Two still in the water says the news. Rough seas are making it tough to pick them up.
huh? I heard on the news this morning some of them had been recovered but there are still a few missing…
There’s a thing called the Black Tide around that area, I guess kinda like a small Bermuda Triangle. Strong undercurrents and such.
Tommy, do a cursory search - this has already been posted about in the sports forum.
thanks
Last 2 have been found (about 11) between Green Isl and main land.
Brilliant. Glad they’re all safe.
Brilliant. Glad they’re all safe.[/quote]
Yes. Applause applause. Good news.
Media reports all are safe.
And Nolza, if it wasn’t for that “Black tide”, they never would have been able to reach shore, and this story most likely would have had a tragic outcome. We won’t know what happened for sure, but if you look on Google earth in the area between Tawu and Taimali, just look at the river delta sediment being carried out to sea, find the ones where it is getting blown directly northward, and you can easily see how close the “Black tide” runs to shore. The Kurushio is also the fastest major ocean current on the planet, in case you are wondering how they were able to drift so far.
The “Black tide” (actually the Hai lio, Black river or Kurushio current) saved their lives.
Fantastic! Kudos to the lead diver who kept the divers together and certainly knew the Kuroshio would sweep them close to shore. And kudos to the rescue workers for their diligent work.
wow what a dramatic story !! hollywood material indeed
Phew!
[quote=“MJB”] The Kurushio is also the fastest major ocean current on the planet, in case you are wondering how they were able to drift so far.
[/quote]
How far would they likely have drifted uinderwater before being able to surface?
[quote=“tw1983”][quote=“MJB”] The Kurushio is also the fastest major ocean current on the planet, in case you are wondering how they were able to drift so far.
[/quote]
How far would they likely have drifted uinderwater before being able to surface?[/quote]
They would have been drifting on the surface, not underwater. The dive ended after 45minutes or so, the rest of the time topside. But, they easily could have drifted off the pinnacle for 2km plus in that time with the currents running as they were that day. Combination of local wind conditions and current carried them North-Eastward, where they encountered the Kurushio and were swept northward. The best possible scenario under the circumstances.
An exerpt from the Scubaboard forums by a poster called L-82:
[quote=“L82”]Just saw it on news.
All are in the hospital now receiving treatment for dehydration and sunburnt.
The news even have a clip of an interview with the nephew of the owner of that dive op.
He said that the current underwater was in reverse direction as opposed to the surface, and they couldn’t inform the boatman. They drifted off and saw the search helicopters flying over their head twice without spotting them. They felt at that point that if they were to survive, they need to rely on themselves. They could see the shores of mainland and so he swam to shore to get help.
The father of one of the 8 divers was interviewed as well.
According to him the divers used flash from their cameras to alert the choppers and thats how they were discovered.[/quote]
If they would have carried the Fe2O3 powder on them which some Military Air & Navy pilots use in case of crash into the sea, SAR could have been finished earlier.
Good that they’re all safe though.
Somehow I had this image of them being swept at high speed by this current underwater for several kilometers before eventually popping to the surface (obviousely I don’t dive).
So I guess the boat captain just wasn’t able to spot them because of swells?
Just incredible they all survived! :bravo:
[quote=“tw1983”][quote=“MJB”]
They would have been drifting on the surface, not underwater. The dive ended after 45minutes or so, the rest of the time topside. But, they easily could have drifted off the pinnacle for 2km plus in that time with the currents running as they were that day. Combination of local wind conditions and current carried them North-Eastward, where they encountered the Kurushio and were swept northward. The best possible scenario under the circumstances.
[/quote]
Somehow I had this image of them being swept at high speed by this current underwater for several kilometers before eventually popping to the surface (obviousely I don’t dive).
So I guess the boat captain just wasn’t able to spot them because of swells?
Just incredible they all survived! :bravo:[/quote]
The dive site itself is pretty small, and usually when the current is running, the dive boats will pick you up in a specific spot that you drift to (It’s really not safe to pick up divers on the site itself). So, imagine, doing say, a 40-50minute dive, the last 15 of which will be your ascent/safety stop. Usually this is where you exit the dive site, and on 7 stars that means into the deep blue, where hopefully your dive boat is waiting, having read the prevailing wind/current. But, as sometimes happens, the current on the bottom is sometimes running in a different direction than on the surface, which means the dive boat would have been very far away from the actual spot where the divers surfaced. It’s what makes diving there a challenge. It’s even possible the current changed direction between dives. At 7 star anything can happen.
It will be really interesting to hear their version of events. I’m only speculating here because I’ve been out there (on the same boat).
And nobody seems to be afraid of Great Whites out there?? I mean Oluanpi has has the big sharks around if I remember?
NO danger at all or what??
[quote=“tommy525”]And nobody seems to be afraid of Great Whites out there?? I mean Oluanpi (Eluanbi) has has the big sharks around if I remember?
NO danger at all or what??[/quote]
Caught off Hualien in 1997.
But then again, your chance of getting hit by 14 consecutive buses in Taipei City is probably higher than getting eaten by whitey.
It seems they split into two groups of four to increase their chances of being spotted and tied themselves together taking turns to swim and rest. One groups headed what they thought was north and the other south. Great stuff.
I don’t know anything about diving but why doesn’t every diver carry GPS units in this day and age, or at least the lead diver?