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 ...
There was a movie like this...except for the yacht part.
Mermen Marooned by Moron
Especially the divers' newly-hired attorney.
YEAH everyone would be happy when they got my foot out of his keester!
I remember that movie - a husband and wife ... sad movie.
At a minimum they just became owners of a charter business unless it is mortgaged to the hilt.
Well, it looks as if the captain of the dive boat neglected to count his passengers. It certainly would have been a scary experience.
On the other hand, I think the odds were in their favor. They were hanging on to a buoy three miles from Miami. Miami is a very busy port, and it’s unlikely that someone wouldn’t have come past the buoy. Or, given that they had swim fins and scuba gear, it shouldn’t have been that hard for them to swim to land.
How does a charter boat get so easily separated from the divers it was carrying?
Based on a true story. I know because my wife and I went
diving with an outfit that pulled this stunt a couple of
weeks after we used them.
None of the other divers said hey, those guys aren’t here any more?
That was one of the most frightening - and saddest - movies I have ever seen.
That far out, how would you know which way to swim?
...ask for a jury trial.
Netflix: “The Reef”
I’m thinking these guys now OWN the charter boat company, and the former owners house as well.
What kind of @## LEAVES his divers and goes home?
Well, I have to disagree. I am a SHARK and I think it was a very happy ending... :-) On a more serious note, I hope they find good shark to sue them out of business...
well, if it’s not night you could figure out cardinality pretty easy by looking at the path of the sun.
The question would be knowing where you are in relation to land. Then it would mean having the presence of mind to keep your bearings and swim in the right direction.
I’m not sure what the water temperature would be either. Especially at night they would lose quite a bit of heat.
You can certainly see the Miami Skyline from 3 miles.
“That far out, how would you know which way to swim?”
Lol, are you kidding? They were 3 miles offshore. They could probably see the beach from that distance. The taller buildings are visible beyond 20 miles. Then there’s that setting sun thing, city lights, etc. You have to go more than 100 miles out to not see city lights on some nights.
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