OP
Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
Some more details from the divers themselves:
Monday September 19, 01:48 PM AAP
Divers made pact not to look down
Two British divers who spent about six hours stranded on the Great Barrier Reef made a pact not to look down again after they saw a shark circling them.
Louise Woodger, 29, and Gordon Pratley, 31, were rescued about 4pm (AEST) on Saturday, after strong currents apparently swept them away from their dive boat.
The couple had entered the water about 10am, but when they surfaced, they saw their dive boat Sea-Esta as a "speck in the distance" before it disappeared from view, Ms Woodger's mother Jane has said.
"Louise said it was just a great expanse of water," Jane Woodger told the Press Association from her home at Mildenhall in Suffolk.
"They held each other and when they got cold they swam around to try and get warm.
"They said they looked down at one point and saw a shark circling beneath. They made a decision between themselves not to look down anymore."
The couple has told Queensland police of their relief when the shark left them alone during their ordeal near Wheeler Reef, north-east of Townsville.
Townsville police acting inspector Greg Doyle said the shark swam in circles around the Britons, who were eventually rescued 10km from where they entered the water.
"When they were interviewed by the CIB (police) yesterday .... they mentioned that at one stage a shark did show some interest in them but thankfully it swam away without prying any further," he told ABC radio.
"So they were very thankful for that."
Coast guard commander Richard Bolton said the couple realised early on that they were stranded.
"They came to the surface after three quarters of an hour and realised they'd drifted away from their boat," he told ABC radio.
"They started to look after themselves, they inflated their vests so they could remain afloat, stay together.
"Had the search gone longer, another couple of hours it would have been after dark but everything was going their way."
Police are expected to interview crew and passengers from the boat later.
The couple suffered exhaustion and mild hypothermia during their ordeal, which sparked and air and sea search after the skipper raised the alarm following a head count.
Jane Woodger said the couple could see rescue helicopters and boats searching for them, but they could not attract their attention.
They were finally found by their dive boat, she said.
"When they were pulled onto the boat they were quite calm and I think they were quite shocked to see how euphoric everybody was on the boat because they had been found," she said.
"I don't think they'd realised quite how emotional they would be.
"It doesn't seem to have put them off diving. She (Louise) said they were planning to go out on another dive to a wreck in a couple of days' time."
New dive safety procedures introduced after the disappearance of American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan in 1998 have been credited with helping save the Britons.
The Lonergans' disappearance was not reported for two days, and they were never found.
The incident sparked a tightening of safety regulations for dive boats.
Dive Queensland spokesman Col McKenzie said the rescue of the British tourists showed the new procedures were working.
"This is a very good example of where it did go to plan," Mr McKenzie told the Seven network.
"The Lonergans were missed for some 48 hours (before the alarm was raised), in this case we knew that these people were missed within 30 minutes."
The British couple is spending two years in Australia before returning home to get married
What I love about this is that they are already planning their next dives - you've gotta admire that sort of attitude...
Sounds like they allowed themselves to be swept a long way away from the boat before finally surfacing. Without knowing the site or the conditions its hard to be too judgmental though.
Cheers,
Rohan.
Monday September 19, 01:48 PM AAP
Divers made pact not to look down
Two British divers who spent about six hours stranded on the Great Barrier Reef made a pact not to look down again after they saw a shark circling them.
Louise Woodger, 29, and Gordon Pratley, 31, were rescued about 4pm (AEST) on Saturday, after strong currents apparently swept them away from their dive boat.
The couple had entered the water about 10am, but when they surfaced, they saw their dive boat Sea-Esta as a "speck in the distance" before it disappeared from view, Ms Woodger's mother Jane has said.
"Louise said it was just a great expanse of water," Jane Woodger told the Press Association from her home at Mildenhall in Suffolk.
"They held each other and when they got cold they swam around to try and get warm.
"They said they looked down at one point and saw a shark circling beneath. They made a decision between themselves not to look down anymore."
The couple has told Queensland police of their relief when the shark left them alone during their ordeal near Wheeler Reef, north-east of Townsville.
Townsville police acting inspector Greg Doyle said the shark swam in circles around the Britons, who were eventually rescued 10km from where they entered the water.
"When they were interviewed by the CIB (police) yesterday .... they mentioned that at one stage a shark did show some interest in them but thankfully it swam away without prying any further," he told ABC radio.
"So they were very thankful for that."
Coast guard commander Richard Bolton said the couple realised early on that they were stranded.
"They came to the surface after three quarters of an hour and realised they'd drifted away from their boat," he told ABC radio.
"They started to look after themselves, they inflated their vests so they could remain afloat, stay together.
"Had the search gone longer, another couple of hours it would have been after dark but everything was going their way."
Police are expected to interview crew and passengers from the boat later.
The couple suffered exhaustion and mild hypothermia during their ordeal, which sparked and air and sea search after the skipper raised the alarm following a head count.
Jane Woodger said the couple could see rescue helicopters and boats searching for them, but they could not attract their attention.
They were finally found by their dive boat, she said.
"When they were pulled onto the boat they were quite calm and I think they were quite shocked to see how euphoric everybody was on the boat because they had been found," she said.
"I don't think they'd realised quite how emotional they would be.
"It doesn't seem to have put them off diving. She (Louise) said they were planning to go out on another dive to a wreck in a couple of days' time."
New dive safety procedures introduced after the disappearance of American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan in 1998 have been credited with helping save the Britons.
The Lonergans' disappearance was not reported for two days, and they were never found.
The incident sparked a tightening of safety regulations for dive boats.
Dive Queensland spokesman Col McKenzie said the rescue of the British tourists showed the new procedures were working.
"This is a very good example of where it did go to plan," Mr McKenzie told the Seven network.
"The Lonergans were missed for some 48 hours (before the alarm was raised), in this case we knew that these people were missed within 30 minutes."
The British couple is spending two years in Australia before returning home to get married
What I love about this is that they are already planning their next dives - you've gotta admire that sort of attitude...
Sounds like they allowed themselves to be swept a long way away from the boat before finally surfacing. Without knowing the site or the conditions its hard to be too judgmental though.
Cheers,
Rohan.
