Boat captain abandons novice US divers in middle of the ocean in Thailand

[webfact]

Boat captain abandons novice divers in middle of the ocean in Thailand



MESA, Ariz. --- An East Valley couple vacationing to celebrate their first anniversary found themselves abandoned in the ocean, after a dive trip went wrong.

Lexa and Jake Mendenhall recently became certified scuba divers, and were looking forward to their first real dives in the blue waters off Thailand.

They made two one-hour dives, and all was well until they surfaced. Their boat was gone.

The Mendenhalls were stranded with two dive instructors from the Thai diving company, and another couple of novice divers.

The sun was setting, and their minds were racing.

"I kept thinking, 'What if there's no boat? It's evening. What boat goes out in the evening?" Lexa wondered.

Her husband had a GoPro camera, and documented part of their dive. Before the batteries died, his video shows nearby cliffs which were too steep to climb.

A dive instructor waved an inflatable tube in an attempt to signal a boat they say passing by.

Full story: http://www.khou.com/news/national/Boat-captain-abandons-novice-divers-in-middle-of-the-ocean-in-Thailand-232054861.html

-- KHOU 2013-11-16

[jaidam]

Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

[JoeThePoster]

Thailand - You pays your money, You takes your chances.

[CharlieH]

You are not dealing with "the sharpest knives in the draw", intelligence, education all leave alot to be desired in many countries. People just blindly expect things to be the same wherever they go, they are not, and they dont stop to think about where they are and who they are actually dealing with.If they know what they are doing, if they are trained, if they have experience? Or is it just some local driven purely by money and has no clue as to the implications of his actions and unknowingly put lives in danger.

[Bluespunk]

Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

I think the only shark in this case was the one captaining the dive boat.

[davehowden]

"nearby cliffs which were too steep to climb."

So they were hardly "in the middle of the ocean" then!

[stevenl]

Unfortunately these things happen, there have been movies made about it, but it sounds like in this case the blame is easy.

Where did this happen?

[kurnell]

You are not dealing with "the sharpest knives in the draw", intelligence, education all leave alot to be desired in many countries. People just blindly expect things to be the same wherever they go, they are not, and they dont stop to think about where they are and who they are actually dealing with.If they know what they are doing, if they are trained, if they have experience? Or is it just some local driven purely by money and has no clue as to the implications of his actions and unknowingly put lives in danger.

That national average IQ of 87 bobs up again

[Genericnic]

 Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

-1

Sharks are not the problem. I've been diving for 15 years, most of that as an instructor. The problem is an incompetent boat captain that fails to protect his passengers. There was a similar incident in Australia a few years ago that resulted in Australia enacting some of the strictest laws in the world concerning boat liability. I wish Thailand would do the same and, of course, enforce them.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Seri]

Can you disclose the tour company name so no one ever uses their services again?

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[BeforeTigers]

Well, so much for their good reviews.
What's the name of the damned company?

Edited November 16, 2013 by BeforeTigers

[CelticBhoy]

So even boat skippers flee the scene!

[wayned]

What makes you think that it only happens in Thailand. I was on a dive in Tahiti once and although we tried to convince the dive master, a Frenchman, that we were 2 short on our trip back he ignored us until we got to the dock and the owner started to collect equipment. Guess what, they were 2 short. Fortunately they went back and found the pair floating nervously in the water over the reef. S**t happens everywhere, not only in Thailand, it's just that this website must be Thai related so you don't hear about the daily " potential disasters" all over the world. Try diving in the red sea sometime, sharks are predicable, but gators and crocks aren't.

[jackr]

They later found out, their boat captain had engine trouble and chose to leave them all in the water while he went back to shore

What an A HOLE and yet not surprised. Couldn't give a monkeys about implications, the 'captain' would have to get a serious tw*atting!

[Bobobirdiebuddy]

I logged many dives in Thailand over the years and the industry was well run, safety conscious and competent. (Although there was a time when we ran out of gas and, thanks to cell phones, were able to get some sent out much to the relief of our 16 year old captain but that was not a dive company but a deal with a boat owner.). I want to know where they were diving and, most importantly, the dive company. As for sharks, they really are not a problem in Thailand- more frightened than the usual soi dog..

I'm sure the captain's excuse was the farang divers disrespected him in some obscure manner.. thus he decided to kill them by leaving them. And next week he'll be out there again.

[johnlandy]

"only in Thailand"

Edited November 16, 2013 by metisdead
Font

[HeijoshinCool]

Don't be so hard on the "captain" *snort* he had engine trouble. What else could he do but start it up and putter home?

Singha-time!

[Bluespunk]

What makes you think that it only happens in Thailand. I was on a dive in Tahiti once and although we tried to convince the dive master, a Frenchman, that we were 2 short on our trip back he ignored us until we got to the dock and the owner started to collect equipment. Guess what, they were 2 short. Fortunately they went back and found the pair floating nervously in the water over the reef. S**t happens everywhere, not only in Thailand, it's just that this website must be Thai related so you don't hear about the daily " potential disasters" all over the world. Try diving in the red sea sometime, sharks are predicable, but gators and crocks aren't.

Yes, but at least in your case the boat realised people were missing and went back. Not great but at least something. In this case no one back and 6 were left stranded, including 2 instructors. Not by accident either. That's a lot of indifference to human lives.

Edited November 16, 2013 by Bluespunk

[Patje]

And they say that he's the " brighter" one in the family !!!

Lucky nothing bad happened

[Thainy Tim]

I can understand accidentally leaving one or two behind.

But to 'deliberately' leave six divers behind is just plain unacceptable.

There is no excuse.

The captain should face criminal charges for this.

[chaiyapoon]

Yet again the article leaves lots of unanswerd questions and spin added in the middle of the ocean.We realy don't know what happened at all very little detail.

[boomerangutang]

Oh come on. Somchai, the boat captain, probably had something important to get to, like a meal of fried crickets with a caffeine drink, and had to get right back to the mainland. This is Thailand, any excuse will do.

[Andre0720]

Unfortunately these things happen, there have been movies made about it, but it sounds like in this case the blame is easy.

Where did this happen?

'Dead Calm', 1 and 2.

Scary just watching it.

Based on true events...

Captains do not have time to watch movies...

Oh oh... 'Open Water' 1 and 2 it was

Edited November 16, 2013 by Andre0720

[Halion]

"Engine trouble" however, he could still get home !! Sounds rather strange but indicates that he put his own safety and perhaps that of his boat before the welfare of his customers. When put like this sounds typically Thai. 30 or 45 minutes in the water is not that arduous but could be rather disconcerting to novice divers and there is also no mention if it was the captains intention to return. Dangerous and professionally incompetent as this action was I think that the story has been blown out of perspective with regard to the degree of danger that these divers were in. Furthermore that were still in the care of the instructors for what that may be worth.

In more than 100 open water dives in Thailand , I must have experienced at least 10 to 15 times that we were left in the water on the surface for 30 or 45 minutes mainly on drift dives , however have never had an incident when the boat simply disappeared.

[Considered Opinion]

Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

-1

Sharks are not the problem. I've been diving for 15 years, most of that as an instructor. The problem is an incompetent boat captain that fails to protect his passengers. There was a similar incident in Australia a few years ago that resulted in Australia enacting some of the strictest laws in the world concerning boat liability. I wish Thailand would do the same and, of course, enforce them.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

LOL @ that man.

Laws are easy ... it's the other bit that doesn't work.

[h90]

Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

-1

Sharks are not the problem. I've been diving for 15 years, most of that as an instructor. The problem is an incompetent boat captain that fails to protect his passengers. There was a similar incident in Australia a few years ago that resulted in Australia enacting some of the strictest laws in the world concerning boat liability. I wish Thailand would do the same and, of course, enforce them.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

-2

yes the only dangerous sharks in Thailand are the loan sharks

[Lancelot]

Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

-1

Sharks are not the problem. I've been diving for 15 years, most of that as an instructor. The problem is an incompetent boat captain that fails to protect his passengers. There was a similar incident in Australia a few years ago that resulted in Australia enacting some of the strictest laws in the world concerning boat liability. I wish Thailand would do the same and, of course, enforce them.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Lack of enforcement would be the real issue...

[alfalfa19]

This is really incredible, even for Thailand. It seems that he did not accidentally leave them, but chose to leave 6 people while he went back to shore! In any country with even a semblance of normalcy, this guy would face criminal charges.

[Genericnic]

 

 Times like that you can say a prayer of thanks to the fishermen that killed all the sharks in the ocean and the Chinese that ate them all. Amen.

-1

Sharks are not the problem. I've been diving for 15 years, most of that as an instructor. The problem is an incompetent boat captain that fails to protect his passengers. There was a similar incident in Australia a few years ago that resulted in Australia enacting some of the strictest laws in the world concerning boat liability. I wish Thailand would do the same and, of course, enforce them.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

 

Lack of enforcement would be the real issue...

As it is most places. There are lots of good and useful laws on the books in most countries that go unenforced, not just Thailand.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bender92]

He thought they could swim home. It doesn't look too far on the map.