i survived the tsunami!

[Tiddles]

Hi Clive,

We survived the Tsunami too (husband, sister and myself). We were on the beach in Khao Lak when the wave hit and are experiencing similar emotions to you as well as a constant state of disbelief that we survived. Like you, we did the best we could at the time and could not help everyone. I am not as strong as you and able to write in detail about the experience yet but hopefully I will one day as time is the greatest healer.

Kindest regards - Tiddles

 

[H2Andy]

Tiddles, I am glad you made it out alive with those you love. When it comes down to
it, nothing else really matters.

Best of luck in your recovery.

 

[clive francis]

Hi Clive,

We survived the Tsunami too (husband, sister and myself). We were on the beach in Khao Lak when the wave hit and are experiencing similar emotions to you as well as a constant state of disbelief that we survived. Like you, we did the best we could at the time and could not help everyone. I am not as strong as you and able to write in detail about the experience yet but hopefully I will one day as time is the greatest healer.

Kindest regards - Tiddles

Tiddles you are very lucky to have walked away from Khao Lak beach, every picture i saw showed total devastation.

its not a case of being strong, its finding the best way for you to cope with it.

i think in my case it was not wanting my wife and family to see me crying, so i used to go down into my cellar (thats where my pc lives) and read everyones comments on here and cry my eyes out, then go back up when i recovered.

i am back at work now, and naturally everyone wants to know the gory details, did you see any dead bodies etc. but i just change the subject when it starts to get difficult, the last thing i want is to be sat at my desk crying with everyone watching.

like everyone told me, don't be ashamed to see a specialist, i can give you the name and number of the doctor that helped me, she is in harrow on the hill and ealing.

pm me if you would like her details, you can get referred by your gp and claim the expense from your travel insurance or if you have bupa she is on the approved list.

chin up, stiff lip and all that pip what!

 

[BlackDiver]

Hi there Clive, this is my very first post on ScubaBoard and I want it to go to you. You were there at the right time, the little girl was lucky to have you there at the right time, whatever... you did great!

I can understand what you go through when people ask you for the gory details as I was there on the 31st December 2004 as a volunteer and when I came back I almost freaked out everytime someone asked me bout Phuket, I just didnt want to talk bout it.

It wasnt a pretty sight but I thought I'll be ok. I was ok the first two nights as I was lucky I was still able to eat and have a couple of beers and sleep in the evening but the magnitude of the whole situation hit me like a freight train the third night and I couldnt get a wink of sleep. Everytime I closed my eyes flashes of what I saw and smell came to me and I spend the whole night pacing around my room.

When I flew out of Phuket I swore never to return as I didnt think I could handle it as I wanted to forget what I saw in Phuket and most of all in Khao Lak, words cant discribe even half of the death and distruction there.

I'm lucky that with the grace of God I've recovered and for a short holiday I was able to return to Phuket on the 1st of February and did 7 dives there. Its really marvelous what diving can do to heal your mind and soul.

If you ever return to Phuket to dive please ping me a mail coz it would be an honor to have you as my dive buddy!

Cheers mate and God Bless
BlackDiver

 

[molksmith]

Hi there folks...
So here it is ....
I went to Thailand on the 13th of December with the goal of having a great time, getting my AOW, and eating great Thai-Food. All of those things happened and more.
I spent the first 10 days in Koh Tao on the Gulf, making my AOW and generally enjoying that beautiful island. While I am sure there are better places for more advanced diving, I really loved that little island. So I got my AOW and my Wife did her OW and AOW there. We then left for Phuket late on the 23rd arrived on Phuket on 24th where we met our Liveaboard and left bound to the Surin Islands and the Similans. On the 25th (Christmas) we did 4 really great dives in the Surin Islands. The conditions blew away the Gulf. Great Visability untouched reefs and plenty of sea life. That night we sailed for Richelieuy Rock to do Morning Dives on the 26th.
Our first Dive at Richelieu was crowded and Stressful. My wife didn't even want to do the second but the DM calmed her down and about 10:20 AM we splashed. We got to the bottom (30 M) and we were checking out the soft corals and hoping for a WHale Shark. All of a sudden the fish around us started acting funny and then the strongest current I have ever felt started pushing us all. We all grabbed on to eachother and signalled to ascend. We formed a Human Chain and Viz went from 30M to about 10 Inches. We made our safety stop, raised the Sausage and when we hit the surface the boat captain told us to get out of the water quickly. He said a storm was coming. All of the Divers and DM's said they had never, ever , felt a current that strong before. Than on the radio came the news that a Sea Quake had hit Sumatra. News was really patchy for a day. We broke the trip and headed back to Phuket. We couldn't get close because the Thai Navy had sealed the coast off. On the 27th we headed back to our pier but it was gone. We figured we should circumnavigate the island and find a bay where we could enter. The water around Phuket was strewn with everything. Tables, Chairs, Shoes, Clothing, Bags, Umbrellas, etc. We stayed at sea for another 2 days until the aftershocks had calmed. When we got back to Phuket we went to the airport and that is when everything set in. So many posters of missing people (mainly children). I hope for the best for everyone in this area and I just count my lucky stars that we made it.

 

[divebunnie]

Wow… thank God you survived.
I have heard many tales of divers underwater having this kind of experience.

If any of you incredible survivors are interested in other stories and fellow divers who survived the tsunami, there is a site that has been set up by a group of dive professionals who all worked out in Thailand at the time. They too incredibly survived and are now trying to patch their lives back together. Many of them have had to return home, but you might find reading their stories or contacting them some help, who knows…
http://www.diveaid.org.uk

 

[docrayboy]

Dear Clive

Celebrate life and scuba on.Embrace each day,each dive knowing it could all end there and then.

Ray

 

[clive francis]

Dear Clive

Celebrate life and scuba on.Embrace each day,each dive knowing it could all end there and then.

Ray

like i said i returned to work, and thought i could handle it but after 2 weeks i have had to admit defeat and come home, while on the whole people didn't bother me, some wanted to know what happened.

i was telling a group of colleagues in a meeting, one burst into tears and the others looked like they were going to cry any minute.

there is a lot of pressure at work due to the uncertainty of the project and company and i just couldn't hack that on top of everything else, my counsellor rang my doctor straight away and said under no circumstances was i to return to work for atleast a month.

i have to take a holiday, ideally go diving and take up a hobby.

i mentioned to her that work was bad and i was thinking of retraining and she said to do that while i was off sick.

so that is what i am going to do.

trouble is trying to persuade the wife to go away somewhere i can go diving that is cheap.

she doesn't really want to go to the beach again and never wanted to go on the boat in the first place.

she has refused to go home (Thailand)!

so it is an uphil struggle al round.

 

[docrayboy]

Dear Clive

I had bad emotions too when I went scuba diving a few months ago but unlike you,for much more trivial reasons.Thought of giving diving up completely then.Was rather painful just being down there but now I'm ok and I guess time has healed my wounds.We just have to move on,live on.


Dr Raymond

like i said i returned to work, and thought i could handle it but after 2 weeks i have had to admit defeat and come home, while on the whole people didn't bother me, some wanted to know what happened.

i was telling a group of colleagues in a meeting, one burst into tears and the others looked like they were going to cry any minute.

there is a lot of pressure at work due to the uncertainty of the project and company and i just couldn't hack that on top of everything else, my counsellor rang my doctor straight away and said under no circumstances was i to return to work for atleast a month.

i have to take a holiday, ideally go diving and take up a hobby.

i mentioned to her that work was bad and i was thinking of retraining and she said to do that while i was off sick.

so that is what i am going to do.

trouble is trying to persuade the wife to go away somewhere i can go diving that is cheap.

she doesn't really want to go to the beach again and never wanted to go on the boat in the first place.

she has refused to go home (Thailand)!

so it is an uphil struggle al round.

 

[Zoe83]

Clive,

You are an amazing person. A True Hero. I am at a loss for words after reading your story. Even though I saw the news and read articles about the tsunami, nothing made it more real than your description. I have so much respect for you, that girl and her family with thank you for the rest of their lives and beyond. I was deeply shocked to see this kind of destruction, and i wasnt even there, I dont know what I would have done. I have donated all the money I can to tsunami victims and my fiance and I are planning to go to Phuket for our honeymoon in June, mainly because we want to help the area come back to life again. I hope and pray that it does bounce back and all the people (and animals) affected recover as much as possible. I hope that you, Molksmith and Tiddles take your time away for yourself and/or see a professional in order for you to complete your recovery process. God Bless You.

Zoe