Boat sinks off Phuket, six still missing

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Let`s all pray for our lost friends, the families and all parties concerned. We should keep a open mind and not speculate on how,and who is to blame. The technology we have today will more than aid the investigation reach it`s final answers...we are all diver`s ) I am an asst. inst. I look at the other posters and see there are instructors ,other pro`s some in the area.....we have to except that there are inherent dangers in our RECREATION / PROFESSION at every level......re-breather fatalities on a 6 feet swimming pool...... Boat`s capsize......bad fill`s......bad mixes..... can`t see mother nature cause something to happen and blame humans for not BEATING THE ODDS as even fair let alone justified. I have to say that none of you have been critical in blaming anyone and have all said to relax and wait for the inquiry that`s nice

Play safe
 
"Waterspouts exist on a microscale, where their environment is less than two kilometers in width. Their bigger cloud that develops them can be as innocuous as a moderate cumulus, or as great as a supercell.

Climatology

Though the majority occur in the tropics, they can seasonally appear in temperate areas throughout the world, and are common across the western coast of Europe as well as the British Isles and several areas of the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. They are not restricted to saltwater; many have been reported on lakes and rivers including all five Great Lakes and the Saint-Lawrence river.[3] They are more frequent within 100 kilometers (60 mi) from the coast than farther out at sea. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U.S. coast, especially off southern Florida and the Keys and can happen over seas, bays, and lakes worldwide. Approximately 160 waterspouts are currently reported per year across Europe, with the Netherlands reporting the most at 60, followed by Spain and Italy at 25, and the United Kingdom at 15. They are most common in late summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, September has been pinpointed as the prime month of formation

Nautical threat

Waterspouts have long been recognized as serious marine hazards. Lucretius wrote about whirling columns that descended from the sky into the ocean and put sailors "into great peril"; history is filled with examples of ships being destroyed or damaged by them.[citation needed]

Stronger waterspouts are usually quite dangerous, posing threats to ships, planes, and swimmers. It is recommended to keep a considerable distance from these phenomena, and to always be on alert through weather reports. The U.S. National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move onshore.
"
Waterspout - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As others have posted, I've seen many around the waters of Phuket this time of year. Unfortunately as they can be fairly localized, and boats nearby will travel unscathed - this will only encourage risky behavior (i.e. passing thru such conditions for years without incident). IMO this risk will increase with the continued development of the Phuket area as a resort destination, and the increase of near offshore boat traffic (i.e. dive boats).

Having grown up in tornado country - the land equivalent of waterspouts - you are told to do certain things when tornado warnings are issued, such as open windows on the far side of houses to prevent the house from exploding due to pressure differentials. Also that if you are in a car, you cannot out drive the tornado as your car will slow down due to the decrease in air pressure (your engine runs on not just gas but air). These factors may have contributed to this accident, the boat may have suddenly lost power; perhaps there was a localized pressure differential on one side of the boat to the other with caused it to quickly go on it's side.

It's a risk of being out on the water. Maybe some collective education of the crew might have helped, more likely Phuket needs some infrastructure improvements to warn small craft as you have in Florida.
 
Have at least a mini-mag or small dive light (that's what saved at least three survivors of the Wave Dancer capsize), and your mask ready. If you've got a Spare-Air unit, you should probably have that ready as well. And something to break-out a window/port-hole like the butt-end of a heavy duty dive knife for example.

That's what we can substantively learn and think about from this tragedy in terms of rough-weather preparedness on a liveaboard (instead of uselessly admonishing one another for "speculating on very plausible factors for the sinking". . .)
 
Is there any truth to the rumor that volunteer foreign technical divers assisted in recovery of the bodies?

Yes. Four tech divers resident on the island participated in the search and recovery dives: Joerg and Andreas from Deep Blue, Ben from SSS Hyperbaric, and Mat from Pro Tech.
 
I thought I read somewhere that one of the tech divers actually knew one of the victims since they were children.
I haven't heard that, but I believe that Daniel, the tour leader on the boat, grew up with one of the victims.
 
Have at least a mini-mag or small dive light (that's what saved at least three survivors of the Wave Dancer capsize), and your mask ready. If you've got a Spare-Air unit, you should probably have that ready as well. And something to break-out a window/port-hole like the butt-end of a heavy duty dive knife for example.

That's what we can substantively learn and think about from this tragedy in terms of rough-weather preparedness on a liveaboard (instead of uselessly admonishing one another for "speculating on very plausible factors for the sinking". . .)

At first, I considered the idea of carrying on one's body a pocket dive light capable of flashing, a whistle, a knife and a small non-glass mirror. Given that around Phuket this time of year it's hot, and most people on the boat may wear nothing more than shorts even at night, this would have to be around one's neck.

However I still believe that training and practice is still a better investment. That and choosing a good boat/team, which in this case I see as prevented this from being far worse than it was.
 

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