Posted on 10/05/2011 5:15:32 PM PDT by rawhide
Two terrified divers were left stranded in shark-infested waters when their charter boat disappeared.
Paul Kline and Fernando Garcia Puerta had to cling to a buoy for two hours after surfacing from their late-afternoon dive in the Atlantic Ocean three miles from Miami and finding no trace of their boat.
'We were in shock. We could easily have died,' Kline, 44, told the Miami Herald.
'If night had fallen, the situation would have turned into panic.'
He said they kept talking to each other throughout their ordeal 'to try to keep up our high spirits'.
Mr Kline, a married father of six from Texas, told WSVN-TV that he could only think about getting back to his family while stranded in the water.
He said: 'I wasn't giving up anytime soon.'
Mr Kline and Mr Puerta, a Spanish tourist, were eventually spotted by the crew of a passing yacht and brought safely to shore.
'You could notice a strong feeling of relief,' said Elie Trichet, captain of the No Compromise which was returning to Miami from the Florida Keys when his passengers saw the men clutching their diving equipment. 'They had been clinging to that buoy for two hours hoping somebody would rescue them.'...
...The captain of the dive boat, Mike Beach, refused to discuss the incident with reporters, saying only: 'Everybody is OK, no one is hurt, everybody is happy.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I would say fear of sharks had more to do with it. Heavy fog would have prevented their rescue.
Get the boat?
Let's see the boat (I'm a boat/ship freak).
Cause the divers jumped off of their own accord.
If they were only out 3 miles they should be able to see the buildings of Miami. At least I could when I went diving down there. If you go out 8 miles or so its a bit more difficult.
Now a night dive where the boats lights quit working after you are in the water. That makes it a bit tough to find the boat when you come up.
Open Water
The headline suggests that the captain of the hip purposely left the to DIE!
The headline suggests that the captain of the Ship purposely left them to DIE! Did he?
Easy! Just swim to the next “red” buoy, then the nest and then you’ll be inside the channel.
Swim 3 miles with a inflated BC and a tank which provides positive buoyancy? Plus you are probably wearing a wet suit which provides buoyancy and you have fins on. Not exactly fun but yeah they shouldn’t have had much of a problem.
The sharks off Miami don’t like divers, we leave stringy stuff in their teeth.
Easy! Just swim to the next “red” buoy, then the next and then you’ll be inside the channel. Red and green buoys are channel markers.
Red right return
elementary my dear watson
Well druftduverm I guess I shuda added...keep them on your right. Coulda been a slight problem otherwise.
I was wondering what a Christian response to this action should be on the part of the divers. I think it would be a Christian act to put that dumb ship captain out of his misery.
Whatever boats he owns will soon belong to the divers he abandoned to die and now dismisses. He’s psycho. Decent people would be horrified at making such a stupid and dangerous move.
Way to go!
I was agreeing with you, guess that merits a nasty comment in some places.
Granted, we were in good shape and had spent most of the prior week snorkeling. But, believe me -- those fins make a huge difference in one's swimming ability...
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