Stay Away from Those Propellers: The Most Dangerous Thing You Meet is a Boat

Kirsty MacColl, a popular British recording artist, would have been 63 this October had she not been killed by a power boat in December 2000 after she surfaced from a scuba dive off Cozumel. She managed to push her young sons out of the way but died instantly (Undercurrent January 2001). Hired deckhand Cen Yam was later found guilty and sentenced to two years and ten months in jail but allowed to pay about $90 instead of serving his sentence. He also paid about $2,150 to the MacColl family in restitution.

The boat was owned by a wealthy Mexican businessman, Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, who was the only person onboard with a license to drive and was suspected of actually driving the boat. Cozumel justice.

On February 20, 2020, Zhenhua Yang took four of his family and four diving friends on his boat Erica, out to Motutapu Island, New Zealand. The seas were rough, but they went ahead with the dive.

The 39-year-old Wei Chen was on his first dive since being certified and buddied with a man named Yung. Also diving were Andrew Gan, a PADI Divemaster, and Gan's girlfriend Song, a PADI Rescue Diver.

After 20 minutes, Chen and Yung surfaced close to shore, about 300 feet from the boat. So Captain Yang drove the Erica to them. They attempted to climb aboard unsuccessfully in the heavy swell, as the vessel was being forced toward the rocky shore, so Yang returned to the helm. Unable to see the divers, he called to his fiancée to tell them to swim to the side of the boat before he reversed it away from the rocks. The boat's propeller struck Chen, cutting off his right arm, and lacerating his thighs and back, killing him.

Yang later told Chen's wife his friend had died because he did not dive well. A judge at Auckland District Court decided otherwise and held Yang responsible. He ordered him to compensate Chen's family, pay funeral expenses, and was fined $100,000.

This October, a pirogue-style fishing boat in Trinidad struck a diver, William Grimshaw, but did not kill him. His lawyer claimed he was using a surface marker buoy while conducting an underwater training exercise and that the fishing boat captain had failed to maintain a proper lookout.

To protect yourself, always use a surface marker such as a buoy or a flag. Stay alert for boat traffic. Sound travels well underwater, but it's difficult to tell the direction or distance, so look up and around as you ascend. Be ready to submerge quickly if you see a fast-approaching boat.

And when approaching the boat you intend to board, check if the propellers are turning; you can be drawn into them. Stay away from the stern if the vessel is being maneuvered. You have to trust that the helmsman knows what he's doing. When all is clear, board quickly if the boat is near the reef or shore.

- John Bantin