Left behind on Great Barrier Reef

[DandyDon]

Tourist left behind on Barrier Reef trip | News.com.au

A US tourist has been forced to swim for help after realising he was left behind on a Great Barrier Reef snorkelling trip.

The case has eerie echoes of the Tom and Eileen Lonergan tragedy, the American couple left behind on a dive off Port Douglas in January 1998.

Their horrific ordeal was the inspiration for the movie Open Water, which told of their desperate fight for survival after they surfaced to find their boat had left them behind.

The incident tightened the headcount regulations for reef tour operators, but these were overlooked on the Passions of Paradise boat, which left US tourist Ian Cole stranded on Saturday.

The 28-year-old told The Cairns Post newspaper he panicked when he pulled his head from the water at Michaelmas Cay and found the boat had left.

He was forced to swim to another vessel owned by the same company, whose employees radioed for Passions of Paradise to come back.

The staff member who failed to properly perform the headcount has reportedly been sacked, and the incident reported to Marine Safety Queensland and Workplace Health and Safety.

Mr Cole's money was refunded, and he was given a $200 restaurant voucher.

It took two days for the Lonergans to be reported missing and their bodies were never found.

It's presumed they drowned or were taken by sharks.

 

[Quero]

The worse part, to me, is that the operator is trying to twist it to put the snorkeler in a bad light, saying that he is making a mountain out of a molehill.
'Like being left at the beach': stranded snorkeller accused of attention seeking

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Well if there is one thing Mr. Cole has learned bring a snorkel that stays higher out of the water, and some medicine that will calm him down. He can stow it in the waterproof DAN bag.

 

[DandyDon]

I am afraid I would be looking for that captain with vengeance in my heart.

 

[mscherzer]

I have dived at michaelmas cay several times over the years. Michaelmas Cay is a small sand island which is 40km - 50km of the coast. The day boats come up to within 150m - 200m of the cay and transfer the snorklers to the island for a day off snorkeling of the "beach". With that knowledge what the operator is saying is in fact correct "It's no worse than being left at the beach".

While a scary, cold miserable night on a tiny island is infinitely better than floating in the open ocean, I'd be more than annoyed at being handed a gift voucher to a restaurant as compensation for such an experience.

So in my mind i would agree that the experience was not as harrowing or dangerous as the guy is making out.

Nevertheless the way the operator handled the situation / restitution is despicable. A smart operator would have duly compensated and apologized the left behind tourist even if the guy did not sign out or/and ignored the time to be back on the boat / pick up point on the island (the "beach" you are allowed on is only about 35m long the rest of the island is an off limits bird sanctuary).

I'm sure the money saved on restitution to the tourist is not going to make up for the deserved loss of business the operator is going to suffer with the international media coverage of his operation.

Having done almost all my diving at the barrier reef and an internship at one of the dive companies I got to say that there are so many safety procedures in place that this most surely was a freak accident that was responded to poorly by the operator.

 

[DandyDon]

If I had to spend the night on an isolated beach because the boat failed to account for me, I'd buy a baseball bat for negotiations.

 

[JonKranhouse]

From the Daily Mail (UK) online, June 29, 2011

American tourist in 'Open Water' horror as he's left behind by dive boat in shark-infested seas 30 miles offshore

By RICHARD SHEARS

Last updated at 4:08 PM on 29th June 2011

A U.S. tourist had a narrow escape after he was left behind in shark-infested waters by his dive boat 30 miles off the coast of Australia.

Ian Cole, 28, had been diving off the north Queensland coast and surfaced to find his boat had headed back to shore without him.

The drama echoed the story of two Americans abandoned in the Great Barrier Reef. They were believed to have been attacked and eaten by sharks in a horror that inspired the Hollywood film Open Water.

American tourist Ian Cole, 28, had been diving the Great Barrier Reef, seen here, off the north Queensland coast when his boat left him

Mr Cole said today: 'The adrenalin hit in and I had a moment of panic, which was the worst thing I could have done at that point.'

He had set out for a dive to a reef called Michaelmas Cay with other tourists on board the Passions of Paradise.

But when he surfaced, wearing only a snorkel, he was horrified to find that the vessel had headed back to the shore without him.

Mr Cole had set out for a dive to a reef called Michaelmas Cay with other tourists on board the Passions of Paradise. He was stranded about 30 miles from shore

'I lifted my head up and I saw that the boat had gone - it had left me,' he told the Cairns Post.

Americans Tom and Eileen Lonergan in 1996. Their 1998 disappearance inspired the film 'Open Water'

The incident had eerie echoes of the tragedy involving American tourists Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who were left behind by their dive boat off Port Douglas, Queensland, in January 1998.

Mr Cole, however, lived to tell his terrifying tale.
In an incredible stroke of luck, he spotted another boat in the distance and was able to hail it.

Exhausted and close to drowning, he was plucked from the waters just in time.

The crew of the second boat radioed for the Passions of Paradise to come back and pick him up.

Following the Lonergans incident, regulations were introduced to ensure that the crews of vessels carried out a head count and each passenger's signature was recorded before any boat returned to shore.

ut this was not done before the Passions of Paradise started on the return journey and the company admitted yesterday that the crew member responsible for the head counts had since been sacked.

Mr Col McKenzie, executive officer of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators said an investigation had begun.

But he admitted the staff member who conducted the headcount had broken the rules and had been sacked.

'They have had a staff member that has just simply broken the rules and that is what led to it.

'If a staff member decides to be lazy and not do the right thing then yes, this can happen,' Mr McKenzie told the paper.

Horror on the reef: Above, the shocking picture that shows the body of American bride Tina Watson (circled) on the seabed in 2003. Her husband Gabe, shown with her right, was accused of leaving her for dead

The cost of Mr Cole's trip has been refunded and he has been offered a restaurant voucher.

But Mr Cole, who has been in Australia on a working holiday for about nine months, said he wanted a written assurance that procedures would be put in place to ensure nothing similar happened again.

Two other Americans have been involved in a drama on the Great Barrier Reef that has attracted international attention.

Tina Watson, a 26-year-old from Alabama, died while on a scuba diving honeymoon in Queensland with her husband Gabe Watson in October 2003.

A dramatic photograph shows her lying on the sea bed after he claimed she got into difficulties. He was subsequently imprisoned in Queensland for her manslaughter.

On his release from jail and his return to the U.S. he faced what is an ongoing murder charge following demands by Miss Watson's family.

(The posting of this copyrighted news article is protected under the "Fair-use" doctrine of US copyright laws, which allow the re-use of copyrighted matter, without permission, for reasons such as teaching and criticism of issues related to public health and safety. Click here for a further discussion of the Fair-use doctrine)

It appears that the power of social media has begun to cause the dive industry to admit mistakes quickly and take actions to remedy unsafe situations...rather than inventing ways to blame the victims, which merely fuels bad press around the world.

 

[Simon-]

Good to see that the UK press can still inject totally unrelated incidents into their reporting.

Not excusing the lack of head count, but headlines such as "American tourist in 'Open Water' horror as he's left behind by dive boat in shark-infested seas 30 miles offshore" are plain sensationalistic. Hmm shark infested seas? Where do they think sharks live? I have yet to come across a shark infested shopping mall. Now that would be a headline.

 

[AfterDark]

"But when he surfaced, wearing only a snorkel,"........OMG!!!

 

[norcalscuba]

I dove the GBR in October 2010 on the Tusa 5 boat. They have a dedicated person (seemed to be a supervisor or sorts) checking everyone on/off the boat - including the time. I felt like good safety measures were in place, but wow - talk about a "cattle car" dive experience...lol.