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“It’s easy for us to find a ship here. We have radar, the ships are big and you can usually plot where they might be.
“But for divers, a lot can happen when they’re underwater. They can become disoriented, or the tide can move faster than they expected.
“In this case, the tide is out and the tidal current here is quite strong.
“So you have a northerly wind blowing southwards and you have a fairly strong current blowing southwards.
“It makes things pretty difficult.”
Davidson said the divers surfaced and realized they had been pushed far away from the support boat.
They decided to swim for more than an hour to reach Motongalala (Fisherman’s Island).
“They tried to contact the two assistants on board. But the distance was getting farther and the lights were starting to dim.
“They had to make their own decision to save themselves, which they did. They were going against the strong tides that are here, which surround these islands. So they must have tried really hard.”
Davidson said the men were equipped with high-quality gear, life-saving equipment and personal rescue kits, including matches to start fires once they reached shore.
“The worst-case scenario for us was that they washed over the island and drifted south. So we prepared to do a long-distance, crawling-line search, heading south, and given the conditions, we expected them to drift maybe 4 nautical miles (7.5 km), which is a long distance.
“We had great assistance from the Westpac rescue helicopter in Wellington. They spotted the fire. They couldn’t swoop down to check it out but from our knowledge of the local area we knew there was no one else on the island so it must have been a diver,” Davidson said.
He said the men were found in good condition and spirits.
“They were more interested and concerned about their girlfriends in the dinghy because they knew the girls must be worried sick about them.
“But physically they are in very good shape because they have good equipment and they take care of themselves.”
Mr Davidson said he was extremely grateful for the efforts of police, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Coast Guard volunteers, both at sea and on land, who worked together to achieve a successful outcome.
– Royal Bank of New Zealand
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