Members of a dive group were rescued by a commercial dive boat after their own boat was swamped by waves off ‘Ele’ele Wednesday afternoon. None of the 12 people aboard the “Scuba Cat,” a 30-foot boat owned by Dive Kaua’i,
Members of a dive group were rescued by a commercial dive boat after their own boat was swamped by waves off ‘Ele’ele Wednesday afternoon.
None of the 12 people aboard the “Scuba Cat,” a 30-foot boat owned by Dive Kaua’i, were injured.
But one of the divers claimed the boat captain was negligent for not returning to shore after one of the boat’s engines had trouble at the start of the dive and continued to malfunction in rough water.
“We were new divers on the boat, and I believe the captain should have headed back when he reached the first buoy (en route to the first of two dives) and the engine died,” said Charles Unger, a 59-year-old visitor from Truckee, Calif.
Dive Kaua’i owner Michael Gough disputed the claim that the captain, who was not named, acted irresponsibly. The initial investigation by the Coast Guard showed that “there doesn’t seem to be anything inappropriate at this point.”
Unger said he was on Kaua’i for his daughter’s wedding and to get certification so that he could dive with her and her new husband. He obtained his certification from Dive Kaua’i Friday.
Unger said the Scuba Cat was to launch from Port Allen Harbor Wednesday morning with nine divers and two dive instructors aboard.
The departure was delayed, however, because one of the two boat engines wouldn’t start, Unger said.
The captain eventually got the motor started and proceeded to a buoy and then to the first dive site.
After the first dive was concluded, all the divers got back on board the board and were ready to be transported to the next dive site.
The motor died, but the boat, with one engine running, proceeded to the second dive area by the buoy the group passed at the start of the dive trip.
The captain ordered the dropping of the anchor and a dive line. It was during this time, while the boat was about a mile off ‘Ele’ele, when a large wave swamped the boat.
At the time the boat was swamped, shortly before 1 p.m., the waves ranged from four to five feet, according to Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Gary Openshaw in Honolulu. Unger said the wave seemed higher.
Gough said the malfunctioning engine and odd wind patterns and water conditions combined to swamp the craft.
“The wind started going in one direction and the current was pushing the boat in the other direction, and this caused the boat to sit sideways instead of the bow of the boat going into the wind” for stability, Gough said. “Then it happened.”
After the boat took in water, the “captain said it was not good, and one of the ladies dove over the side and everybody abandoned the boat,” Unger said.
The captain began throwing life preservers to the divers, Unger said.
Unger, a pilot and a retired construction contractor, said he was concerned because his daughter, who went with him on the dive, was not able to find a life jacket. He said he found a diving vest that floated and gave it to her.
Unger said no one panicked and everybody felt more reassured when one of the dive instructors gathered the divers around a flotation ring.
Some of the divers thought about donning diving gear and swimming to shore, while others opted to remain where they were for a rescue boat.
A distress signal sent to the Coast Guard was picked up by Marvin Otsuji, owner of Seasport Diver in south Kaua’i, and Keith Taguma, also of the dive company.
The two launched from Kukui’ula Harbor in Po’ipu in a 32-foot motorized boat and reached the stricken boat at 1:20 p.m. about a quarter mile from Palama Point in ‘Ele’ele and plucked the members of the diving crew.
The rescue craft then took everyone safely back to Kukui’ula Harbor, according to Otsuji.
Under contract with an insurance company, Otsuji’s company towed the Scuba Cat to Port Allen Harbor in ‘Ele’ele, Gough said.
A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched from O’ahu and rescue craft were sent from the Coast Guard station at Nawiliwili Harbor. But they weren’t needed because of the rescue by Seasport, according to Openshaw.
“Without the help of the maritime community, a lot of people would be in trouble,” he said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
