Hi All,
I too, like Homi was on board the ill fated Aggressor 1 with not only my husband but also our 2 sons (19 and 20). At 2:30 am we hit the rocks with a terrible bang, throwing some of us out of bed and the rest stumbling around. The alarm went off up on the top deck, where my husband and i were, but not below deck where both my boys were.
in a state of panic(me), having no idea what had happened, other than we were in trouble, we made our way downstairs.
I could not at that moment even remember where the life vests were, my desire was only to get to the kids as i knew we were hit on their side of the boat.
the boat started listing quickly to that side, making movement more difficult.
it was pitch black night and no one had any clue where we were. My husband went to get they boys, who thankfully Homi had already got too.Teenagers seem to have less sense of urgency and i guess disbelief that anything can happen, meant they were not remotely hurrying!
with difficulty i climbed back up the leaning staircase. It was hard to even get into the cabin due to the angle of the boat, furniture sliding around. on retreiving the life vests i remembered the safe, where we had our 2 passports in and some valuables. we had been asked to keep our stuff in the safe as a precaution by the DM on the first day.
unfortunately in my frightened state i could not even open it,though i did try, as every time the boat moved i was thrown to the back of our cabin.
i gave up even though i knew we had a lot of things in there that were well worth taking figuring it just was not worth it.
leaving the cabin i met another friend, who was helping one of the other teenagers out as his father had broken his toes, escaping from his cabin.
i missed the top step and literally flew down the stairs backward, using the handrail like a fireman's poll!
on finding only my elder son, i started yelling for the younger one, who thankfully was tucked around the corner with another helpful adult.
the boat continued pitch to the side and we were taking in water by the gallon, through the dive deck.
we were instructed to all get to the other side to try and add weight and balance...fat chance!
the life boast were stuck/jammed, one was right outside our cabin and on my way out/In/and back out i saw the crew struggling, shouting in Spanish and desperately trying to work it free. due to the sharp angle of the boat it seemed to have got locked to the side.
we remained on one side, quiet and nervous, trying to be patient.
it took almost 20 to 25 mins in total.
The fear I felt was overwhelming, looking at the four of us... the worst thoughts racing through my head.
i was sure the boat was going to capsize and we would be trapped underneath in the dark water.
i yelled to my husband that i was going to get into the water instead. He held me back telling me that currents were too strong.
It was shockingly frightening, there was no one in charge, we did not know why the lifeboats were not deployed, the crew were yelling and running around.The damn boat just kept taking in water. I felt trapped, not sure if it was better to get into the water, taking the kids and risking the currents,and the sharks ( my fear of sharks has never gone away over the 15 years we have been diving..).having dived the previous days in Wolf and Darwin in incredibly strong currents, often getting seperated unwillingly from my husband/buddy, i had witnessed more than enough for the next two or three lifetimes.
it is the predicament of being the only woman in a family of 4. the holidays always have to be outdoorsy, exciting and adrenalin boosting...add blood curling to that - you either join them, or you miss out,
the humour helps, otherwise you cry....this time at least.
finally afterwhat seemed like a lifetime contemplating what i really thought might be our last moments, feeling sad the kids were so young, that I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO DIE YET....the rib came down and the brought it to the rear of the dive deck... one by one we waded accross it. The relief when I saw my husband and Homi get on at the last was immense.
All 16 of us and 2 crew in that little boat then headed towards open water.
yes we were rescued by the Deep Blue and yes I remember the annoyed gentleman, after being woken up by the babble of the Aggressor survivors. struggling, trying to fix each other up with ice, some bandages and lots of hot coffee.
we were so happy and greatful to be alive, so shocked and overwhelmed that i guess we really made a noise...we nearly all were Indians so i guess that added to the poor man's confusion...no harm done, it was a funny moment though!
i thought we were on the Aggressor 2 which had always been around us, but not on this night.
They evidently did not have a malfunctioning GPS, a broken depth gauge, oh their Captain didnt sleep and of course Im sure he knew his way around these waters....
around 6am they caught up with us, we transferred onto her, warmly welcomed by the others on board, offering the women amongst us their bathrooms, a shower if we liked. The Waynes could learn something about empathy and hospitality from their customers. One was a doctor and had a look at the broken toes, sprained fingers, at that time the busted knee, cuts and bruises had not twigged for a lot of us. we were still in shock.
our crew removed things from some our safes as were getting on the dingy and hence i was lucky enough to get the contents as did a few of us. the kids had their knapsacks containing documents, but everything else from their cabin was lost... by the time crew went back their cabin and the one which was hit was under water...a humbling thought.
however at daybreak and low tide we discovered our boat was lying in pretty shallow water and the shore was not that far away... why on earth had we headed out into the dark, deep sea?looking to be rescued when dry land was right there?
why did the life boats fail to deply?
why did we hit the rocks, when surely these are familiar waters to the supposed well experienced crew.
we were told by the crew that GPS was malfunctioning, one of us had asked for a depth check the day before from the Captain who said he could not answer as the sonar was broken.
Why on reaching land, was the company representative so unhelpful, talking about going to see the turtles and carrying on like nothing much had happned.
a minor incident??????????thats what the tourism department had been told, so they landed up with some calenders and a goody bag, that was left untouched by us.
however so much has been lost laptops, hard drives, ipads, iphones, money, wallets, underwater cameras, dive computers, dive gear, prescription masks and MOST important for many of usSLEEP AND PEACE OF MIND.
Its over 10 days now and i wak every night around 2 or 3 am... i am plagued with thoughts of black water and only sleep at dawn...ive turned into an owl.
the most disgusting thing is the attitude of the Aggressor owner/chairman/president whatever...
we have written and written, given phone numbers, but a courtsey call?? haha
Wayne Hasson sent his first email out today, wow! But he was busy diving in Thailand Im sure thats so remote and hence he must have known nothing.we were shipwrecked in The Galapagos, one amongst us had a satelite phone that lo and behold did not get sunk,stolen lost. and hence we were able to speak to our families back home.
Mr Brown was asimilating the facts a wee bit slower, much in the manner of his lifeboats.Lots of us have been writing to him from day one.
peter Witmer who was our receiving party on being asked to provide CEO and company Presidents number told us to go get it from the internet. Nice- while briefing us on the turtles of course...
I am angry, very angry, - they advertise diving, saying its their passion, that they love diving with their families etc etc..
well so do our family, we have been diving as a family first of 2, then of four. However diving with their company almost cost all of us our lives...the least you would expect from such family minded people is an apology... but hey they offered us a voucher for the last dive we missed....
Stay safe....choose wisely....
