this search possible. Also, we'd like to thank all the searchers involved (they wish to remain anonymous), for their unwavering devotion and very long hours spent in often dangerous weather and ocean conditions. We'd also like to thank "Undercurrent" and literally hundreds of others who have written, phoned, or e-mailed us with offers of help, advice, and support. Our hearts go out to all in the Gibbons and Grenier families, as well as other dear friends; our thoughts and prayers are with you. Finally, to Dan-thanks for your brotherhood, your warmth, your enthusiam, your ability to find the most pristine dive sites, and for sharing your protective love of the ocean with so many around the world-You made a difference. Peace......Saildivers

 

[Kayla]

Not news that I wanted to hear. God be with their families now. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do for the.

 

[headhunter]

It is indeed sad news. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Dan and Danielle. We will remember the stories that we have heard here and celebrate the contributions that these lost divers have made to enrich the lives of so many people that have had the opportunity to know them.

Christian

 

[lrpuckett]

This is a message to all of the wonderful people who have been reading and following the story of Dan Grenier and to the many friends who have contributed to the searches for Dan and Danielle. As mentioned by all of those that have gone before me on these pages, Dan Grenier was a wonderful person who built his business on knowledge, experience and safe diving practices. For those of you that knew Dan, you know that he loved his children and wanted the best for them , as we all do. I'm worried about them and am talking with Dan's family here in the US to see what we can do for Cory and Dakota long term.

Forgive me for not participating more in the chain of communication, but this has been unbearably hard for me.

At this time, I'd like to respond to all of you who have inquired about what you can do to help Cory and Dakota.

Alisi is having a difficult time putting food on the table and paying the mortgage so that they can have a place to live. Dan put everything on the line to build up Bamboo Reef Divers, and after the water and air searches that were conducted personally by Bamboo Reef Divers (approximately FJD$35,000), there wasn't much left over to provide for Cory and Dakota -- or to put food in their tummies.

Anyone who wishes to donate to the kids and Alisi can do so by mailing an American Express Traveler's check to her via air mail at:

Alisi M. Grenier
Nananu-I-Ra Island
P. O. Box 705
Raki Raki, FIJI ISLANDS

By mailing an American Express Traveler's check made out to Alisi, she can cash it in Fiji immediately, rather than waiting the 6 months it takes for a US check to clear, and we can also avoid the $30 wire transfer fee.

So many, many people have already been so generous that it's heartwarming and overwhelming at the same time. Thank you everyone for your contributions to our searches, for your kind thoughts and your comforting words. I knew most of you, and will always cherish the memories I have of Fiji and our experiences. Thank you for sharing your heart-felt thoughts and experiences you had with Dan.

Please know that I'm not asking for donations any more, I'm only responding to the inquiries from those of you who want to give a little something to help Cory and Dakota.

Thank you again and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and your loved ones,
Linda

 

[SANDUNE]

God Bless & God Speed

 

[medic_diver45]

My condolences to the families.

 

[smlnd]

"Unfortunately, the conclusion of Dan’s very close friend is that he screwed up. Besides dealing with the loss, the huge frustration is in not being able to figure out how."

I know it's a late, I haven't been here in a while. I am informed that the preceeding conclusion of the first sentence is incorrect. Please disregard it. About all we know is that we don't know.

BC