Diver missing in Port Phillip Bay - Victoria, Australia

[Russjstewart]

Hi Scott, sorry for not posting details, I wasn't aware the site was locked. News article was as above.

 

[Derelict]

Second (or third) hand info I have obtained suggests he and buddy came to surface, he descended again and they lost sight of him. Not sure what the vis was today? can be very clear to very dirty, but I would have thought reasonable today. I do hope they find him but I am not hopeful given the circumstances.

I was out yesterday with Dive Victoria doing Rip Bank. After our dive we were informed that a diver was missing south of Boarfish reef. The current was ebbing and had picked up a fair bit. Our boat did an hour and a half long search down-current of the area. There were a large number of fishing boats around the heads, so if the diver was on the surface he would have been seen. With the discovery today it seems that he never resurfaced.

It was quite upsetting being on the boat and a part of the search. The helicopters seemed to be looking in the area he went missing, rather than down-current. But in hindsight it would not have mattered anyway.

I hope that this incident does not have a big effect on Red Boats, as it is a fantastic company and in the end accidents do happen, and this one seemed out of the boating operators control.

 

[stiebs]

Information from local news sources is light on, but there is a lot of news on in Melbourne at the moment. From reports that he was found near Lonsdale Wall, ie not far from the dive site, it seems current didn't play as big a part as it could have

 

[Derelict]

Information from local news sources is light on, but there is a lot of news on in Melbourne at the moment. From reports that he was found near Lonsdale Wall, ie not far from the dive site, it seems current didn't play as big a part as it could have

Our search was assuming that he was positive on the surface. These reports imply that was not actually the case. So really there was not a lot we could have done yesterday.

 

[Derelict]

Unfortunately his body was found the following morning. Devastating news for the local community.

 

[Griffo]

From the charter boat on their FB page

As most of the dive community is aware, we experienced a tragedy off one of our vessels on Sunday morning. Words cannot express how distraught we are as we consider all our divers family.

The gentleman who sadly lost his life was a fantastic man aged in his early sixties. He was an experienced diver having logged over 150+ dives and was a well respected member of his local dive club who was preparing to dive in Antarctica. He was diligent in the way he prepared for dives. As example of this and his mindset was the fact that he had spare O-rings permanently attached to the neck of his tanks.

Sunday, was a perfect day on the boat with great conditions and good visibility. He and his buddy both had a great time prior to entering the water and during the dive, which ran according to plan when they both surfaced at approximately 1055. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, the gentleman has seemingly then disappeared below the surface. We acted immediately and implemented our lost diver procedure including notifying emergency services swiftly. His body was recovered yesterday.

Words can’t possibly express how devastated we are and our thoughts are with his family and friends.

We would like to thank all of the charter boats including captains, crew and passengers who immediately assisted in search efforts along with the Water Police, Police SAR, SES, Police Airwing, Peninsula Rescue, LSV and private vessels.

Thanks also to our customers on board our vessel that assisted in search and subsequent interviews/debriefs as well as our amazing deckhand Greg for his efforts and support.

We’re still trying to comprehend this loss and have been humbled industry individuals that helped greatly with their counsel and the hundreds and texts and calls from our family, friends, customers including divers and non-divers that we have never met.

At Redboats we’re extremely passionate about what we do and how we do it. We pride ourselves on our service and commitment to the safety of our divers, which is paramount.

In light of recent events and to pay our respects to his family we will be taking the next few days off the water as we’re sure you can understand.

We will be back operating again on Australia day, Thursday 26th January and hope to see all of you over the long weekend.

 

[Peter69_56]

I also heard third or 10th hand that the diver and buddy made the surface and the buddy dropped something, and the diver (who was lost) went back down for it. Now regardless whether it is the truth or just some fiction, its a timely reminder to other divers that if they drop something, its not worth a life to go after it unless, all the conditions and circumstances make it an easy find and low risk.

I dropped a torch while in Coron. The local DM volunteered to go look for it. Given I dropped it at the start of the descent in 30m and there was a fair current, the torch being small and black. The actual area of loss being not certain, my response was, dont worry about it. He was insistent on trying to look for it but given we were all low on air and the vis bad with current, I convinced him to let it go, not worth him risking his life with low air. It was a $35 LED torch and easily replaceable.

I had a stage tank dropped by the boat boy in Truk, and although found that afternoon by a search party, I was prepared to write it off if it wasnt easily found.

No dive gear is worth the risk of a life. Dive safe

 

[Dan]

I also heard third or 10th hand that the diver and buddy made the surface and the buddy dropped something, and the diver (who was lost) went back down for it. Now regardless whether it is the truth or just some fiction, its a timely reminder to other divers that if they drop something, its not worth a life to go after it unless, all the conditions and circumstances make it an easy find and low risk.

I dropped a torch while in Coron. The local DM volunteered to go look for it. Given I dropped it at the start of the descent in 30m and there was a fair current, the torch being small and black. The actual area of loss being not certain, my response was, dont worry about it. He was insistent on trying to look for it but given we were all low on air and the vis bad with current, I convinced him to let it go, not worth him risking his life with low air. It was a $35 LED torch and easily replaceable.

I had a stage tank dropped by the boat boy in Truk, and although found that afternoon by a search party, I was prepared to write it off if it wasnt easily found.

No dive gear is worth the risk of a life. Dive safe

Condolences to the deceased family & friends.

Thanks for the tips. I lost mask once when I jumped into the blue water to empty my bladder in the world wide WC during surface interval. Unfortunately I had a bad habit of strapping my mask on my forehead. I didn't realize it until I was ready for the next dive & looking for my mask. Luckily the boat has spare mask. I fixed that bad habit by strapping my new mask around my neck from then on.