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The following is from the Post & Courier in Charleston. I have been told that
this was not one of the charter boats out of Murrells Inlet, but I don't know
that for sure. Unfortunately, there aren't enough details to really learn from,
other than the obvious.
While we're on the subject, one of the Florida guys mentioned a "pelican rig".
Can someone tell me exactly what that is?
thanks,
al
2 divers rescued after 16 hours
Tuesday, August 24, 1999
By SCHUYLER KROPF
Of The Post and Courier staff
Two recreational divers overcome by heavy currents were rescued more than
30 miles out at sea on Monday after spending a scary, lonely night bobbing on a
pitch-dark ocean.
For more than 16 hours, the men floated off the coast of Georgetown in
waters 50 feet deep, watching helplessly as rescue boats and planes searched
nearby.
They even blew whistles and used their flippers to try to flag someone
down, but the waves were too rough for rescuers to see.
Stephen Christopher Marthers and David Ferguson Jr., both 29 and of
Columbia, were finally found at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Both were dehydrated.
A Coast Guard spokesman said they were not threatened by sharks during the
night, but one of the men suffered a "blown-out" knee fighting the currents.
"The current was that strong," said Charleston Coast Guard Group spokesman
T.F. Worrall.
The two divers were part of a foursome exploring a shipwreck 31 miles off
the coast of Georgetown on Sunday. The wreck, known as the BP, is part of the
line of artificial reefs the state has set up offshore to attract all sizes of
game fish.
The two men failed to surface as expected Sunday afternoon.
According to Worrall, the two traveled down the boat's anchor line to
await the next two divers, including Marthers' father, at the ocean bottom. But
they had to abort because the water was too cloudy.
When they surfaced, they were 300 yards landward of the dive boat. By that
time, the second team of divers had returned to the boat and begun to search
for their companions.
"They attempted to swim back, but the current was too strong and they
couldn't reach the boat," Worrall said.
The Coast Guard was called at 4:45 p.m., and the cutter Matagorda, on
patrol here out of its homeport in Miami, arrived about 6 p.m. A Charleston
helicopter also responded.
Units searched throughout the night for the two men and used night vision
goggles. Worrall said the two men saw their rescuers but never caught their
attention. One disadvantage was that they were wearing dark diving suits,
Worrall said.
The two men were found by a Natural Resources Department boat about three
miles from the wreck.
The men were taken to Murrells Inlet, where the dive boat is based.
Attempts to reach them were unsuccessful.
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