7 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Siren's quick response prevented what could have been a disaster at sea. Sadly mother nature will always win against man or boat...

Read more here!

[Hipshot]

Well, the story had a reasonably happy ending. I realize that hindsight is always 20-20, but I can't help wondering if there wasn't a judgement error in making that trip, or if it would have been wiser to reverse course and head back to port.

Rick

[WreckWench]

Weather is tricky like that and it all seemed well. But we all know it can change in a flash... this was one of those flashes.

[ScubaTex]

I'm sorry, I'm going to be a bit more critical. I think it shows a lack of judgement on the part of WWD&S. While swells of 1.5-2.5m doesn't sound like much, there are operators here, who wouldn't think twice about cancelling a trip in the equivalent 5-8 foot seas. As far as the 'unexpected' conditions, this is the tropics, and the time of year when the weather is particularly active. For those of you wondering where they were going/ended up go to. 7^o22'29.99"N , 113^o50'55.31"E for the island of Layang Layang. Thankfully, there was no loss of life.

My 2 psi

[TexasDiver]

Is this the same op that lost a boat to fire while divers were at depth earlier this year?

[WreckWench]

Bill its common to be in NC on a regular dive boat in 5-8 foot seas so that is quite manageable for a liveaboard. I know we had that and more on our crossing to Galapagos. Those are normal seas for large open ocean crossings.

[TexasDiver]

1339164011[/url]' post='300274']
Is this the same op that lost a boat to fire while divers were at depth earlier this year?

It is the same operator! Loss of 2 boats in 6 months!

[Jerrymxz]

In the my 2psi category it almost sounds like some kind of structural problem. Leak in the bilge area, then an hour later everyone roused and called to muster stations. Water intrusion was more than the pumps could handle. I’m not going to speculate the cause but it could have been anything from a catastrophic shaft seal failure to hitting something floating in the water. After the electrical system was compromised, everyone was put into life boats, probably their dive tender. Everyone off safely and taken to shore. Sea state may have contributed to the failure but it wasn't bad enough to prevent the evacuation to small boats at night at sea. It also mentions some personal belongings were able to be retrieved as well as well as documents prior to evacuation. I have to give my applause to the crew and guests for a very good outcome. They’ll build another boat