Protech in San Pedro - boat problem
In the spirit of openness let me say here that Protech lost a 28ft boat this morning. The two guests who were diving with us had been transferred to another boat and were unharmed, but whilst trying to tow the boat back the line broke at the worst possible moment (entering the barrier reef) and a following wave swamped and overturned us. The two Protech crew were unharmed, other than the odd bruise. Sadly gear was lost belonging both to us and to our guests. Our guests will of course be compensated.

The boat began taking on water whilst divers were down and the bilge pumps were overwhelmed. It sank in around 30ft of water, but was recovered within a few hours. An initial examination suggests that a crack developed in the engine mount, allowing water to pour in.

The boat will be out of action for at least a few days, and will not be used until it has been inspected and pronounced safe. Protech has suspended its operations in the meantime.

Our apologies to our two "victims" and to others who have booked diving with us during the "down" period. And our thanks to the three dive operations who assisted with the rescue and recovery - Bottom Time, AquaDives and Amigos del Mar. Amigos even cancelled a trip to free up a boat for our use. It's good to report that although we may be competitors for your money (!) all boat operators in San Pedro pull together when there's an emergency.

This is posted because I can't complain about lack of openness and free exchange of information and then keep quiet about this.

dead link.

I was able to pull it up. Peter - you are so upfront - thank you. I'm sorry to hear of your loss but sounds like everyone did their job and no one was harmed. You sure have had a rough go. Stiff upper lip and all that crap!

Ah geez, Peter. I'm sorry this happened to your boat, your crew, your op and your divers!

As you say, it is a great thing that everyone pulls together when there is need.

Amanda, "dead link"? I don't get it.

Amanda took a URL I posted to a post on another board and replaced it with the content of that other post.

Do understand I'm not proud of this, or the fact that I've posted it - I just feel it has to be posted by someone, and I'd rather that person be me. I had removed myself from this board, but created a new id just for this purpose.

Best of luck to you getting back in operations. This kind of openess instills trust and will work to your benefit in the long run. You likely earned some new "trial" customers as a result. We'll look you up in January.

Bob & Jane

As CaptainJeff would say "ship happens". Sorry and good luck, I think you"ll be o.k.

sorry 'bout your luck.
good that you posted and told what happened.
if you don't, people will just make up something, and then spread it.

Sorry to hear that Peter. Hope it all works out ok.

Glad to hear that everyone is o.k.! So sorry for the loss. Very happy to hear about the support from others in the diving community. May your business prosper especially considering your openness.