Rescued diver vandenberg, key west florida

[DandyDon]

FWC pilot spots missing diver, who's exhausted but OK | News | KeysNet

When divers are reported missing, usually the outcome isn't good. For one lucky man diving near the USS Vandenberg wreck about seven miles off Key West Wednesday, it was.
During a search for the man after he was reported missing by the U.S. Coast Guard around 11:55 a.m., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission pilot Daniel Willman spotted him from the air and his colleagues were able to get to him, get him on an FWC boat and take him back to his dive boat.
"The diver was tired and exhausted from the ordeal but did not require any medical assistance," according to the FWC.
The agency said Willman was on patrol over the Middle Keys when he got the call. He headed south and started to coordinate the search from the air with FWC and Coast Guard boats below. A Coast Guard helicopter also was involved.
While crews on the boats were searching, Willman saw something green and something black in the water and alerted the others. Sure enough, when they got there, it was the diver with his gear.
"The friends and family were very grateful of the efforts from all the agencies," the FWC says.

 

[tjbald11]

According to the florida fish and wildlife

"Life-saving eyes in the sky
Thank goodness our pilot Daniel Willman was on patrol over the Florida Keys when we received a call about a diver who had gone missing! The male diver and the party he was with had been checking out the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg artificial reef. Willman searched from the air, starting from the reporting party’s boat and circling outward while coordinating with Lt. Josh Peters and Officer Adam Garrison and others who were also converging on the scene in boats and a helicopter. Willman spotted a bright green object in the water like a swimming pool noodle in front of a dark object, which could have been the missing diver. After noting the GPS location, he determined Garrison was in the closest boat and directed him to the spot in the ocean. Sure enough, it was the diver, who was exhausted but fortunately didn’t need any medical attention. Garrison returned the lucky diver back to his dive group’s boat. His friends and family were grateful for the quick efforts of all the agencies’ personnel!"

https://www.facebook.com/MyFWC/posts/10153543447993349

---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ----------

The vandy can have a really good current, so I'm sure getting blown off of it is relatively common, especially since many tourist divers aren't frequently diving and the wreck is so interesting that divers can get distracted. Lessons to be learned? buddy system is important and have a SMB (sounds like this diver did)

 

[iamrushman]

a bad story with a good ending.....lives to dive another day.

 

[Yoda-X]

Wish more of these missing diver reports had such a good ending. Hats off to the flight crew.

 

[DandyDon]

That was this incident: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...missing-vandenberg-diver-rescued-florida.html

It didn't get as much coverage in the Near Misses forum, but that's where they told me to post such.

 

[tjbald11]

if you consider a near miss a death...definitely think it is also an accident/ incident, but regardless positive outcome...might have been different if they didn't have an SMB (or at least taken longer). Also may have been a quicker rescue if they had stayed with their buddy, but we don't know the circumstances so no speculation on that front. Glad he is okay.

 

[Seya]

Finally nice to read some uplifting news

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[diversteve]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

moved from A&I

---

 

[Akimbo]

Glad I just got my Nautilus Lifeline serviced. It is over 5 years old and the battery should be changed. It sure is nice to just call the boat's VHF radio and let them know you are blown off the site. PLBs are also great but the only option is a full-blown SAR response when activated. Either way, you get picked up fast and they don't waste USCG resources scanning thousands of square miles of ocean.

The Lifeline has limited range while PLBs can be seen anywhere in the world via a system of satellites. Either is worth considering if you dive farther offshore than you can swim.