Diver adrift five hours after boat crew forgets him off Catalina (Boy Scouts to the rescue)

San Francisco Gate ^ | April 28, 2004

[Between the Lines]

A recreational diver forgotten at sea by a boat crew drifted five hours in the ocean and prayed "God, I don't want to die" before a teenager aboard a century-old tall ship spotted him and fellow Boy Scouts pulled him aboard.

Dan Carlock, 45, was left in the ocean by his scuba diving group Sunday and drifted for hours about seven miles offshore. He noted the time of day on his small, waterproof writing slate and took photographs of himself to document that he'd made it to the surface.

And he worried about how his parents would react to his death.

"God, I don't want to die," he prayed. "I want to be saved. I need your help."

Carlock recalled his Boy Scout survival manual: Stay calm. Think methodically.

[Miss Marple]

You know, I can understand the boat crew not counting correctly. BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

[CatoRenasci]

I think there is more to this than meets the eye. He wasn't supposed to survive, I'd bet. Some buddies.

[cyborg]

I smell a rat.

[So Cal Rocket]

BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

Whatever the reason, I'm sure that alcohol was involved.

[Cicero]

A boat with only four people in it and they didn't notice one was missing? Totally inexcusable. I would also guess they must have been drunk. Which is also totally inexusable when you are diving.

But let's not forget to thank that scout for spotting him.

[Maximum Leader]

I think Zack Mayberry has done his good deed for the day. :o)

[Jonah Hex]

Is this Scout from the same troop with the public marina slots being shut down by the city because of the gay issue? I can't remember off the bat which city is pulling that.

[Mr. Lucky]

The diver prayed to God and a ship full of Boy Scouts appeared. Cool.

[Between the Lines]

BUT HOW COME HIS DIVING BUDDIES DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT HE WAS MISSING?

Why did they report him missing from the second dive location instead of the first location? The Coast Guard would never find him searching 11 miles away.

[conservcalgal]

Is this Scout from the same troop with the public marina slots being shut down by the city because of the gay issue? I can't remember off the bat which city is pulling that.

I think you are thinking of Fiesta Island which is in Mission Bay of San Diego. This scout was from the Newport Beach Sea Scout group.

[Docbarleypop]

wasnt it berkely?

[ride the whirlwind]

There was another thread on this (Forgotten diver saved by Boy Scout) which has been pulled.
SandRat - ping

[NoClones]

Were the diver's buddies absent-minded or were they pre-occupied with taking calls on their cell phones?

[Between the Lines]

No, that was Berkeley. This ship was out of Newport Beach. But the troop was from San Diego where the scouts were kicked out of their headquarters in the city-owned Balboa Park.

[Between the Lines]

Zack Mayberry, 15, right, and diver Dan Carlock
sit aboard the Boy Scout boat after
Carlock's rescue on Sunday.

[CatoRenasci]

My suspicion is that the "buddies" (or at least one of them) wanted this guy dead.

[Jonah Hex]

OK, thanks! Just goes to show the Scouts still serve as fine examples to all.

[narby]

Wouldn't it be an irony if the diver the Scouts found was gay?

[Hunble]

This is why I ALWAYS DIVE WITH AN INFLATABLE DIVING SAUSAGE!

Below is a true story of the origin of the Safety Sausage which you might find of interest. It has some real life lessons learned.

On July 22, 1984, a search and rescue exercise was organized by the Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue Advisory Committee. It was planned for two divers to be reported missing, and after a successful air search they were to be dropped a life raft and subsequently picked up by the Navy Patrol vessel "Moa". One of the divers was meant to have the bends and was then to be transferred to the hospital by helicopter and ambulance.

The exercise started with the divers setting out from Papanui Inlet about 8:30 a.m. in an avon inflatable. A half hour out, they slipped into the water and awaited rescue. Another half hour later they were beginning to get concerned that the search aircraft had not arrived. At 10:00 a.m., one hour after leaving the inflatable, the divers noticed a plane searching well away from their site. By 11:00 a.m. the divers could see a plane and a helicopter searching for them as well as the Moa steaming about several kilometers away. During the next half hour both the plane and helicopter flew directly over the divers on at least one occasion; yet each failed to see them. Finally, about 11:30 a.m. a fishing boat spotted the divers and radioed the plane who flew directly over them an dropped a life raft. The Moa then arrived and took the divers aboard. One was suffering from hypothermia.

The divers were in the water for two and a half hours, during which time they had covered a distance of eight kilometers. The most important lesson learned from this exercise was the difficulty in spotting divers from the air. Both the pilots and their observers were experienced. They saw seals, dolphins, and sea birds, but failed to see the divers despite the yellow catch-bag that was waved, yellow tanks, and yellow BCD's.

The lesson was a strong one for Bob Begg, one of the two divers, who owns a sporting goods store in Dunedin. He realized that divers need a simple, waterproof, eye-catching signaling device. It should be compact, inexpensive, and reusable. So he designed the Safety Sausage, a bright red, plastic inflatable tube that stands 10 feet out of the water. It can also be laid flat on the water to signal aircraft. It's inflatable by regulator, or orally. After each use, it can be rolled up to fit into a BCD pocket. If the Japanese family who perished in Palau several years ago had had a Safety Sausage, they would probably be alive today.

[Between the Lines]

Wouldn't it be an irony if the diver the Scouts found was gay?

Apparently he is not gay. I found this at his web page on NASA Quest.

I look forward to lots of bike rides along the beach with my girlfriend Diane and becoming more involved in parish life with my neighborhood church St. Monica's.

[Pompah]

Good job by the Scouts. "Be Prepared"..

I think Danny boy should stay out of the water until he can find some new Buddies. And he owes that Dive Boat skipper a punch in the nose.

[mark_interrupted]

((I've been here since 1967 and I'm not leaving!!!!!!!))

Well, if your going to take that attitude...

[ought-six]

"Whatever the reason, I'm sure that alcohol was involved."

Don't forget the SUV, and the gun, and some fast food.

[beaversmom]

ping

[Between the Lines]

96ft topsail ketch Argus 1905 Newport Beach, California

[Wings-n-Wind]

Smells a little fishy to me.... Hmmmm
(Weak Humor)

Regards

[Between the Lines]

Here is a small irony for you. Dan Carlock works for Hughes Space & Communications Co. and the ship Argus which rescued him is sponsored by their direct competitor Rockwell International.

[SandRat]

Scout motto as this story shows is "Be Prepared."

They were!

Good show Scouts!

[bondjamesbond]

Let's not forget the diver relied on the survival training he received from the Boy Scouts, many years before.

Too bad they are not PC enough and must be destroyed.

[SquirrelKing]

[gathersnomoss]

Maybe his dive "buddy" was his wife that had caught him foolin' around and wanted to collect on the insurance. I can't think of any other excuse for this ommission.

[gathersnomoss]

With the new and improved alternative scouts, been diving has a whole new meaning.

[AnAmericanMother]

This sure does smell worse than a dive bag that hasn't been rinsed for a week.

If it were one of those 20-diver mass tours and they had an odd number of divers, I suppose it would be possible to overlook a diver. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to keep track when you are in a 3-person buddy team. The one time I did it I swore never again - you can't watch two people at once. But only FOUR divers total? And an even number? There's just no excuse for this.

Either they were all VERY drunk, or somebody wanted him dead.

[gathersnomoss]

"So he designed the Safety Sausage, a bright red, plastic inflatable tube that stands 10 feet out of the water"

Sounds like this versatile device can double as a wonderful bridal shower present.

[RonF]

Actually, there was another case entirely separate from the ones you have all mentioned where a Sea Scout Ship had been provided a free berthing slot in a municipal marina, only to lose it after a protest. The Ship (the proper name for a Sea Scout unit) lost the berth (it certainly couldn't afford to pay market rates) even though it stated that it had never discriminated against anyone, and no one had ever shown that it had.

[RonF]

O.K. Here's the story. A Sea Scout Ship in Berkeley, Calif. lost it's free use of a municipal berth. My previous post was wrong; they are still using it because they were able to raise the funds to pay for it.

Of course, Scouts expect to have to pay their own way, and they thought they had, having donated 40 tons of rock to help build the marina in the first place. But the Berkeley City Council apparently neither recognizes nor honors any committment out of that. Look here for more information.

I have engaged (in a separate forum) a number of gay and lesbians on this topic. Some of whom have been involved in Scouting as youth, including at least one Eagle Scout. The vast majority of them are willing to recognize that Scouting's previous contributions (such as the 40 tons of rock here, and the improvements made in the Desert Pacific Council's bases) put some obligation on the BSA's opponents to reach an accomodation with the BSA. But often politicians are more interested in expediency than honor.

[July 4th]

Yep - that's my thought too.

[RonF]

Wouldn't it be an irony if we found that the Scouts were gay?

[Stonewall Jackson]

Congrats to these sharp-eyed Scouts.

This reminds me of a movie preview I saw in the theater a few days ago, I believe the title was Deep Water. It is based on the true story of a husband and wife who were diving on the Great Barrier Reef a few years ago and were left behind. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, their tale did not have a happy ending.

[Bobby777]

yeah, I read the story on CNN ... what was up with his 'buddies'????????? ... something very fishy, no pun intended ... were they so intent on diving they didn't want to be bothered looking for their friend? ... fer pete's sake!!!!

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

BSA saves the day, AGAIN. ping