Posted by Captain Tim on May 09, 2001 at 23:13:55:
In Reply to: Success rate? posted by Eins on May 09, 2001 at 17:26:58:
I did not see this post until just a few minutes
ago, or I would have responded earlier. Eins, you
have a very good question. Brett (who Mike forgot
to mention, also donated his time) my senior crewmember
asked me the same question. "Is it worth the lives of
3 others for this"?
Mike did not make the finale decision to be able to
make the dive. I did. Mike and his team made the
decision to make the dive. After we found that the
figures were incorrect, I contacted the Coast Guard.
We (Coast Guard and I) discussed what was going on, and
what to do. Several calls were made. Mike called his dive
team, and we all discussed what was going on. A consensus
was made to continue the search. After about 3 hours I
called MHK and JW to the wheelhouse to look at the bottom.
It matched the reports that we had.
There was no current, no wind, and almost no swells. In
other words perfect conditions. While Mike and I do not
agree on everything, there is one thing we do. I trust him
and his ability to make the right decisions when it comes to
diving, and he trusts me to run the boat, and let him know
if it is safe or not to go in the water. This is not to say,
I was very concerned for the entire team. I am proud to say
that we had the support of the Coast Guard, the Catalina
Chamber (who went on alert, just in case), and Catalina Bay Watch.
I don't know Eins, but I think all of the people who participated
Tuesday, think it was worth it.
"At what cost"? You'll just have to ask them.
Tim