Castaway March 22, 2010 by lukesheppard

One gentleman Peter Agnew from Esperance in Western Australia was left as a castaway last weekend as his diving trip didn’t go as he had planned. Mr Agnew set off on a scuba diving trip last Friday, unaware to him that he wouldn’t be returning home that evening. His trip turned into more of a nightmare when he surfaced from his dive only to realise that his boat had drifted away. Peter, very tired after his long dive, found the energy to swim to the nearest island, Sandy Hook, where he took refuge for the night.

Luckily for Mr Agnew, one of his friends had known that he was setting off on his diving trip and reported him overdue to the Esperance police at 7pm on Friday. The police searched for Peter all through the night, but were unfortunately unsuccessful. Saturday arrived, and although being extremely tired and dehydrated after not eating or drinking for hours, Mr Agnew saw that there was a fishing boat just anchored of the island so he swam out to it for help. He was returned safely home and was taken to hospital to be checked over after suffering with serious dehydration. Peter was very lucky to have found the fisherman. He said that he had checked the anchor on his boat was in securely, but it can’t have been enough.

Although we all dream of being Castaway on a beautiful island, it really isn’t that idyllic when you have no food, no water or the energy to fend for yourself. So the next time you go on a diving trip, think and let people know where you are and make sure you have safety gear on board.