Allison Finch
Contributor
I've dived with the Hughes organization many times and have never heard of their having a boat "Oyster". Is it theirs?? If not, don't try to link it to them and make connections to the Wave Dancer, please.
Twelve divers missing in Red Sea
- Thread starter vjongene
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OP
vjongene
Contributor
Allison Finch:
The Oyster used to be called the Moon Dancer when it was operated by Peter Hughes. It was bought by a local Egyptian operator, Oyster Diving, a few years ago. There is no connection to Peter Hughes anymore, except that the boat was designed for their standards (i.e. more luxurious than most in the Red Sea).
Victor J., PhD 1980, UNC-CH. Go Heels!
OP
vjongene
Contributor
DandyDon:
The Oyster has two chase boats (RIBs) that normally keep an eye on the divers' bubbles. In my experience they were always right there when we surfaced. All I can think of is that the sea was so rough that it was difficult if not impossible for them to see the bubbles. Also, the fact that only 12 of the 22 guests on board decided to make the dive may indicate difficult conditions.
Conditions on the Brothers can be very rough at times. Since the boats rarely spend more than 2-3 days on the islands, there is tremendous pressure to get in the requisite number of dives. The Oyster always sails on Fridays, gets in a couple of check-out dives on protected reefs near shore, and then makes the 5-hour trek to the Brothers, so I would suspect that this was their first dive there...
OP
vjongene
Contributor
FWIW, I have never seen DSMB deployment as part of security procedures in the Red Sea, and I would guess than many of the divers aboard would not have a clue as to how to deploy them. The Oyster distributes SMBs without line to all divers on board, and the instructions are to inflate them at the surface if the chase boat is not right there. Many other dive boats don't even have them.String:
I agree that this would make sense at the Brothers and other offshore reefs and islands. Maybe this incident will serve as a wake-up call...
lecas
Guest
http://www.oysterdiving.com/availability.html
The Real Story As Lived from the Head Office
- 10.50 AM, Khaled Samy, president of the owning company received call
from Amr Bary, Dive Instructor and Manager on board of Oyster informing
that a group of 11 divers + dive guide that started a dive at 7.45 has
failed to show at the expected time.
- The Oyster and the two ribs, had started the search in the area.
- 11.00 information has been relayed to : Karim Helal, Chairman of the
Red Sea Association For Diving And Water Sports, which in turn started
to inform all authorities involved as well as starting the necessary
procedures.
- 11.30 AM, A request from Khaled Samy to the search and recovery
service (Almaza Air Base) to start an air born search and recovery
operation in the brothers island area. A cash deposit was requested
before the take off could start.
- 12.30 Hrs, A fax from H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, to
the air base had accelerated the start of the search operation.
- 13.00 Hrs, Khaled Samy was in Almaza base assuring the payment for the
flight cost as well following up the search operation from the control
room. The time set for the flight was left open as needed and until last
light.
- 13.12 Hrs, a C130 plane took off Alamaza Base to the search area.
- H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, followed by the minute
with the air base and gave the instructions to continue the search
operations until last light and to start the following day if needed.
- H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, Gave instructions to all
boats in the area to stop their diving activity and to assist in the
search operation. The response from boats and diving centers was
instantaneous, having to mention here the Dune dive centre for their
sincere efforts.
- Captain Hossam Helmy, an expert in this specific area, had been of
great help in advising both the airborn and sea search processes .
- 17.25 Hrs, A message from the plane reporting a target of 8 to 9
people floating in near circle shape with orange buoys and flash lights
at N26 15/E34 49. the report also mentioned that a boat is at 4 miles
away from the target but moving away from it, the plane could not
establish a communication with the boat.
- 18.40 Hrs, The plane had to refuel before coming back to the target
location at 18:55 to find that the target has disappeared.
- 19.40 Hrs, End of air born search, with plan to restart the air search
operation the following morning at the first light, as per instructions
of H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, while assuring the funds
needed by the the Oyster owning company.
- 20.15 Hrs, A call from the dive boat "thunderbird" confirmed the pick
up of the 12 divers in good conditions at the location.
- 21.20 Hrs, The Oyster joined the Thunderbird to pick up the divers.
- Assessment of diver conditions showed that they are in good shape and
were given the choice of aborting the trip and returning to dock, but
they all decided to go on with their trip.
- A full investigation will take place as soon as Oyster is back to
port, and will be published on this site.
The Real Story As Lived from the Head Office
- 10.50 AM, Khaled Samy, president of the owning company received call
from Amr Bary, Dive Instructor and Manager on board of Oyster informing
that a group of 11 divers + dive guide that started a dive at 7.45 has
failed to show at the expected time.
- The Oyster and the two ribs, had started the search in the area.
- 11.00 information has been relayed to : Karim Helal, Chairman of the
Red Sea Association For Diving And Water Sports, which in turn started
to inform all authorities involved as well as starting the necessary
procedures.
- 11.30 AM, A request from Khaled Samy to the search and recovery
service (Almaza Air Base) to start an air born search and recovery
operation in the brothers island area. A cash deposit was requested
before the take off could start.
- 12.30 Hrs, A fax from H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, to
the air base had accelerated the start of the search operation.
- 13.00 Hrs, Khaled Samy was in Almaza base assuring the payment for the
flight cost as well following up the search operation from the control
room. The time set for the flight was left open as needed and until last
light.
- 13.12 Hrs, a C130 plane took off Alamaza Base to the search area.
- H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, followed by the minute
with the air base and gave the instructions to continue the search
operations until last light and to start the following day if needed.
- H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, Gave instructions to all
boats in the area to stop their diving activity and to assist in the
search operation. The response from boats and diving centers was
instantaneous, having to mention here the Dune dive centre for their
sincere efforts.
- Captain Hossam Helmy, an expert in this specific area, had been of
great help in advising both the airborn and sea search processes .
- 17.25 Hrs, A message from the plane reporting a target of 8 to 9
people floating in near circle shape with orange buoys and flash lights
at N26 15/E34 49. the report also mentioned that a boat is at 4 miles
away from the target but moving away from it, the plane could not
establish a communication with the boat.
- 18.40 Hrs, The plane had to refuel before coming back to the target
location at 18:55 to find that the target has disappeared.
- 19.40 Hrs, End of air born search, with plan to restart the air search
operation the following morning at the first light, as per instructions
of H.E. Dr. Saad Abou Reida - Red Sea Governor, while assuring the funds
needed by the the Oyster owning company.
- 20.15 Hrs, A call from the dive boat "thunderbird" confirmed the pick
up of the 12 divers in good conditions at the location.
- 21.20 Hrs, The Oyster joined the Thunderbird to pick up the divers.
- Assessment of diver conditions showed that they are in good shape and
were given the choice of aborting the trip and returning to dock, but
they all decided to go on with their trip.
- A full investigation will take place as soon as Oyster is back to
port, and will be published on this site.
OP
vjongene
Contributor
lecas:
Thanks, lecas. This also answers the lingering question of who paid for the rescue operation - it was the boat's owners.
However, it was another dive boat that finally found the missing divers and picked them up.
lecas
Guest
Scuba diver's ordeal in shark-infested waters
http://www.kent-online.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=16133
Diver rescued in the Red Sea
A SCUBA dive ended in a large-scale rescue operation when the owner of a Kent cider farm went missing in the shark-infested Red Sea.
Having set out on a 45-minute scuba dive on Sunday, the alarm was raised when Bruce De Courcy, who lives at Badger Hill Farm, Chilham, failed to return.
Mr De Courcy, 47, went missing with 12 others after they dived off-board at 9am to explore the coral reefs off the Egyptian coast.
The group, which included five British people, was missing for a total of 12 hours.
Helicopters and ships formed a rescue force and found the divers 45 miles away from where they had set off. All were in good health but suffering from mild dehydration.
Their survival has been put down to the Red Sea being one of the warmest in the world.
Mr De Courcy's partner Claire Squires wanted to join him for the trip but decided to stay at home with their teenage daughter and look after the farm.
She said: "I've spoken to him and he's fine now, it was just a freak accident. The current got so bad it just swept them away which happens quite often but after an hour or so things began to look bad for them.
"They are all fully competent and used their belts to tie themselves together, inflated their emergency balloons and paddled to stop hypothermia setting in. But their hearts sank when they saw a rescue plane go over and not see them.
"Fortunately they had three torches so did SOS in lights and a boat finally picked it up.
"Bruce has filmed the whole thing which should be interesting to watch. He told me that he'd filmed the sunset because they didn't know if it would be the last one they saw."
An incident like this would make most of us hang up our snorkels but it hasn't deterred the Kent couple.
Miss Squires said: "It's like falling off a horse, you just have to get back on."
http://www.kent-online.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=16133
Diver rescued in the Red Sea
A SCUBA dive ended in a large-scale rescue operation when the owner of a Kent cider farm went missing in the shark-infested Red Sea.
Having set out on a 45-minute scuba dive on Sunday, the alarm was raised when Bruce De Courcy, who lives at Badger Hill Farm, Chilham, failed to return.
Mr De Courcy, 47, went missing with 12 others after they dived off-board at 9am to explore the coral reefs off the Egyptian coast.
The group, which included five British people, was missing for a total of 12 hours.
Helicopters and ships formed a rescue force and found the divers 45 miles away from where they had set off. All were in good health but suffering from mild dehydration.
Their survival has been put down to the Red Sea being one of the warmest in the world.
Mr De Courcy's partner Claire Squires wanted to join him for the trip but decided to stay at home with their teenage daughter and look after the farm.
She said: "I've spoken to him and he's fine now, it was just a freak accident. The current got so bad it just swept them away which happens quite often but after an hour or so things began to look bad for them.
"They are all fully competent and used their belts to tie themselves together, inflated their emergency balloons and paddled to stop hypothermia setting in. But their hearts sank when they saw a rescue plane go over and not see them.
"Fortunately they had three torches so did SOS in lights and a boat finally picked it up.
"Bruce has filmed the whole thing which should be interesting to watch. He told me that he'd filmed the sunset because they didn't know if it would be the last one they saw."
An incident like this would make most of us hang up our snorkels but it hasn't deterred the Kent couple.
Miss Squires said: "It's like falling off a horse, you just have to get back on."
lecas
Guest
Dolphins led rescuers to missing Red Sea divers
http://www.cdnn.info/safety/s040810a/s040810a.html
EGYPT (10 August 2004) -- The British divers lost in the Red Sea for 13 and a half hours after being swept away told yesterday how they feared they would die and how they believed dolphins led rescuers to them. As the five Britons, who were rescued with two Belgians and five Portuguese after a huge air and sea seach, recovered yesterday they spoke of how they fought severe exhaustion, dehydration and sunburn.Boats and spotter planes failed to locate them when they lost contact with their Egyptian diving boat and were swept 45 miles away.They roped themselves together, told jokes and sang Christmas carols to keep their spirits up as they drifted further and further from the Oyster, their live-aboard boat.Yesterday the Britons, Richard Hallam, 28, the divemaster from Pickering, North Yorks, and friends Bruce de Courcy, 48, from Chilham, near Canterbury, and Paul Moulton, Geoff Woodfield and Alexandra Douglas, all from Wandsworth, south London, were continuing their holiday and back diving aftertheir ordeal.We are all pretty shaken," said Mr de Courcy, a water feature designer, who met the other three on a Red Sea diving trip last year.When you think back, when you sit on your own and you think about it, it makes you cry, he said in an interview from the boat.The five were in a party of 12 experienced divers who dived at 9am off al-Akhawain, the twin Little Brother islands. During the dive they were excited to see a hammerhead shark and two grey reef sharks on the reef.They surfaced early and, following diving procedure, positioned a Surface Marker Buoy to alert the Oyster crew, although the current had already caused them to drift.But, possibly because of the sun and the reflection on the water, the marker buoy was not spotted by the crew.The 12 stuck together. Early on they saw a container ship and then another live-aboard ship, but the vessels passed by. Then, after six hours, they saw a spotter plane.By now a full-scale emergency search had been underway for hours involving a private helicopter, the Egyptian navy and alerts to all ships in the area, activated by the Oyster Club that organised the diving trip.When we saw that plane, and it came right over our heads, we thought, 'That's it. We're safe', said Mr de Courcy, a father of two daughters, aged 16 and 20, who runs a cider farm and garden centre in Chilham with his partner, Claire Raraty-Squires.Then it didn't dip its wings, nothing happened and it appeared it hadn't seen us. So from a real high, we were down to a real low.The 12, most of whom had only met on the boat, kept each other going by talking about their backgrounds. They numbered themselves one to 12 and every few minutes - especially when it got dark - called out their numbers in sequence to make sure all were there.Though the water was warm and they were wearing wetsuits, they were losing body heat and forced themselves to keep moving.Everybody was exhausted. Two - a Belgian and a Portuguese - did not seem to be coping with the cold. I would say those two would not have made it overnight, said Mr Hallam, the divemaster. As it grew dark, each tried to suppress panic. Everyone was searching in the wrong place," said Mr de Courcy, who is himself a qualified diving instructor. Not only that, but when you are on the surface, you can't help wondering what's going to happen to your legs. Although he believed the sharks in the area were placid and did not normally attack humans, you can't help but wonder what is down there. They spotted mountains in the dusk, tied themselves together and began swimming towards them slowly on their backs. Navigating by compass and two stars, they estimated they could reach the shore 30 miles away. I think by that point we pretty much thought we had had it, said Mr de Courcy. Then at around 8.30pm they sighted the Thunderbird, another live-aboard boat, and this time their torch signals received a positive response. It was adrenaline, relief, happiness, said Mr Hallam. On board, all celebrated with a cigarette - even the non-smokers. All were examined at the scene by a doctor and opted to continue their holiday. George Saleed, from the Oyster Club, said protocol had been followed to the strictest letter. Longwood Holidays, the London-based tour operators which booked the holiday, said they had used the Oyster Club for many years and regarded them as very reliable. An investigation is now under way by the Red Sea Association for Diving and Watersports. Mr Hallam, who has worked for the Oyster Club for two months, said: One of the most amazing things was, after we were rescued, the guys on the boat said there were dolphins jumping across the prow in the direction we were actually in.We heard dolphins when we were in the water, we could hear their echo location. I think those dolphins drew attention to us. There are stories about dolphins helping humans in distress, protecting them. And I think those dolphins helped us.
http://www.cdnn.info/safety/s040810a/s040810a.html
EGYPT (10 August 2004) -- The British divers lost in the Red Sea for 13 and a half hours after being swept away told yesterday how they feared they would die and how they believed dolphins led rescuers to them. As the five Britons, who were rescued with two Belgians and five Portuguese after a huge air and sea seach, recovered yesterday they spoke of how they fought severe exhaustion, dehydration and sunburn.Boats and spotter planes failed to locate them when they lost contact with their Egyptian diving boat and were swept 45 miles away.They roped themselves together, told jokes and sang Christmas carols to keep their spirits up as they drifted further and further from the Oyster, their live-aboard boat.Yesterday the Britons, Richard Hallam, 28, the divemaster from Pickering, North Yorks, and friends Bruce de Courcy, 48, from Chilham, near Canterbury, and Paul Moulton, Geoff Woodfield and Alexandra Douglas, all from Wandsworth, south London, were continuing their holiday and back diving aftertheir ordeal.We are all pretty shaken," said Mr de Courcy, a water feature designer, who met the other three on a Red Sea diving trip last year.When you think back, when you sit on your own and you think about it, it makes you cry, he said in an interview from the boat.The five were in a party of 12 experienced divers who dived at 9am off al-Akhawain, the twin Little Brother islands. During the dive they were excited to see a hammerhead shark and two grey reef sharks on the reef.They surfaced early and, following diving procedure, positioned a Surface Marker Buoy to alert the Oyster crew, although the current had already caused them to drift.But, possibly because of the sun and the reflection on the water, the marker buoy was not spotted by the crew.The 12 stuck together. Early on they saw a container ship and then another live-aboard ship, but the vessels passed by. Then, after six hours, they saw a spotter plane.By now a full-scale emergency search had been underway for hours involving a private helicopter, the Egyptian navy and alerts to all ships in the area, activated by the Oyster Club that organised the diving trip.When we saw that plane, and it came right over our heads, we thought, 'That's it. We're safe', said Mr de Courcy, a father of two daughters, aged 16 and 20, who runs a cider farm and garden centre in Chilham with his partner, Claire Raraty-Squires.Then it didn't dip its wings, nothing happened and it appeared it hadn't seen us. So from a real high, we were down to a real low.The 12, most of whom had only met on the boat, kept each other going by talking about their backgrounds. They numbered themselves one to 12 and every few minutes - especially when it got dark - called out their numbers in sequence to make sure all were there.Though the water was warm and they were wearing wetsuits, they were losing body heat and forced themselves to keep moving.Everybody was exhausted. Two - a Belgian and a Portuguese - did not seem to be coping with the cold. I would say those two would not have made it overnight, said Mr Hallam, the divemaster. As it grew dark, each tried to suppress panic. Everyone was searching in the wrong place," said Mr de Courcy, who is himself a qualified diving instructor. Not only that, but when you are on the surface, you can't help wondering what's going to happen to your legs. Although he believed the sharks in the area were placid and did not normally attack humans, you can't help but wonder what is down there. They spotted mountains in the dusk, tied themselves together and began swimming towards them slowly on their backs. Navigating by compass and two stars, they estimated they could reach the shore 30 miles away. I think by that point we pretty much thought we had had it, said Mr de Courcy. Then at around 8.30pm they sighted the Thunderbird, another live-aboard boat, and this time their torch signals received a positive response. It was adrenaline, relief, happiness, said Mr Hallam. On board, all celebrated with a cigarette - even the non-smokers. All were examined at the scene by a doctor and opted to continue their holiday. George Saleed, from the Oyster Club, said protocol had been followed to the strictest letter. Longwood Holidays, the London-based tour operators which booked the holiday, said they had used the Oyster Club for many years and regarded them as very reliable. An investigation is now under way by the Red Sea Association for Diving and Watersports. Mr Hallam, who has worked for the Oyster Club for two months, said: One of the most amazing things was, after we were rescued, the guys on the boat said there were dolphins jumping across the prow in the direction we were actually in.We heard dolphins when we were in the water, we could hear their echo location. I think those dolphins drew attention to us. There are stories about dolphins helping humans in distress, protecting them. And I think those dolphins helped us.
Paul Evans
"Mr Mares"
vjongene:
Thats no excuse for the British divers who should have known better and taken their own, its pretty much standard practice in the UK - Hence me and String asking, what seems to us to be the obvoius soliution
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