I’d like to chime in before this turns into another witch hunt live I’ve read over and over the last two days on Facebook. The missing diver, Laurel Silver-Valker, was a really good friend of mine and I’ve logged at least 20 dives with her as my buddy over the last seven years. She was a very good diver and loved by anyone who knew her. On the other hand I have also dove off the Sundiver boat an equal number of times. The Captain is very professional and crew proficient. On all of the local dive trips I have been on (hundreds) the crews are all diligent about checking the divers back onto the boat and onto the list. I’ve been on trips where the boat was held up for 20 minutes while the bunks were checked for a sleeping diver or in the head. Any suspicions I may have about what happened this tragic day would be a guess. And I am very leery of believing reports from local reporters who I seriously doubt have accurate details just yet. I anxiously await the official report once the investigation is complete. But as I hear they are still searching for her.
What I can comment on is how important it is to always dive with a buddy. I "suspect" that Laurel was not diving with a buddy this tragic day, as I have seen her dive many, many times without one. If she had a buddy there is twice a great of a chance that she would have been noticed missing and a rescue could have been mounted. I don’t know if the boat stayed, left and came back, if she was on the dive roster or just tagging along on the boat and decided to jump in....it would all be guesswork. But the lesson we need to all take away from this is to ALWAYS dive with a buddy.