Posted by Ken Kurtis on August 10, 2004 at 09:11:20:
In Reply to: Swimming from Oil Rig posted by Jeff Shaw on August 10, 2004 at 06:20:41:
"Do you think that a diver in good shape could swim ashore having dumped all his gear save his wetsuit and fins."
Short answer - No.
The rigs are 10 miles off shore. Even the most fit diver, swimming constantly and strongly, can't go much faster than 2mph. So that alone is a 5-hour swim, and that's assuming you don't poop out along the way and the current doesn't carry you further out making you swim that much further.
But even if you can't overcome the current, NOT swimming against it simply increases the distance between you and the boat, which makes it that much more difficult to spot you. I'd start swimming against the current as best I could, knowing the net result would be to slow down the effect of the current.
That being said, if I knew/saw the boat leave without me, I'd let the current carry me and try to swim towards land while drifitng, and keeping my eye out for ANY vessel along the way.
Of course, in an ideal world, I would have jumped off the boat with the engine keys in my BC pocket . . .
:-)
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA