March 2009    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 24, No. 3   What's this?

Two More Divers Stranded for Hours on Great Barrier Reef

from the March, 2009 issue of Undercurrent  

Subscriber Content Preview
Only active subscribers can view the whole article

It seems to be an annual event for a male and female diver to get separated from their Great Barrier Reef liveaboard and stranded at sea for hours. Last year, it was Allyson Dalton and Richard Neely who spent 19 hours overnight in the water, after they failed to be spotted by their liveaboard, the Pacific Star, after surfacing. (They told us their story in the July 2008 issue of Undercurrent and last month, the Australian officials officially charged the boat’s company with failure to ensure the divers’ health and safety.) This year, it was Michele Turner, 42, of Lititz, PA, and a 40-something male diver from California who went adrift while on a seven-day trip aboard the Mike Ball liveaboard Spoilsport. Fortunately, they only spent seven hours at sea and were rescued before sundown....