Well this news really sucks...Rob Stewart is (perhaps was) a champion of the oceans and Sharks. I was actually supposed to dive this reef in Islamorada back in December but bad weather got in the way....http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-missing-1.3961210
Scuba diving EERS....
- Thread starter torontoeers
- Start date
That's weird that he came up and then went back under.
I've dove with sand tiger sharks off of NC. I don't know if you've done any dives with sharks, but it's an incredible experience. This wasn't caged, and it wasn't one of those feedings they do in the Bahamas ... just wrecks that happen to have a lot of sharks around them.
Whole thing is really weird. Only time I've ever lost track of members in my diving team was in ship wrecks, but that was just for a minute or two. Have no clue how his team lost him.
Wouldn't it just be ice diving up there or do you get a few weeks of thaw in the summer?
I have done many...Tahiti, Roatan, Freeport (which I am doing again only with the Tigers in April), and Rob Stewart likely has a lot to do with my penchant for it. Love how one of his goals is/was to dispel the myths on Sharks and advocate for them.
I have always wanted to do that Sand Tiger dive WhiteTailEER! Do you remember the name of the Wreck? Looked at getting a beach house in Emerald Isle last fall and doing the dives but that fell through...will try for it again this fall. Also do you remember name of the shop you dove with? Thanks...
I just heard another version on radio that he and another diver were struggling with consciousness on surface? They pulled out the one fella but Stewart went under.
Lol....Grand Cayman is where I was cert'd , my brother used to live there. It was beautiful! Would love to go back...At first I thought you meant.
I've been diving since I was 16, haven't dove with a lot of sharks, mostly nurse sharks. Swam along side a nice 10 foot one around Grand Cayman, but I've never gone out looking for them.
Could be...was a night dive apparently too. Which adds another element to the mix...
I try to get there at least every 5 years. It's the first place I'd ever want to buy a "second" home.
Little tid bit about GC. They get most all of their steel for construction, from WV.
Nurse sharks are all I've ever seen while diving. When in Grand Cayman, did you go to stingray city? I was there in '89 and it was a blast.At first I thought you meant.
I've been diving since I was 16, haven't dove with a lot of sharks, mostly nurse sharks. Swam along side a nice 10 foot one around Grand Cayman, but I've never gone out looking for them.
Coolest fish I ever saw was a giant Goliath Grouper (300+ lbs) when diving the wreck of the Rhone in the British Virgin Islands. He kinda followed us around like a cow. Absolutely tame and people friendly. I heard someone speared him (illegally)
I dove with Olympus out of Morehead City. They have 3 boats. One takes 24 divers, one takes 20, and then they have a 6 pack boat as well. It doesn't cost any more per person for the 6 pack. A couple years we just took 4 divers and paid for 6 and took the 6 pack so we had the boat to ourselves.
My last trip down there I dove with an outfit out of Beaufort (NC, not SC), but I don't recall their name right now (that was probably 12 years ago, and I think the last time I dove unfortunately).
My first year or two down there (I think we went 5 years in a row starting probably in 96) the sand tigers were only on the Papoose which was about 40 miles off shore and 120' to the bottom. We made it there our first year, but then two years in a row after that it was too rough to go out that far. Anyway, that dive on the Papoose was INCREDIBLE. Sharks were everywhere. I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say we saw at least 50. We went to the bottom away from the wreck and then moved our way up gradually as we ran out of bottom time to get more time.
After that, they started moving in closer to shore. There was another wreck called the Shurz that they were at which was a lot closer in to shore with the bottom at 85'
There is another wreck called the Indra that's really cool. It was sunk as an artificial reef, bottom is only like 65' and it's got holes cut all through it so you can swim through it safely. No sharks there the last time I went, but a really fun wreck because if you do it right you can get about an hour or so of dive time IIRC.
There is a German sub out there too. U1105 I think, but don't recall exactly (maybe 385?, there was another sub in the Potomac river we dove on a lot so I get the numbers mixed up). If you want to see a sub, I guess it's OK, but it's about 100' down and is pretty boring. Just a big metal tube on the bottom.
There's a couple other wrecks down there too that they dive on a lot, but when I was there it was only the Papoose and Shurz that had the sharks.
Sorry for rambling ... great memories. Oh, great seafood in Morehead City too. I've only dove once since moving back to WV in 2006, I miss it. I keep hoping my son will want to dive. He's 16 now but so far hasn't shown much interest even though he's a strong swimmer and swims on his HS team.
They did say it was a night dive ... but yeah, I'm not sure how they lost him either. If anything I'd think it would be easier assuming his lights were on.
Ramble away! Thanks...copied/pasted to my memos...get some fins on that boy lol!
What's the visibility like in that water? Are the currents pretty strong or does it just depend on the time of year/weather conditions?
I was just up at La Jolla Beach the other day watching the seals and I was shocked to learn how clear the water is and how it's a great spot supposedly for snorkeling, scuba diving. Plenty of people out there body surfing in what looked to be 6-10 foot waves. All I could think was there are plenty of seals around...sharks eat seals...these guys body surfing look like seals in their wetsuits.
Update http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-missing-1.3961210
3rd dive of day, this one to almost 230 ft....serious deco stop diving! Yikes...
3rd dive of day, this one to almost 230 ft....serious deco stop diving! Yikes...
Visibility is really good. Not like Bahamas good, but still good. 50'-60' probably. The gulf stream comes in close to shore there in NC and brings warmer and clearer water with it. There were never any appreciable currents on any of our dives there though.
My last trip there was right after storms and visibility was no more than 15'-20'. The one wreck that we would swim through all the time I stayed out of with the visibility that bad.
Weather can be rough there (8 to 10 ft swells cancelled my diving for 2 days), and churn things up. Currents apparently not extreme. Although they are saying weather was very good.
Couldn't believe it when I read that! Deepest I have been is 130 and it makes me a bit nervous that depth! They must have had some pretty serious gear / dive plans to be doing those depths....maybe the wrong or improperly executed dive plan...
Mine is the 120 or whatever on the Papoose. We had computers and tracked our time with those. At 120 you only get about 5 minutes or so (I realize I'm not telling you anything you don't already know), so then we popped up to about 90' (which would have been the bottom of the hull, the ship is upside down) and stayed awhile longer and then popped up to 70' and stayed a little bit. Then slowly made our way up and did our hang at 15'.
I wasn't Nitrox certified yet, so that dive was on air. I was generally a little prone to some narcosis, but didn't have any issues on that dive.
I have a picture that my dive buddy took. There are a couple sharks in the foreground, and then me, and then a bunch more sharks deeper in the background. I've got my head turned and camera up to take pictures of the sharks in the background and didn't even notice the sharks between me and my buddy. It seemed like everywhere we looked there were anywhere from 12-20 in our field of view.
I dove the Rhone as well (and another small wreck the Beata)...great day of diving with 'Dive Tortola'. Was my wedding day! Some guys go golfing I went diving lol...scary moment on way back an older fella was way the hell out near Cooper island snorkeling with a small life jacket, he was completely gassed of breath and spitting up water when we got him up on the boat. He was way off shore out there...lucky fella the dive boat happened to see him!
Then I'd bank it being nitrogen narcosis, especially if they're not diving with Helium (which I can't imagine they would have gone without) and it being the 3rd dive... recipe for disaster.
A few of the quarry around here can get to 100-120 feet. I won't go below 120 as a rule, and even then I prefer staying above 80. Quarry diving though at 110, wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done.
First time at Stingray City, about 20+ years ago, Dive Master waves me over to a lone outcrop of coral. Waves me to stick my head in one of the holes. I do, and find myself face to face, inches away, from a Moary Eel, mouth wide open, big fuc#er too. Last time I did that.
I've never been to a quarry that deep, but the ones I have been to would have been unbelievably cold at that depth.
Looks like it isn't gonna work out for Robbie...dive community here nevermind the country is pretty bummed out about the whole scenario. The fact that even at the wifes work they were tracking it and refresh, refresh, refesh hour after hour shows how much Rob Stewart meant to us, and to the world. Yet no message from the PM as of yet after all this time, frankly disappointed. Emailed him cause frankly I am that guy ...was very happy to see the Toronto Mayor John Tory on the local news tonight mention Mr. Stewart a Toronto native....I just don't know who's going to pick up the slack now...arrrggghhh......yeah we all love this sport somebody needs to step up and pick up the mantle for the sharks....somebody WILL won't they?
Also...massive thanks to the US Coast Guard in trying to find him, the efforts have been beyond exceptional.
Used to dive when I was younger.
- Certified in Okinawa during my first USAF assignment....amazing visibility and sea life!!!
Used to meet a group of diving buddies each year: Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama. We never did any dives below 120' or crazy stuff but saw our share of sharks and deadly sea snakes, etc.
Now, just snorkel with the family. Headed to Aruba in the summer and they have this snorkel/seabob tour which looks pretty fun. We took a day trip to Exuma and the island had at least seven different types of sharks swimming around near the shore, along with stingrays that you could feed. We did a quick snorkel trip but the sharks didn't bother us.
- Certified in Okinawa during my first USAF assignment....amazing visibility and sea life!!!
Used to meet a group of diving buddies each year: Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama. We never did any dives below 120' or crazy stuff but saw our share of sharks and deadly sea snakes, etc.
Now, just snorkel with the family. Headed to Aruba in the summer and they have this snorkel/seabob tour which looks pretty fun. We took a day trip to Exuma and the island had at least seven different types of sharks swimming around near the shore, along with stingrays that you could feed. We did a quick snorkel trip but the sharks didn't bother us.
RIP Rob Stewart. :angry:.....found at 220 ft by Key Largo Fire Dept Rescue Divers...Big thank you to all of the rescue efforts particularly US Coast Guard and numerous crowd sourced rescue efforts. He was our Canadian Shark Hero and will be forever missed by many....