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I have noted with interest the number of people who have jumped to the
defence of Tony Maffatone's rig and the spirited assertion that all 285 =
lbs
of it are 'neutrally bouyant' in the water. One wonders therefore why =
it was
not on the back of the late Mr Maffatone when his body was discovered.
=A0
The fact that it was not been worn leads one to speculate that a) it =
somehow
came off after he had experienced a fatal problem - unlikely in all the
circumstances, b) he took it off before he was in trouble and then
experienced a problem - again unlikely, with a rig like that you would =
not
want to take it off underwater, or=A0 c) he took it of when he was in =
trouble
in an attempt to get to the surface. It would appear that the logical =
and
likely inference is that he removed it in an attempt to survive what =
ever
problem he encountered. If it had truely been neutral he would have had =
no
reason to ditch it.=20
=A0
One also speculates as to whether Capt Janet who was so vociferously
defended by a number of contributors to this list is one and the same =
as
described by Garry Gentile in Part 10 of Book Two of the Luitania
Controversies at page 303. He therein describes a trip on the Wahoo to =
the
Doria involving a group of Italian charterers with limited wreck =
experience.
Apparently the engine of the Wahoo's inflatable chase boat was not =
working
and the replacement engine was too big for the boat. While GG and =
others
were discusing ways of overcoming the problem so that there was a means =
of
picking up stray divers Capt Janet is described to have burst through =
the
door of the cabin and screamed:
"I'm the captain of this boat and I said we're not going to use the =
chase
boat. I don't give a f**k about the Italians. They can f**kin' die for =
all I
care. Once they're off my boat they're on their own."=20
=A0
Further Gary describes several incidents involving Capt Janet. One was
leaving the San DIego without a head count resulting in one diver =
having to
hitch a ride with a New Jersey fisihing boat and then having to make =
his own
way back to the Wahoo over 100 miles. Another was forgetting to deploy =
the
trail line (or as we Aussies call it 'the mermaid line') on the Doria
resulting in the need to have the Coast Guard and the chase boat search =
for
Billy Campbell in fog and he loosing most of his gear.=A0
=A0
If this is the same person then I can readily understand what a great
captain she is and why many would jump to defend her cause.=A0 Please =
tell me
that I have got it horribly wrong.
=A0
Regards
Steve Bliim
--
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