I made it down to Long Point at about 8:30 AM; the initial report from the divers who were there was “conditions look green.”

I snuck to The Point to see if conditions there were any better than the Cove.

Foam covered the water, the Point was rough.

I told Reverend Al and his group that if they were going to go off the Point, I was going to bring my camera.

They opted for the Cove; I chose to stay dry and start debriefing early.

I walked down with my mini-cooler and sat on the rocks, drinking Cheladas, beer and watching the ocean.

The day was gloomy, the water had a few rough spots, but Al and his group made an uneventful entrance into the water.

Kayakers also launched from the cove.

Two spear fishermen from Lancaster drove all the way here to do some hunting; they were determined to dive no matter what.

They asked, “Which way did the other divers go?”

“Towards 120 reef,” I said.

“OK, we’ll go the other way.”

I guess they shoot at anything that’s big and moves?

They made a safe rock entrance…

…and swam out a ways, almost getting run over by a boat…

A B-17 flew overhead searching for Al Qaeda submarines off our coast.

Since most of our newer planes are overseas liberating other countries and keeping the world safe for democracy, the government needs to dust off the older planes for domestic use.

Al and his group made it back in with reports of six to eight feet visibility with a lot of silt; I’m glad I stayed dry today.

Here’s a better view of the foam on the water.

The foam apparently is some sort of microorganism that tends to ruin the visibility.

Nice and relaxed from my seaside meditation, I attended the diver debriefing in the parking lot.

By the way, do you know how to pronounce “Terranea” as in the Terranea Resort?

I always thought it was Terr-AYE-nee-ah.

Apparently, it is Terra-NAY-ah.

One of our topics of conversation was how crappy the conditions have been lately; even the East side of Catalina has been reporting 20-foot visibility when 50 is common.

The Kayakers made a safe return, followed by the spear fisherman who had empty hooks.

The diving world was praying for the safe return of eight Taiwanese divers who were reported missing from “Seven Star Rocks” off the Southern most tip of Taiwan.

They called each other’s names to keep themselves awake and drank rain water to survive.

They had drifted about 60 miles until they were rescued by the heroic act of the Dive Coach Ting Po-ling, 32, who had swam 11 hours to shore, after waiting in vain for help, after they drifted for 24 hours.

Ting made it to shore at night and yelled to a fisherman for help.

The fisherman, who initially thought Ting was a ghost, called the authorities to let them know where the other divers were.

Another search was launched, but it was still difficult to to find the other divers.

Thanks to one of the divers clicking a camera’s flash, the helicopters were able to spot and rescue them after the other seven had been adrift for more than 40 hours.

All were severely dehydrated and had low body temperature.

One female diver promised her mother that she would never go diving again because “It’s just too dangerous.”

So, What Went Wrong With This Dive?

They dove off of a private boat, with no Dive Master on board; no big deal, it happens all the time.

But, it was an off shore reef, and the only person who knew exactly where it was went diving.

The agreement with the boat Captain apparently was, “I’ll meet you back here in an hour to pick you up.”

Well, an hour went by and the boat Captain went to pick them up.

Either the current took them, the Captain couldn’t find the reef or it was a combination of both.

They were reported missing, and the search started from there.

The boat, as planned, left the dive area to return to pick them up.

If there would have been problems during the dive, no boat would have been available to assist.

Since the boat wasn’t there, it could not judge potential current, nor follow a current buoy or signal sausage.

So, yes, recreational diving is still pretty much safe!

Accidents still happen, but don’t be influenced by the lack of someone else’s common sense.

There would be no way I would have gone on this dive if I knew how it was planned.

Stay safe everyone!

Links To The Articles:

Rescued divers describe near-fatal lost-at-sea scuba diving accident

Miracle rescue for Taiwanese divers

All divers saved after 40 hours