well went out this weekend with discovery divers  on-board the
Captain's Lady    OK boat kinda small good for  Six diver's
we dove the USCG SPAR which is about 26 miles out  depth is 108 to
sand  and about  56 top of wheel house
temps wear 82 topside  bottom was 74 .
comfortable dive in 3 mm  suit
visibility was  60-80 feet
fish  for only being four weeks old wreck lots of fish all ready
Barracuda, Lots of bait fish , quit a few Sand Tigers.
and a easy  swim through and  entry level Penetration wreck  as its
still very low silt/sand  color is still white and easy entrance and
exits.

Has anyone dived it yet if so give report please.

these wear friends of mine despite even the best training
somethings can go wrong keep that back of your minds.
this is a copy from Christos
with his permission

Subject: Eric Siebel Tech Diving Accident 6.27.2004

[ I know Christos personally and dove with him in excesses of 10x in
technical dives as deep as 260' ... this is his story as posted, more
as time allows me to collate the incident --- mg}

This just released from E-divers and copied from thedecostop.com:

Thank you all for all the kind comments. Here is a brief synopsis of
what happened:

Dive planned to 170-190 ft, 30 mins BT on a backgas of 18/45 in PST
104's, 50 mins deco on 50 and 100%. Sand was 210 ft, but profile
allowed for a considerably shallower average depth. We had planned on
dropping on the Lowrance wreck, and my buddy being a keen
spearfisherman had brought his gun. I did not.

Everything was fine on the boat, there were no signs or premonitions
of anything untoward on the surface and on most of the descent. The
current was in excess of 2 knots, and the water temperature was
considerably colder than usual for Pompano, about 66F. My buddy
dropped faster than I did on this occasion, and I was not able to
maintain eye contact. I chose to not swim as fast as him, as I could
already feel some CO2 narcosis stepping in. The team ahead of us for
whatever reason had chosen to place a down-line, and I saw my buddy
take hold of it and descend on it. I can only presume that he would
have loaded the four bands of his speargun at this time based on
previous observations of his behaviour. It's not hard to imagine that
the effort of this at 70 ft or so, compounded with all the other
factors would have driven his PCO2 to levels that were not compatible
with life.

I had him in clear visual contact all the time, and when we caught up
on the bottom, he started seizing immediately. I could not extricate
him from the wreck at once as his manifold was caught up on part of
the wreck, so I deflated his wing, purged my 7 cft hose into his
mouth
as his rig was out in an attempt to clear his oropharyngeal airway,
and belted for the surface. Dive time then was 11 mins, we were at
150ft (I think the current took us north of the Lowrance as I did not
recognize the wreck... we were probably 300ft N on the "Renegade").
To
those with whom I have previously spoken, I apologise for calling the
depth 170; This was an estimate based on an assumption that we were
on
the Lowrance which I believe we missed. Time to surface was 4
minutes,
I had switched to 50% en route, and the boat was right on top of us.
Even on the ascent, I could see that my buddy was Cyanosed, and that
there was frothy material coming out of his mouth. All the way up to
the surface, he was having a grand mal seizure, and this stopped at
about 40ft. I chose not to wait for his seizures to abait as he was
already cyanotic, and I pressed on his belly all the way up in a vain
attempt to prevent a pneumothorax. On the surface, there was a
massive
amount of frothy blood tinged sputum coming of his mouth and nose, I
cut him out of his harness, and he was hauled onto the boat. The
police were on site in less than 2 mins, I went on O2, and we were
were back in dock in less than three minutes. My girlfriend who is an
ER doc noted that he had a gash on his cheek, and that he was so
cyanotic and mottled that there was no way that this could have been
a
4 minute rescue. She noted in particular that alot of water was
coming
out of his airway during rescuscitation. This confirms to me beyond
any reasonable doubt that my buddy had passed out at about 70 -100ft
due to overexcertion and CO2 narcosis, as a result of the goal
orientated approach of his dream of nailing a black grouper on the
Lowrance. I believe that that he had inadvertently chosen to ignore
the warning signs that that his body was showing him. He most likely
scraped his head onto the wreck, drowned on the way down, and started
seizing due to Hypoxia / Anoxia. I sincerely doubt that there was any
CO or acetylene in his backgas as the fill station we use is the best
run in florida, and the proprietor is extremely anal retentive and
methodical.

I would like to thank the member of the other team for giving up on
attempting to drag my buddy towards the "upline", and from allowing
me
to head to the surface when he realised that my ascent was too
uncomfortable for him. I would like to thank that team for continuing
their dive as though nothing had happened, and for not recovering my
friend's speargun.

In particular I would like to commend Captain Conrad Nix for his
decisive action, my girlfiend for an exemplary rescusitation despite
overwhelming odds, and for the Sheriff for getting on site in record
speed. In particular I would like to thank the Dentist member of the
other team who maintained mouth to mouth rescusuitation despite my
comments calling for an end to the code. I declined to go to the
chamber and signed out AMA as I was well clear on deco.

I would also like to thank Dean Marshall, Cody Gardner, Bob Sherwood
and Andrew Georgitsis for teaching me how to rescue an unconscious
diver. I would in particular like to mention Andrew Georgitsis and
Tyler Moon for coaxing me into becoming more emotionally cool,
smooth,
unflinching, and deliberate in my actions. I would also like to thank
all of the countless individuals, both Professors, and Patients
throughout my fifteen years of Postgraduate Medical Training who
taught me the value of life, the dignity of humanity, the art of
Medicine and for developing me as a person who functions best in
conditions of high stress.

Eric Seibel was one of my best friends, a brilliant man and an
exceptionally talented diver. He just celebrated his 5Oth birthday on
Saturday and will always be remembered for his humanity, quick wit
and
his kindness. Whilst he made some decisions today which I would not
have, I will not dwell upon these. He was well loved by many people
in
South Florida and leaves behind a wife and family. This is the only
comment that I will post online in a public forum. There are no
learning experiences to be gained from this, and I would only hope
that people continue to take heed, and appreciate the limitations of
their training and physiology.

Over the next few days I will no doubt increasingly blame myself for
"not doing this", and "not doing that". I do this everytime I have a
death in the OR, and it always runs through the same cycle. There is
nothing else that could have done to have prevented this death
besides
not diving today. Through the years I have learnt to dissociate
myself
emotionally from my work, and this is helping enormously right now,
although I don't expect it to last much longer as I work through the
stages of mourning for my friend.

Enough for now.

Warm Regards to all,

Christos

check this site out for more info on tech diving in nc .

http://www.sportdiverhq.com/index.htm

http://www.wral.com/news/3408559/detail.html

We are planning on being in Morehead City next week and was
wondering if there were any charters that did tech trips..we are
looking for something in the 150-210 or so range.... we've diving
with Olympus two days but looking to see if there's any other
options

Thanks

Bob McKinney
Daytona Beach

http://allenhost.com/gallery/medics-pictures

Looking for a nice simple dive on NC or SC coast. Anyone have
information on beach or Jetty dives? Live in Charlotte, and was
looking...came across Aquatic Safari in Wilmington, and considering a
$40 dive to an inshore wreck. Does anyone have good/bad things to say
about them???
David
Dmahn@...

Jason And Tania Owen are proud to announce the arrival of Daddy's future
dive buddy.

Sydney Brooke Owen was born almost five weeks early on Sunday May 2nd, 2004.
She weighed in at 3 lbs. 13 ozs. and measured 13 inches long.  As small and
premature as she is the doctors assure us that she is in excellent health.
Mother and daughter are both doing fine.  If you would like to see photos,
rather then send them out and tie up everybody's email space and download
time, I have posted them at: www.locationbeaufort.com/sydney

Jason J. Owen

Diving the Proteus this weekend(May 1). First time, any tips or
stories. Also what are the temps. Should I bring a Mares Semi-dry, or
3mm with a core warmer? Thanks for any help

Greetings all,

As the founding publisher and editor of the original SPORT DIVER and
OCEAN REALM magazines I am please to announce the development of a new
ocean nature/travel magazine planned for release in the fall of 2004.

Anyone interested in contributing photo and/or editorial materials
should contact us at Contributor@....

Regards, Richard H. Stewart, President.

Does anybody know of any DIR-friendly boats off the NC or SC coast?
A couple of us are wanting to put together a weekend of wrecks this
spring and some of the team wants to do some light deco and extended
bottom time dives.  Any info is appreciated.

Hey all!

Just a quick note to let you know what I am up to!  Or maybe since it
involves diving I should say down too? Anyway As most of you know I am no
longer working at Palmetto Dive Center, however, I am still diving, teaching
classes, and leading trips.   I will be leading a trip to West Palm Beach on
April 3rd and 4th.  The plan is to do 2 boat dives Saturday after noon, a
beach night dive that evening and 2 more boat dives on Sunday.  Diving in
West Palm is always fun and exciting.  We usually see a nurse shark or two,
barracuda, tons of reef fish, moray eels, turtles, and lobsters just to name
a few of the highlights.  I will be offering an advanced class on this trip
if anybody is interested.  Trip cost is $140 includes hotel (double
occupancy), boats, and air fills.  Non-divers are welcome, ask me for
pricing.

I also have an Open Water Diver course coming up starting April 14th in
Beaufort.  Cost is $200. So get your non diver buddies and family started.
I have also received some requests for discover scuba programs and I am
working on setting some up in the near future.  This program lets non-divers
try scuba in the confines of a pool with an instructor's supervision.  I
will let you know as soon as I get one scheduled.

The last bit of information I have to pass on has to do with all the manatee
photos I have taken in Crystal River last season.  I chose 24 of my
favorites and put them onto a puzzle cd.  It is now available at:
http://www.locationbeaufort.com/cdpuzzle  You can check out one of the
puzzles online for free so try it out when you get a chance and let me know
what you think.

Sea ya on the bottom!

Jason J. Owen

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam

For all you computer buffs that are good with web pages let me know I
have a domain name just not very good at building web page after that
have to find hosting company, if you have any pictures please send
them or post them will use them in picture page for
ncwreckdivers.net   thanks

Dear group members,

With interest of support for your people and friends.  I posted this
note before asking for your support.   I find you were very kind to
post and also to attempt to join the group I asked, and I have to
thank you sincerely for your efforts.

Unfortunately the person who open the group, desided to close the
group rather soon and expextedly to all memebers.   I am sorry that
group is no longer open.

Thank you for you support and all you do to keep this group so
interesting.

Kind regards,
Jonathan
http://www.divhiker.com/





--- In Ncwreckdivers@yahoogroups.com, "divhiker" <divhiker@y...> wrote:
> Hi group...
>
> Hope you are having a wonderful week!  and that you all enjoyed your
> weekend.
>
> I wanted to invite you all to join us at my friend's group:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyJournal4theworld2c_1987/
>
> We are a small group of folks that enjoy sharing about each other and
> some of the faces of life and experience.
>
> Also wanted to let you know that This week I am featuring our friend
> Rae Rae in my website's Daily Feature page at www.divhiker.com   Rae
> Rae joined us from FL and soon will also have her own pages for you
to
> enjoy her work.  Rae Rae is an amazing looking model with a wonderful
> personality and really friendly.
>
> Hope to see you all there soon
>
> Have an amazing day!
> Jonathan
> www.divhiker.com

Hi guys,

Take a look at my new site (http://www.christiandivers.org) and let me know
what you think. It's still in the building phase, but I hope to add a chat room,
a
section to sell/swap scuba equipment, buoy forcasts, links to common dive
shops and charters and more.

Please give me your suggestions. I've been a member of this group for a
while and I value your opinion.

Although the club is called, "Christian Divers" you don't have to be a Christian
to join. Just a certified diver that is willing to provide by a few simple rules
to
provide a family atmosphere. (i.e., no cursing, drinking, etc). Everybody has a
blast and no one gets offended.

Give me your comments.

Hi guys,

Take a look at my new site and let me know what you think. It's still in the
building phase, but I hope to add a chat room, a section to sell/swap scuba
equipment, buoy forcasts, links to common dive shops and charters and more.

Please give me your suggestions. I've been a member of this group for a
while and I value your opinion.

Although the club is called, "Christian Divers" you don't have to be a Christian
to join. Just a certified diver that is willing to provide by a few simple rules
to
provide a family atmosphere. (i.e., no cursing, drinking, etc). Everybody has a
blast and no one gets offended.

Give me your comments.

Hi group...

Hope you are having a wonderful week!  and that you all enjoyed your
weekend.

I wanted to invite you all to join us at my friend's group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyJournal4theworld2c_1987/

We are a small group of folks that enjoy sharing about each other and
some of the faces of life and experience.

Also wanted to let you know that This week I am featuring our friend
Rae Rae in my website's Daily Feature page at www.divhiker.com   Rae
Rae joined us from FL and soon will also have her own pages for you to
enjoy her work.  Rae Rae is an amazing looking model with a wonderful
personality and really friendly.

Hope to see you all there soon

Have an amazing day!
Jonathan
www.divhiker.com

does anyone hear dive a dry suit  if so what make model
looking at getting dry suit  thanks .

OK all I  have the domain  ncwreckdivers.net  registered to me so
now I  am looking for a web hosting company , if any one has any in
mind pass them along thanks

Hey all!

Just a quick note to tell you about the great deal we got on a Blackbeard's
Cruise.  Blackbeard's is a great sailing live-aboard that travels and dives
throughout the Bahamas chain.  Accommodations are basic, bunk beds with
privacy curtains.  These trips are always incredible and always a load of
fun.  We are planning to go February 21st through the 28th.  We will depart
from Miami.  We expect to get between 3 and 5 dives a day including night
dives. Food and drink is included in the price of $719 and port fees of $55.
We are also going to through in a free(there is a $25 fee to get the c-card)
night diver specialty course on the trip!  If you want to join the fun we
have 5 spots currently reserved.  We can get more spots on a first come
first serve basis.  If you want to go you need to get us a deposit of $150
no later then December 4th. You can then split the rest of the monies due
into 2 payments due on the 1st of January and the 1st of February. After
December 4th full payment will be due at time of reservation and space will
have to be confirmed with Blackbeard's Cruises.  Also you can register to
win a free trip with Blackbeard's on our website: www.palmettodivecenter.com
Call or stop by the shop ASAP!

Anyway I'm headed to Crystal river this weekend to dive with the Manatee.  I
will send out a longer letter after I get back, sometime next week.

Hope you and yours had a great thanksgiving!

Sea ya on the bottom!

Jason J. Owen
Palmetto Dive Center
Beaufort, SC
(843)524-1100

P.S.  Patty has procured some Gift cards for the shop.  Start dropping hints
to family, friends, and Santa today!

The Dry Tortugas Liveaboard The Ultimate Getaway is a 100' dive
vessel out of Fort Myers, Florida. It has a nice layout... with two
bunk sections in the mid and bow w/ dorm style bunks and 4 full
heads with showers. We had to bring towels, bedding and dive gear
but everything else was provided including tanks. The nitrox system
was down so I didn't need my cert (which I got for the trip) or the
nitrox for that matter when you consider the number of dives we were
able to do. The boat holds 20 divers and we had 16 on board. An
outstanding group of people and I enjoyed meeting everyone. Special
thanks to Robin for pulling us together. I decided to make the 12
hour drive instead of flying since I had to carry so much and didn't
want to risk the hassles (I am sure you know them well) of flying.
Walter was nice enough to meet me in Ft Myers, show me around and be
my dive buddy for the few dives we managed to make. The wind was
howling on Sunday night as we pulled away from the dock but we all
had hopes and the forecast called for it to subside over the next
few days ... boy were they wrong. The ride out was a little bumpy
but we were going with the seas and wind so it wasn't too bad ...
now the ride back in was another story. Woke up to rough conditions
on Monday morning so Capt Rick anchored in a protected spot between
Fort Jefferson and Loggerhead Key and after breakfast we dropped in
to see what we could see ... which wasn't much ... vis was only
about 10 ft and the current was pretty strong ... so we completed
the dive with hopes of finding a site with more desirable
conditions. The second dive was better, the vis had cleared another
20 ft, the water temp was about 79 deg. but the current was still
raging. Several in the group had to be picked up by junior (the
chase boat). Four tried to climb in on one trip and junior became a
submarine !!! The crew jumped into action and junior was saved,
thank goodness because he was needed again the next day. I believe
Walter and I were the only ones during the entire trip that didn't
take a ride in junior! We spent the rest of the afternoon walking
around Fort Jefferson and taking pics. Tuesday looked like a wash as
the seas had not calmed and the winds were still blowing strong so
off we went to Loggerhead Key. We decided to go snorkeling on the
back side and spend the morning exploring the island ... I found
several treasures including a great hat and sun visor ... both I
gave away ... after lunch we decided to dive again ... the plan was
to drop in and swim to the anchor line and descend down the line ...
I never made it. The current was so strong I was barely making any
headway ... I made it to the front of the vessel descended a few
feet only to be swept under the bow and when I looked up I was close
to being struck on the head from the bouncing boat ... so I pushed
off from the keel and came out the other side ... I was breathing so
rapidly from exertion and the thought of being hit in the head that
I could not catch my breath or slow my breathing ... Walter was soon
by my side asking if I was OK and trying to inflate my BC (I had
already filled it) as the current was rapidly taking me past the
boat I waved to the mate who threw me a line and pulled me safely to
the stern. Needless to say I called that dive as did Kathy who was
swept past the reef and spent her bottom time swimming back to the
boat. After moving to another site I decided to try it again ...
this time dropping in and descending immediately ... the current was
still strong but to me it was the best dive of the trip. We saw a
large hogfish, four lobsters, several beautiful angles, a grouper
and the typical smaller reef fish. Thanks to Walter's navigation, we
came up very near the stern ... much to my relief. We had hoped to
get in a wreck dive the next morning but the weather did not favor
us ... guess we should have made that sacrifice to the weather gods.
So we headed back to Ft Myers ... this time into the seas... four of
us in the forward bunks soon found ourselves on the back deck just
trying to find a little abatement from the pounding seas. So Walter,
April and I told jokes (well mainly Walter) soon making us forget
out discomfort, laughing until 3am ... waiting for a break to
finally get some ZZZZZ's.  We pulled back into the dock between 9 &
10am Wednesday, a little bruised and battered but all safe and
sound ... and even with all the challenges we faced I still had a
great time. I would do it again. Want to join me ...

Hi all again,
   I've been thinking about doing a web site for wreck diving...so I
thought I'd throw something together that would incorporate the NC
Wreck Divers...let me know what you think.  The main thing is the
wreck database so far. Right now you can't search it but you can flip
through the list.  http://www.dale-wright.com/wreckmaniac

let me know what you think.

Dale

Hi all,
   I uploaded some pics from a recent trip of Atlantic Beach.  Hope
you all enjoy.

Dale

Sat. Nov. 1 found my ten year old son and I driving around Chapel
Hill with it 81 degrees and the sun bright.I recalled that a friend
at Gypsy Divers, in Raleigh had mentioned that Olympus in Morehead
City had just called her. They were bragging about 120 ft. vis and
bottom temps of 77.
I had already put up my equipment for the winter and sworn to my
wife that I was done.Yea,
I jumped on the net and found that Olympus was running extended day
trips on Sat and Sunday to the Naeco.Two deep dives on the same
wreck instead of a shallow wreck on the way back in.If it was going
to be my last day I might as well go for it.
Called and found out there was plenty of room.they had 50 ft vis and
mid 70s on the bottom.As an afterthought I asked if my son could
come along for the ride,he had just finished Scuba Rangers and
wanted to come watch.The kind girl I was talking to
called the Capitan out on the boat asking if my son could
come.Captain said sure but the ride was going to be three hours each
way and the seas might be rough.
Drove down to Morehead City Sat evening and got a clean nice room at
the Best Western for under $50.00
6am at the boat,had to rent a wet suit ,forgot mine in the rush.14
divers including a mate I had seen over at Discovery.All crew and
fellow divers friendly,moderate seas,bright warm sun and a three
hour trip out.They had changed the destination to the Lobster Wreck
and were we in luck!!Dropped anchor in three to four foot
seas,received a clear and thorough pre dive briefing and over we
went.
First dive123 ft 22 min vis 100plus. Around 30 feet the wreck
started to appear,could see 40,50 ft ot onto the sand all around the
wreck.Barracuda,Pompano and amber-jacks on the way down,with some
manageable current.Sponges coral,Queen angle Fish,res snappers large
Spade-fish and many lobsters who showed me how much faster they were
than me.My buddy had a camera and with all the light and fish he had
a great time.
#2 121ft. 22min and 80 at the bottom.
Vis was still 100 plus but current had picked up some.I looked for a
nurse shark someone had seen the first dive with no luck but half
way up the wreck,down between two beams were a pair of Lion
Fish.They just sat there even with my light on them.Saw someone else
catch another lobster but with limited bottom time I looked around
until I had to go back up.Seas were 5ft but everyone got back up
safe.My son had a great time and didn't get into anybody's way .
It seems so strange that summer temps and vis are here in Nov.It was
a great trip,dive 20 and 21 for me and a wonderful end of a long
summer.
Dive Safe

Hey everybody!


I have a young lady that just completed her Open Water course and needs to
complete her dives for certification.  She really wants to go this weekend
but we need 2 more divers to make the trip.  The plan is to head to Crystal
River for Saturday and Sunday dives with the manatee.  The trip cost is $152
and includes hotel, boat, and air fills.  If your interested in going Call
me ASAP! I can be reached at the shop (843)524-1100 or on my cell
(843)575-4967.

Also don't forget the Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest for this Thursday
the 30th.  The rumor is that if we can get enough people to sign up, that
the grand prize will be a Titan LX regulator provided by Aqua-Lung.  We have
a JBL spear-gun.  We also have some prize packs from PADI that include the
Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, the Diving Knowledge Workbook, the
AWARE :"Our World Our Water" Manual, and a Cordura Binder Logbook.
Underwater Kinetics has provided some LED penlights that make great back-up
lights.  Trident may also be sending some prizes. Entry fee is $15 Let me
know as soon as possible if you plan to attend so we can get set up.  Also
if anybody knows where we can put our hands on a tank big enough for a diver
and a pumpkin let me know ASAP!  You got to check out the pumpkin diver on
the website: www.palmettodivecenter.com

One more quick item for my HELP list.  We are planning a West Palm / Keys
trip for November 5th - 9th.  Trip includes a nitrox course and a 2 tank
dive in West Palm, Fl.  In the Keys we will be diving the USS Speigel Grove,
the USCG Duane, and the USCG Bibb.  Talk about some awesome dives. and all
for only $599 per diver. Space is limited so sign up today!

Sea Ya' on the Bottom.

Jason J. Owen
Palmetto Dive Center
Beaufort,SC 29902
(843)524-1100

Outer Banks Diving, has survived Isabel.  While they took a bit of
damage the operation is still intact and operating, regardless of
what some people are saying.  The October trips to Wilmington are
still a go.  If you have booked with them and have any questions give
them a call.  Just be patient, the phone service is still touchy at
times.

please note this has been  posted with the permission of the aurther
please check his web page out thanks
http://www.paradisesoftware.com/whiteshark.asp

Great White Shark Encounter
Location: Caribsea wreck, North Carolina
Time: July 21, 2001 approx. 11:00am
Vessel: Midnight Express, Olympus Dive Center
Skipper: Robert "Bobby" Purifoy
Photos: Click here.

Unofficial report:

We had just finished our dive on the Caribsea wreck at a depth of 85
feet, and started doing our topside surface interval. At approx
10:45, two divers, Wade Madden and <unknown diver>, had just entered
the water to begin their dive. Divemaster, Mike <unknown> grabbed his
speargun and donned free-dive gear to go after wahoo.

At approx 10:55, Mike returned to the ship in a hurry and reported
that a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) was swimming
directly off the stern of the ship, by the trailing buoy line. Mike,
who had seen another Great White while diving in Mozambique, Southern
Africa, was certain that this was a Great White.

At approx 11:00, myself and the divers on board, who only minutes ago
had been in the water rushed to the stern to see the shark. The shark
encircled the ship several times coming within several feet of the
port side. A companion ship, Outrageous, was anchored off the port
bow and the shark also spent time visiting them.

The shark returned and swam past our ship's swim-up platform, a 12-
foot wide deck. The shark was longer than the width of the deck. The
shark cruised slowly, rolling on it's side at times, giving us a
clear view of it's white under-side. Several times, the shark's
dorsal fin broke the surface -- a truly ominous sight.

It was soon realized that the two divers were still known to be on
the Caribsea. The ship's crew quickly made plans to notify the
unsuspecting divers. The crew hastily wrote on a slate, "Great White
Shark -- No Kidding", attached the slate to a speargun, and attached
the speargun to the anchor line. By doing so, the speargun and slate
slid down the anchor line, to a depth of approx 80 feet, where the
two divers were beginning their ascent.

There was no time to do a decompression safety stop. Exit from the
water was paramount.

The shark swam back behind the trailing buoy. We could soon see the
fizzy bubbles coming to the surface indicating that the divers had
decided to make their ascent. Everyone was instructed to back away
from the stern and give the crew room. Captain Bobby loaded his
speargun and took aim at the shark to provide cover, while the divers
surfaced and hurridly scrambled hand-over-hand over the trailing line
to the awaiting ladders. You could see the look of terror on their
faces through their masks. Everyone on board shouted "Hurry! Hurry!"
but were quickly silenced by the crew, "Stop! You'll make them panic!"

Safely on board, the divers had faces of sheer excitement.

The experience of diving in the close proximity of a Great White is
an event all of us on the trip will share, and will be THE dive story
for most of us. While we didn't have the same in-water visual
experience as the the two divers and one free-diver, we were all in
the water minutes ago and only minutes away from experiencing a face-
to-snout Great White Shark encounter.
  photo link
http://www.paradisesoftware.com/whitesharkphotos.asp
-- Scott A. Keen
Rescue / EAN diver, certified 1988
scott@...