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CDNN: Aussie diver dies cleaning boat bottom

SYDNEY, Australia (12 Feb 2006) — A man who died cleaning the hull of his boat may have become distressed after losing a fin, police said yesterday.

The man, in his early 50s, was using scuba gear while cleaning the underside of his boat, which was moored in the Parramatta River at Kissing Point Bay, near Gladesville in Sydney.

It is understood the man and a male friend boarded the moored vessel – an old fishing trawler which had been converted to a pleasure cruiser – yesterday morning with the intention of cleaning the hull.

He was last seen in the water at 11.30am (AEDT).

A short time later, his friend became concerned when he could no longer see the diver or any air bubbles indicating his location.

Using the boat’s radio, he called for help. A NSW Maritime Services vessel was first on the scene.

Police divers arrived a few minutes later and quickly located the man at the bottom of the bay and brought him to the surface about 1.15pm.

A Water Police spokesman said last night the man, who had not been formally identified, still had air in his tank when he was found.

“The biggest clue is that he lost a fin so he may have got himself into difficulty and was unable to return to the surface,” the spokesman said.

The man’s body was taken to the Water Police station before being transported to Glebe morgue late yesterday afternoon.

A post-mortem examination would determine whether he suffered a medical condition such as a heart attack or drowned in the accident, police said.

His friend would give a statement to police and a report was being prepared for the coroner.

The accident occurred about 200m from Putney Park, where dozens of families were enjoying a sweltering Sunday afternoon.

Unaware of the tragedy, they enjoyed picnics and barbecues around a children’s play area and paddling pool.

A number of boats moored nearby appeared unattended as police examined the dead man’s boat and the surrounding area.

The area is a popular one for recreational boating and fishing.

Police had not released the dead man’s name late yesterday as relatives had not identified his body.

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Divemasters…Skilled or Unskilled?

Very often you find Instructors and Divemasters who brag about their dive skills. Well, I don’t dispute them as they would have gone through quite a lot to get where they are.

According to PADI, upon completion of your Advanced Open Water course and completing both your Emergency First Response and Rescue Diver courses, and on top of that you have 20 logged dives, you can enrol for the Divemaster course as a DMT. Upon completion, you must have a minimum of 60 logged dives. To become an Instructor, you will have to become an Assistant Instructor first, and must have at least 100 logged dives.

Now, what if the DM organises a dive trip and acts as a dive guide to 4 Nitrox divers who dive to, say 30 meters for 45 minutes, and then after half an hour of surface interval, turn to the DM and say, “Hey, we’ve completed our surface interval. You’ll have to go down with us again and show us this other deep dive site.”?

By the end of the day, the untrained-in-Nitrox-diving DM would have seen pink perch (ikan puyu) swimming by him.

I would think that those who have Master Scuba Diver rating would have more specialised skills than most Divemasters. This is because, on top of the EFR and Rescue Diver courses, a Master Scuba Diver would have gone through 5 other specialty courses. I currently hold PADI PICs for UW Photography, UW Videography, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Enriched Air Diver (that allows me to use up to 40% Nitrox mix)..and to add to that, I also have the Advanced Nitrox Diver PIC issued by the PSAI. These specialties would certainly be of help to me if I decide to become an Instructor later in my diving life.

Maybe PADI should consider having DMTs rated as MSDs first…meaning, one has to become a MSD first before he/she is allowed to become DMs. Then PADI would have added quality to its Divemasters.

Just a thought.

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Of Cartoons and Riots…Part Deux

Having seen the caricatures, I can see why people are very angry all over the world. It is bad enough that by drawing the face of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), one commits the very wrong Muhammad forbade people from doing, for fear of people idol-worshipping the drawing than worshipping God Himself; what more drawing one and making fun of Muhammad.

Therefore, this blogger is in the opinion that it was (and is) wrong, for anyone to draw the face of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). And for a non-Muslim to draw one, what more making fun of the Prophet, tantamounts to insulting the religion and its followers.

And me, I am quite liberal in my thinking, and my intepretation of Islam…but I deplore and protest the printing of those caricatures. They have nothing to do with freedom of expression, if the intention is to insult Islam and Muslims.

You do not get to see Muslims retaliating by making fun of Jesus or David or Abraham, or any of the other Prophets that the Children of the Books (ie. Jews and Christians) believe in, because they are the Prophets of Islam too.

I do not condemn the protests that is happening worldwide, but on the other hand, I condemn the retaliation against churches or synagogues, or any other places of worship. This is against what Muhammad had taught Muslims 1500 years ago. When the Muslims were facing the Romans, the monastery of St Catherine in Sinai was under the control of the Muslims. Muhammad forbade his soldiers from retaliating and committing vengful acts against the Christians under their rule. He forbade his soldiers from even laying a finger on any of the monks or priests, and even to help the Christians repair damages done to their monastery caused by the Roman attacks.

There are many ways to protest. But nothing comes from violence…and nothing ever could.

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Of Cartoons and Riots…

I’m just writing the title now so when I get into office tomorrow, I’ll write more about it. This is a sensitive subject about the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the worldwide riots and protests they have caused.

Watch this spot…

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4 E-Mails Sent

I don’t feel particularly proud to have sent out 4 e-mails banging someone in this office…but it had to be done. Otherwise, that person will never wake up.

Or will that person wake up?

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Weather Advisory for the South China Sea

February 05, 2006 19:44 PM

Stormy South China Sea, Dangerous To Small Boats

BOOM!!!

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) — The South China Sea will be stormy, with waves lashing as high as 2.5m to 3.5m, a condition dangerous to small boats.

The rough sea condition is caused by the north-easterly wind, blowing between 40 and 50km an hour, the meteorological services department said.

It also said thunderstorm is expected in one or two places around West Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor this evening.

It would rain in several areas in Sabah and Sarawak until tonight, it added.

— BERNAMA

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Wrong Place

Union Carbide victim at Bhopal

Union Carbide gas poisoning victim in Bhopal, India.

Wrong place la! Somehow I think the fumes got to someone from there who is now in Malaysia. He’s now dumb with a capital ‘D’.