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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------234F1A70BB264356788B996C Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --------------234F1A70BB264356788B996C Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Disposition: inline Path: news.fred.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!globalcenter0!news.primenet.com!nntp.primene t.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!15 2.163.199.19!portc03.blue.aol.com!audrey02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail From: lcoyne4763@ao*.co* (LCoyne4763) Newsgroups: rec.scuba Subject: Local News article on 3 missing divers in FL. Date: 14 Jan 1998 12:33:48 GMT Message-ID: <19980114123301.HAA25129@la*.ne*.ao*.co*> NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder02.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@ao*.co* Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Xref: e@fr*.ne* rec.scuba:158553 By KEVIN KRAUSE, Sun-Sentinel Staff Writer ������ Something had gone wrong at 245 feet below the ocean's surface -- the cold, dark realm of a specialized breed of scuba diver: skilled, brave and adventurous. ����� Mike Elkins, only on his second dive below 200 feet, began having equipment problems on Monday during a deep sea instructional dive about two miles off Riviera Beach. Three fellow divers tried to rescue him. ����� Larry Roth, 42, an experienced diver and former Navy helicopter pilot, surfaced alone after taking 68 minutes to reach the surface. ����� Elkins, police diver John Claypool and Andre Smith, a local dive expert and former Navy Seal, were still missing on Tuesday night after authorities searched a day and a half by sea and air. ����� The U.S. Coast Guard thinks it's possible that Smith, 57, Claypool, 35, and Elkins, 36, are still alive and are being pulled northward by the swift Gulf Stream current. ����� All three men were wearing buoyant, rubber wetsuits, which could keep them floating and protect them from the cold seas, said Coast Guard spokesman Anthony DeKoning. ����� "If they surfaced, there is a good chance they're alive," he said. ����� The search, which included Coast Guard cutters and helicopters, a Jupiter police marine unit, a Martin County sheriff's helicopter and several off-duty West Palm Beach police officers in their personal boats, panned northward on Tuesday, about 12 miles north of Jupiter. ����� The search resumes today at daybreak and likely will continue to move northward, accounting for the pull of the Gulf Stream, which moves at about 4 knots -- the equivalent of 5 mph on land. ����� The S.S. Minnow, a 42-foot dive boat chartered by the Divers Supply dive shop in Riviera Beach, had set off Monday from Phil Foster Park at about 1 p.m. ����� Aboard were the four divers, the wife of one of the divers and the boat's owner and captain, Ed Cook, of Singer Island. ����� Smith and Cook were close friends and roommates and had met Claypool and Elkins at Divers Supply, where Smith was manager. They often dived together on the Minnow and had been out the day before, said Jeff Hirschman, assistant manager of Divers Supply. ����� Smith, a military diver during the Vietnam War and a pioneer of deep ocean diving, has logged more than 5,000 dives. ����� "These guys are a unique handful in Florida," said John Mahoney, captain of the Sea Inn dive boat. "Andre pretty much wrote the book on (deep sea diving)." ����� The purpose of Monday's dive was to take Elkins to the next level in deep sea diving, called technical diving, Mahoney said. Elkins was learning to dive more than 200 feet, a depth for which few instructors provide certification. ����� Comparable to the thrill and danger of skydiving and mountain climbing, technical diving is a relatively new sport, taking divers more than 100 feet below the level of most recreational dives. ����� Smith was the instructor. Claypool, a West Palm Beach police detective and dive instructor, was divemaster. Roth, an experienced diver from Orange Park, went along but did not participate in the instruction. ����� As the Minnow drifted over an artificial reef known as "classic barges" about two miles north of the Lake Worth Inlet, the four men entered the water. ����� They descended at about 1:30 p.m., each with four tanks, one of which contained Trimix, a mixture of air and helium containing less nitrogen than air, allowing divers to mitigate the effects of narcosis, which can impair a diver's judgment. The mix is necessary below 130 feet, and some people use it at 100 feet. ����� About 4 p.m., Elkins began having trouble with his inflatable vest, an air bladder that fills with air to help divers surface, DeKoning said. As he was pulled upwards, he realized he had just enough air to get back to the surface, DeKoning said. ����� "When you do that kind of diving, there is not much of a margin for error," Mahoney said. "If you have equipment failure, you can't just surface or you'll die or be paralyzed for life. It takes time." ����� Roth took Elkins' hand and led a slow ascent, while Smith guided Elkins from below. Claypool, meanwhile, was preparing to ascend. ����� Suddenly, Roth felt Elkins' hand slip from his grip and watched him slowly descend into darkness. The loss of weight caused Roth to swiftly rise. He didn't have enough air to go back down, so he surfaced to call for help, DeKoning said. ����� Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller said Roth remembered seeing Claypool at about 84 feet and said he seemed "in pretty good shape." It's possible Claypool realized what happened and went down to help, Miller said. ����� Only Roth made it to the boat. ����� "We're all hoping for the best," said West Palm Beach police spokeswoman Dena Peterson. "Hopefully, their survival instincts will keep them afloat long enough to bring them to safety." ����� Staff Writer Steve D'Oliveira, Editoral Assistant Linda Reeves and Editorial Researchers Magaly Morales and Barbara Hijek contributed to this report. --------------234F1A70BB264356788B996C-- -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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