Diver adrift five hours after boat crew forgets him off Catalina (Boy Scouts to the rescue)

San Francisco Gate ^ | April 28, 2004

[Miss Marple]

You know, I can understand the boat crew not counting correctly. BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

[CatoRenasci]

I think there is more to this than meets the eye. He wasn't supposed to survive, I'd bet. Some buddies.

[cyborg]

I smell a rat.

[So Cal Rocket]

BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

Whatever the reason, I'm sure that alcohol was involved.

[Cicero]

A boat with only four people in it and they didn't notice one was missing? Totally inexcusable. I would also guess they must have been drunk. Which is also totally inexusable when you are diving.

But let's not forget to thank that scout for spotting him.

[Maximum Leader]

I think Zack Mayberry has done his good deed for the day. :o)

[Jonah Hex]

Is this Scout from the same troop with the public marina slots being shut down by the city because of the gay issue? I can't remember off the bat which city is pulling that.

[Mr. Lucky]

The diver prayed to God and a ship full of Boy Scouts appeared. Cool.

[Between the Lines]

BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

Why did they report him missing from the second dive location instead of the first location? The Coast Guard would never find him searching 11 miles away.

[conservcalgal]

Is this Scout from the same troop with the public marina slots being shut down by the city because of the gay issue? I can't remember off the bat which city is pulling that.

I think you are thinking of Fiesta Island which is in Mission Bay of San Diego. This scout was from the Newport Beach Sea Scout group.

[Docbarleypop]

wasnt it berkely?

[ride the whirlwind]

There was another thread on this (Forgotten diver saved by Boy Scout) which has been pulled.
SandRat - ping

[NoClones]

Were the diver's buddies absent-minded or were they pre-occupied with taking calls on their cell phones?

[Between the Lines]

No, that was Berkeley. This ship was out of Newport Beach. But the troop was from San Diego where the scouts were kicked out of their headquarters in the city-owned Balboa Park.

[Between the Lines]

Zack Mayberry, 15, right, and diver Dan Carlock
sit aboard the Boy Scout boat after
Carlock's rescue on Sunday.

[CatoRenasci]

My suspicion is that the "buddies" (or at least one of them) wanted this guy dead.

[Jonah Hex]

OK, thanks! Just goes to show the Scouts still serve as fine examples to all.

[narby]

Wouldn't it be an irony if the diver the Scouts found was gay?

[Hunble]

This is why I ALWAYS DIVE WITH AN INFLATABLE DIVING SAUSAGE!

Below is a true story of the origin of the Safety Sausage which you might find of interest. It has some real life lessons learned.

On July 22, 1984, a search and rescue exercise was organized by the Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue Advisory Committee. It was planned for two divers to be reported missing, and after a successful air search they were to be dropped a life raft and subsequently picked up by the Navy Patrol vessel "Moa". One of the divers was meant to have the bends and was then to be transferred to the hospital by helicopter and ambulance.

The exercise started with the divers setting out from Papanui Inlet about 8:30 a.m. in an avon inflatable. A half hour out, they slipped into the water and awaited rescue. Another half hour later they were beginning to get concerned that the search aircraft had not arrived. At 10:00 a.m., one hour after leaving the inflatable, the divers noticed a plane searching well away from their site. By 11:00 a.m. the divers could see a plane and a helicopter searching for them as well as the Moa steaming about several kilometers away. During the next half hour both the plane and helicopter flew directly over the divers on at least one occasion; yet each failed to see them. Finally, about 11:30 a.m. a fishing boat spotted the divers and radioed the plane who flew directly over them an dropped a life raft. The Moa then arrived and took the divers aboard. One was suffering from hypothermia.

The divers were in the water for two and a half hours, during which time they had covered a distance of eight kilometers. The most important lesson learned from this exercise was the difficulty in spotting divers from the air. Both the pilots and their observers were experienced. They saw seals, dolphins, and sea birds, but failed to see the divers despite the yellow catch-bag that was waved, yellow tanks, and yellow BCD's.

The lesson was a strong one for Bob Begg, one of the two divers, who owns a sporting goods store in Dunedin. He realized that divers need a simple, waterproof, eye-catching signaling device. It should be compact, inexpensive, and reusable. So he designed the Safety Sausage, a bright red, plastic inflatable tube that stands 10 feet out of the water. It can also be laid flat on the water to signal aircraft. It's inflatable by regulator, or orally. After each use, it can be rolled up to fit into a BCD pocket. If the Japanese family who perished in Palau several years ago had had a Safety Sausage, they would probably be alive today.