News
US Authorities catch up with on-the-run British boat operators responsible for diver’s death
Authorities in the US are to extradite two Florida Keys dive-boat operators who were indicted for the death of a tourist who drowned when their vessel capsized off Key Largo in December 2011.
Christopher Jones, 50, and Alison Gracey, 47, both British nationals, are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement to authorities, according to a Miami federal indictment unsealed earlier this week.
The accident claimed the life of Aimee Rhoads, 36, a married mother from Washington state who had traveled to Florida to go scuba diving. Her husband, Pat Rhoads, started a blog to honor his wife. After learning of the arrests, he wrote that he “never expected this day to come.”
“No matter how much time they do, it won’t be enough to make up for Aimee’s loss. But I don’t plan to dwell on that,” he wrote. “While I do hope for justice, that is part of their life’s path, not mine. Whether or not they go to jail impacts them, not me.”
Jones and Gracey were arrested this month on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, and will be extradited to South Florida to stand trial in federal court.
In 2011, they ran a company called Key Largo Scuba Shack, operating a 25-foot charter boat called “Get Wet.” The boat had just left Molasses Reef off Key Largo when it started to take on water, trapping customers in the forward cabin, authorities said. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the two operated the boat in an “unlawful and grossly reckless manner,” then lied about the boat’s ownership when questioned by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Another tourist, Amit Rampurkarl, of New York, was trapped inside the cabin and and had to be transported to a hospital in critical condition.
The other six people aboard the boat, including the captain and one crew member, all survived with no major injuries.
The tragedy happened not long after the divers completed their first of two planned dives at Molasses Reef, a popular spot about 30 feet deep and a few miles offshore of Key Largo in the Atlantic Ocean.
The boat had just left one mooring spot and was en route to a second dive location on the large reef when it began taking on water. Witnesses estimated it sank in “about two minutes.”
The couple left the Keys for the Bahamas following the accident. Federal authorities indicted Jones and Gracey in 2013, but had been unable to locate them. According to the St. Martin news, the couple had been living on the Dutch side of the island since earlier this year.
Source: www.miamiherald.com
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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