We have just been witness to an incident of reckless abandonment and appallingly dangerous seamanship by a Sandals Dive Boat in Grenada.
We are both PADI Advanced Open Water Divers and we are experienced transatlantic sailors with over 30 years experience.
Today shortly after 11.00 a Sandalls dive boat caused the near disaster to both their customers and our sailing boat.
We were sailing from Point Saline's on the South West tip of Grenada on a course of approximately 024 degrees in a direct line to Dragon Bay just north of St. George's.
The sea state was moderate but the wind speed was high 25 knots gusting to 30 knots. We had only a partial Genoa out. We were using AIS and transmitting our course and speed.
We were about over 1 mile offshore.
We kept well clear of two dive boats to the East of us, passing them by about ¼ mile.
We were following about 1½ miles directly behind another sailing boat also under sail - a Bavaria 42 called Namaste.
There were two of us onwatch on our boat Infinity B - a Najad 460. I was sitting to leeward and my wife to windward. Visibility was good.
We were about ½ mile past the dive boats when the Sandals Dive boat took off with two huge outboard engines and headed straight for us from our port side a full speed.
At the same time we noticed a group of divers in the water approximately 20 yards off to our port side.
They were all surfaced with inflated BCDs. They had absolutely no fluorescent markers or buoys of any sort. They were 1 mile offshore with no dive boat near them and they were not easily visible until we were upon them.
If we had been a fast motor boat we would have certainly hit them.
The Sandals Dive Boat then came between us and the divers at high speed and turned straight across our bows with virtually nothing to spare.
The divers were lucky not be sucked into its wake and we were forced to turn sharply to Starboard to avoid collision.
To leave unattended and unmarked divers in the water so far offshore is totally inexcusable.
To further endanger them and to endanger us and our boat in such a manner is beyond words.
I am sure as a reputable tour operator Sandals will want to fully investigate this incident as will PADI.