56 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

It would be the first link when searching Google for the following:

"theync" "dead people found under water"

theync is the worst site on internet , posting pictures of dead people and suicides.  Avoid this site , anyone who goes there more than once should be checked for mental health. 

1 hour ago, Boatfreak said:

This is the government site: http://weather.tmd.go.th/pkt120.php

Yes, as I said before I am aware of that site, but radar only tells you what is happening now and requires interpretation, as the paint is of echos from raindrops, it is a poor predictor.  An indication of the level of intepretation needed is the variability among the radar sites, Chiang Mai  and Chiang Rai for example.

I have found a number of marine forecast sites that are available  but have no idea if they are useful or 'official.' For example:

 

http://www.buoyweather.com/forecast/marine-weather/@10.746969318460001,101.162109375

 

I was intrigued too that a previous poster reported the captain was ordered to put to sea despite his misgivings about the weather.

4 hours ago, fantom said:

Is there a copy of the forecast and related warnings issued prior to departure?

No, since there was no warning beforehand.

Thai dive boats, ferries seem to ignore bad weather warnings, have done forever, they just wing it, sad that they never seem to learn from previous accidents. Passengers really need to bring their own quality life jacket.

 

They used to overload ferries, hopefully that doesn't still happen

 

 

To me and I do stress that this is my opinion only this is a reverse opposite of the cave drama. In this case whomever or whatever occurred prior to these boats leaving on their ill-fated journeys and how much of the background is swept under the carpet as it all unwinds, this comes down to a matter of personal bravery. If what the captain says is true and he was ordered by his boss to go out regardless of the weather warnings and whomever actually owns the boats and books them there is at the end of the day only 1 person responsible. I understand that there are pressures to earn a living etc., however a captain/skipper/boat operator has a duty of care and is responsible for the safety of his/her passengers and if the skipper of this boat cannot understand that then he is unfortunately totally the wrong person to have ever been given such a position.

38 minutes ago, balo said:

theync is the worst site on internet , posting pictures of dead people and suicides.  Avoid this site , anyone who goes there more than once should be checked for mental health. 

Indeed, it appears to be the depths of humanity. I certainly won't be going back. However, the video in question is no worse than what the Thai local news show on television 

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That link doesn't seem to be working. Can you post a link direct to whatever content you're talking about?

I think it's the video posted on Liveleak.com that they are referring to.

A short clip of two bodies being brought back to the surface.

Very sad and very upsetting to watch. ?

30 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

To me and I do stress that this is my opinion only this is a reverse opposite of the cave drama. In this case whomever or whatever occurred prior to these boats leaving on their ill-fated journeys and how much of the background is swept under the carpet as it all unwinds, this comes down to a matter of personal bravery. If what the captain says is true and he was ordered by his boss to go out regardless of the weather warnings and whomever actually owns the boats and books them there is at the end of the day only 1 person responsible. I understand that there are pressures to earn a living etc., however a captain/skipper/boat operator has a duty of care and is responsible for the safety of his/her passengers and if the skipper of this boat cannot understand that then he is unfortunately totally the wrong person to have ever been given such a position.

 

It's easy to throw out platitudes like "he was the wrong person to have ever been given such a position", but in a culture like Thailand or China, the right kind of person won't be in the job very long. 

 

After one or two refusals to go, out, they'd just find replacement who will.  As tempting as it is to blame the skipper, he's a product of the culture.

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

It's easy to throw out platitudes like "he was the wrong person to have ever been given such a position", but in a culture like Thailand or China, the right kind of person won't be in the job very long. 

 

After one or two refusals to go, out, they'd just find replacement who will.  As tempting as it is to blame the skipper, he's a product of the culture.

true absolutely, but the buck stops with him and I did say it was a lack of bravery. The boat probably wouldn't have gone out had he said no, my particular disdain is that with this guy it seems it wasn't his fault at all so I suppose if you have no personal responsibility, you can blame it on your culture and sleep soundly at night. I am not saying the culture is right and it was not meant as a platitude, there is certainly no personal ownership or responsibility, is that a cultural problem or a modern problem?

2 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

true absolutely, but the buck stops with him and I did say it was a lack of bravery. The boat probably wouldn't have gone out had he said no, my particular disdain is that with this guy it seems it wasn't his fault at all so I suppose if you have no personal responsibility, you can blame it on your culture and sleep soundly at night. I am not saying the culture is right and it was not meant as a platitude, there is certainly no personal ownership or responsibility, is that a cultural problem or a modern problem?

My main issue with the "Captain" and "crew" were that they damn well ensured that they got off safely before the passengers!  They must, through experience, have understood that the Chinese generally don't do well on or in the water.  To leave so many below decks, especially children, before stepping into liferafts themselves is, in my book, unforgiveable.

 

As the skipper and crew of a passenger carrying vessel, that smacks of cowardice of the very highest order.  In the intital photos, the "Captain" (eager to put his version of events out first) looked immaculate in his toy costume, not wet at all and barely a crease out of place.

10 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

true absolutely, but the buck stops with him and I did say it was a lack of bravery. The boat probably wouldn't have gone out had he said no, my particular disdain is that with this guy it seems it wasn't his fault at all so I suppose if you have no personal responsibility, you can blame it on your culture and sleep soundly at night. I am not saying the culture is right and it was not meant as a platitude, there is certainly no personal ownership or responsibility, is that a cultural problem or a modern problem?

 

You may be right, but with hundreds, even thousands of fishing boats idled by the recent crackdowns to satisfy the EU and USA on illegal fishing and human trafficking, I suspect the boat would have gone out even if he said no.  Maybe 5 minutes late when they contacted one of the hundreds of unemployed captains waiting in line and salivating for this guy's job.

 

If they want to fix the problem of unsafe tours, they need to go beyond the sacrificial little guys being tossed under the bus, and prosecute the owners.   That applies to mini-vans, buses, and boats, too.  As long as the owners walk away, they'll keep killing tourists for money.

50 families linked to the deceased have flown into Phuket , TAT have already added them to this quarters tourist figures!

Sad how the budget tourists are led like this, it is said they were on their way to go snorkeling. I the conditions of the day what on earth were the tour guides thinking. Clearly there needs to be some tourism packages designed for seasonal differences.