Two divers experienced a heart-stopping ordeal off the coast of Western Australia after surfacing from a dive to find their boat had completely disappeared, leaving them stranded in open water.
A Routine Dive Turns to Panic
Ryan Chapman and a friend were free diving and scuba diving approximately 5km off Mindarie, a coastal suburb north of Perth. The pair had been in the water for around 45 minutes enjoying the popular fishing spot when they returned to the surface.
"We went out, anchored up, and originally things were all good for 45 mins," Chapman told Guardian Australia. He admitted he was overly eager to get in the water and believes he did not tie his knot properly. "When we resurfaced, the boat was completely out of sight."
In dramatic GoPro footage, Chapman can be heard exclaiming, "Where the fuck is the boat?" and alerting his friend that it had "come off anchor." His initial fear was that the vessel had sunk.
Ninety-Minute Ordeal in the Ocean
The two athletic men immediately began scanning the horizon. Spotting another boat roughly a kilometre away, they decided to swim towards it. For the next 90 minutes, they swam and attempted to hail the distant vessel.
"I was pretty confident in our ability to make it back to shore if we needed to, but it would've taken a few hours and the boat would've been long gone," Chapman said, downplaying his worry at the time.
Their persistence paid off when the passing boat finally noticed them and came to their rescue. The rescuers revealed they had been concerned after seeing an empty boat drifting out at sea.
Safety Lessons Learned the Hard Way
In a remarkable twist, after being saved, Chapman and his friend deduced the direction of the drift, located their boat 2km away, and decided to continue their day of diving. This time, however, they implemented a crucial safety rule: one person stayed on board as a lookout.
"In hindsight we probably should've taken a moment to reflect on the decision making," Chapman conceded. He has gone public with his story to raise awareness about diving safety, stressing two vital points:
- Always have a "decky" – someone remaining on the boat at all times.
- Double-check anchorage knots before entering the water.
"The reason I agreed to air it and own up to stupidity was for awareness," Chapman stated. "It's easy to get complacent and think everything's all good. But in hindsight, it could've been a lot worse."
