Am I behind the times? - What a sad story

[socaldiver]

and the thread here on the Board.

Some people as a result of this tragedy have sworn off trips with PH, that is their option.

It is simple why PADI "supports" PH, it is called $$$. PH pays a chunk of change in advertisement, not just with PADI, but with other industry publications as well. Look at Rodales (actually not Rodales anymore) mag and you will see ads, also Dive Training mag periodically runs ads if my memory serves me correctly.

That's all I have to say about that.

 

[widebody50]

PADI contest winner!!! And just in time for hurricane season!
:11: :11: :11:

http://www.sportdiver.com/article.jsp?ID=34054

"Peter Hughes Contest Winner!
Sport Diver announces the grand-prize winner of the Peter Hughes Live-aboard Contest. On June 30, Patricia Mason was chosen among 10 finalists who were asked to submit a short story about their most memorable dive. Below is Patricia's recount of one such dive off Jupiter, Florida, with lemon sharks. Patricia has won a free week aboard Peter Hughes' Sun Dancer II in Belize during the week of August 14. She will be joined by both Peter Hughes himself as well as Sport Diver's field editor Bill Harrigan. In addition to the Celebrity Cruise, Society members who booked during this week were provided with a free $100 ship's boutique credit. The announcement of this special trip was a big hit with Society members, and the boat has sold out!"

 

[DCROOK]

This could have happened to any ship with a captain that had a cavalier attitude. People were recently killed in Florida. They all had a chance to flee, and choose otherwise, paying the ultimate price. What did surprise me though is the age of the people that were killed. You often hear as people age, they start to feel a sense of their own mortality. This is a mistake of the inexperienced. Surprising, isn’t it?

 

[sdwho]

I still get chills thinking about this event. It resonates because years earlier my wife and I were on the Turks and Caicos Aggressor when it (and the T&C Peter Hughes boat) were forced into shore by hurricane threats. In that case both boats did what the Belize boats did -- tied up in a small "mangrove" port. And we all stayed on board, helped the crew secure everything (i.e. we tied down all the gear, removed the deck chairs etc) and basically settled in for a "hurricane party" (no diving that night, so the drinks flowed freely). We never once thought that we were in any real danger.

We were lucky -- the storm turned and we didn't get anything more than a bit of rain. The next morning we were racing the PH boat out to the dive sites.

But when I think about the Richmond divers -- they were probably doing the same sort of things, with the same absence of worry. So I feel deeply for them and for their families.

Having said that, though...I find it hard to fault PHD. They did no more or no less than the Aggressor. And what they did apparently wasn't a break with routine practice in such situations. We now know better, and I suspect staying on board won't be an option in the future. But...if 8 years ago I had been forced off the boat and it turned out the storm missed us completely...how would I have felt? Again, now I know it would've been the right decision regardless. But sometimes a bad thing has to happen before attitudes and practices change.

sdwho

This could have happened to any ship with a captain that had a cavalier attitude. People were recently killed in Florida. They all had a chance to flee, and choose otherwise, paying the ultimate price. What did surprise me though is the age of the people that were killed. You often hear as people age, they start to feel a sense of their own mortality. This is a mistake of the inexperienced. Surprising, isn’t it?

 

[Wreckie]

So far everyone seems to be well and truely laying this at the door of the skipper (or saying he did nothing wrong), although its not plesent to blame the dead (or survivors) at some point everyone should look at it and realise that they had the choice to get off the boat, i doubt anyone made them stay in the same way no skipper makes you dive. You do, or do not, at your own risk.

In the skippers place i think having my boat tied up alongside would be about as safe a place as i could make it (20/20 hindsight obviously not), those on board could have gone ashore if they were unhappy.

Could we also pay some thought to the britsh divers who recovered many of the bodies, these guys were members of the british army on an adventure training trip, in other words doing exactly the same thing as those who died, on holiday. Granted some of them were army divers, but this wasnt what they had planned when they went out there either.

Mike

 

[liberato]

The real lesson I take from this is to listen to the locals. When a diver of the caliber of local divemaster Bart Stanley says get off the boat you get off now!

 

[HeatherJohnston]

I've been watching this thread closely. The reason is, I, myself, spoke to Peter Hughes when he was here in Houston a Sea Space last month.
There are so many things that cannot be said because of law suits and such. So let's just pray for the families. That's all we can do, and that's all we will have the facts on. The rest is tied up in legalities that are really not our business. If you don't want to patronize PH because of this, that is up to you.
If any company bashing goes any further I will have to pull this thread.
Thanks for your cooperation.

"There are so many things that cannot be said because of law suits and such."
Huh?

I was executor for two of the deceased, and we settled out of court with Peter Hughes Diving and his insurance company Lloyds of London for an average of $100,000 per dead body.

($5 million insurance money - $1 million to refloat the boat)/(20 dead bodies)=$100,000/dead body.

The settlement came with the condition that there would be no further lawsuits from the families of the deceased. If there are any lawsuits in progress, please post the names of the parties involved. I believe that this much information is a matter of public record.

Thank you,

Heather Johnston, Executor for both my parents aged 58 and 60

 

[HeatherJohnston]

What did surprise me though is the age of the people that were killed. You often hear as people age, they start to feel a sense of their own mortality. This is a mistake of the inexperienced. Surprising, isn’t it?

The ages of the deceased ranged from approximately 33 to 60.

The reason that my parents, aged 58 and 60, died in this "accident" is that the radios and weather faxes on board the Wave Dancer were "broken." For all we know, the satellite phone and the radio might have been "broken" too.

It could happen to anyone of any age.

Heather Johnston, Daughter of the deceased Byron and Shirley Johnston

 

[HeatherJohnston]

The real lesson I take from this is to listen to the locals. When a diver of the caliber of local divemaster Bart Stanley says get off the boat you get off now!

I have a big thank you message for Bart Stanley, if anyone can help me find him. Supposedly he is currently working on Lighthouse Reef.

Thanks,

Heather Johnston, Daughter of the deceased, Byron and Shirley Johnston

 

[HeatherJohnston]

If you are at all interested in this thread, please read the book and the thread here in the accidents section of the Scuba Board called, No Safe Harbor.

For more info on the book, see nosafeharbor.com

Thanks,

Heather Johnston, Somewhat Biased Daughter of the Deceased