Two divers missing Whitsunday Islands

[almitywife]

ive seen footage where they are in the helicopter and there is a smb

im not calling them liars but im still not convinced

IF it was 200mtrs and they had whistles and smb's i cant believe that they werent spotted

afterall, ive been on a boat and spotted dolphins jumping hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of meters away by accident so im guessing a yellow and orange smb will be noticable

 

[Eau_Girl]

If the boat is 200m away, it's probably swimable unless the current is really strong (yes I know there was a current reported in the area).

If you didn't see any activity to come and get you within 5-10 minutes, wouldn't you try to swim towards the boat? I've done it with my buddy and seen plenty of others do the same. Usually the pickup boat comes by and offers you a lift.

 

[Geoff_H]

No one jumped to huge conclusions, we drew conclusions based on the information that was given. I call'em like I see'em...

I read the same information and came to completely the opposite conclusion.

Teamcasa summed it up perfectly for me - why would two experienced, competent and successful divers risk their lives on a chance of being found and selling their stories? Especially as drifting to your death in the open ocean sounds like a horrible way to die to me.

Simply does not wash with me. If someone was crazy enough to do this, I would expect them to stash water, food and hoods in their wetsuits, pockets and then have a tag boat pick them up and spirit them away, only to dump them some tens of miles away a couple of days later. That would be a story worth selling.

Nothing about being a fake rings true to me.

 

[DandyDon]

Here is another...

Thanks more info than we've had offered before.

Just an observation. If they could see the boat and divers climbing back on, shouldn't someone on the boat seen them waving their SMB? Did they have the SMB with them when the helicopters came? I didn't see one in the video.

He had the Sausage on the other news show the other day.

ive seen footage where they are in the helicopter and there is a smb

im not calling them liars but im still not convinced

IF it was 200mtrs and they had whistles and smb's i cant believe that they werent spotted

afterall, ive been on a boat and spotted dolphins jumping hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of meters away by accident so im guessing a yellow and orange smb will be noticable

It was kinda faded, pink on one side. But I am still amazed at the differences in stories as compared to the onboard witnesses who claimed they looked all over.

If the boat is 200m away, it's probably swimable unless the current is really strong (yes I know there was a current reported in the area).

If you didn't see any activity to come and get you within 5-10 minutes, wouldn't you try to swim towards the boat? I've done it with my buddy and seen plenty of others do the same. Usually the pickup boat comes by and offers you a lift.

They didn't mention trying to swim for it did they?

I still wonder about the alleged 3 hour delay in calling the alarm.

I think I'm going to test fire my Dive Alert Whistle - with ear plugs.

 

[almitywife]

i cant blame them for not swimming against a current immediately, afterall... they expected to be picked up

last year while in tassie we came up a few hundred feet away from the boat and even though i knew the boat spotted me... i still started making my way against the current & towards them.

i didnt get far (about half way) and i didnt get tired either but i did it with the thought that the distance between us wouldnt be as great as it would have been if i just floated

as far as the $$ deals...heck, if i was floating out there all that time i too would be thinking out all the ways i could make money out of this and making sure hubby takes pics

 

[Diver Dennis]

Thanks for the SMB info...

 

[DandyDon]

How interesting - from: Diver's third brush with death - Metro & Regional - National - General - Stock & Land

Thirty-eight-year-old Richard Neely's father Stuart has told Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper it's the third time his son has cheated death.Mr Neely says Richard was caught up in the tsunami that hit Asia on Boxing Day, 2004, while working as a diving instructor in Phuket, but managed to get out of his hotel and reach higher ground.Later, his dive boat sank off Thailand, and he was forced to tread water for eight hours through the night until he was picked up by another boat.

 

[almitywife]

yeah ive heard that before... being superstitious, if i had known about the first 2 there is no way i would have dived with the guy!

or maybe its good old fashion Sharon Stone karma

 

[Doc]

.... we sure are quick to believe everything we read and jump to huge conclusions, aren't we? We need to keep in mind that the media and forums may not always provide the best information.....

No one jumped to huge conclusions, we drew conclusions based on the information that was given. I call'em like I see'em... The only truth we will ever know is that we will never know the truth.....

Anyone know when FACTs will be available....?

I read the same information and came to completely the opposite conclusion.

..............................:eyecrazy:

Nothing about being a fake rings true to me.

:bonk:

Even the dive site maps are filled with inaccuracies....

BAIT REEF (Well... is it #3 or #6? :monkeydan)
Dive Locations

3) Gary's Lagoon
An easy dive location for beginners. The lagoon is protected on all sides except at its entrance. There are no currents in the area, and the lagoon houses a large fish cleaning station, often attracting creatures from deeper water. Good Coral formations surround the lagoon, and make for easy diving before venturing into deeper water just outside the inlet.

 

[Zippsy]

everyone is saying Gary's lagoon, right? BTW, which way did they drift?



edited to add: "Finally at about 8:40am, volunteer Andrew Barker spotted the couple from a helicopter drifting about nine miles northwest of Bait Reef."


hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Can anyone with local knowledge tell me how that happened? That reef is about 3 km across, right? How could they get out in the current? Isn't the lee side protected? I'm too used to diving around islands and I don't know how it works there.