2 AUSTRALIANS + 1 DIVE MASTER MISSING IN SORSOGON SAFE & SOUND : THE REAL

STORY OF EVENTS

On 20 January 2013, honeymoon couple Lance and Nicole Macdonald went for a dive trip to Manta Bowl
in Masbate. Manta Bowl is known for the whale sharks, manta rays, thresher sharks, and other pelagic.
With all these pelagics, Manta Bowl is also known for the strong currents averaging around 5 knots. At
8:30AM, Lance, Nicole, and their dive master Bobby Adrao, left Donsol for Manta Bowl. They started
their dive at about 10:30 AM and the weather was still reasonable. Prior to the dive, Bobby briefed
Nicole and Lance thoroughly so they would know what to do and what to expect. Ten minutes into the
dive, Lance had a difficult time equalizing and there was a sudden surge of currents reaching about 12
knots, the group decided to abort dive. Bobby followed protocol and deployed a balloon to alert the
boat. Upon reaching the surface, the waves were already at 3 to 4 meters and the surface current
continued to push hard. The boat men did not see the balloon even with Bobbys full effort to try to get
the balloon to stand still in the waves and the wind. The currents and waves kept on pushing the group
further off course. The divers were expected to surface at around 11:30 AM. When the dive boat
couldnt find the divers at 11:30 AM, they started standard search procedures. At 1:00 PM the boat men
alerted the dive shop that the divers have past the expected dive time and that the divers could not be
located. The dive shop immediately contacted their affiliate resort, Ticao Island Resort which is located
only 20 minutes away from Manta Bowl, to inform the manager about the missing divers. Two boats
together with resident dive masters and dive crew were out within 5 minutes from the call. They were
instructed to follow the emergency search pattern and to start their search at the danger zones around
Manta Bowl. At 3:30 PM, the Donsol dive shop was contacted again to say that the divers could still not
be located. Operations manager of Fun Dive Asia, Rico Calleja, instructed for the boat on standby from
the Donsol dive shop to be sent out to area between San Miguel and Pilar because the water conditions
were suggesting that the divers would be drifted towards this area and the area between San Miguel
and Pilar for that time period was considered the danger zone in the search patter. The whole time, Mr
Calleja, kept on assuring everybody I know that Bobby is good and he knows the protocol, he will direct
the guests to safety. He will bring the group to the Haleya area. True enough at 6PM, the divers made it
to Haleya after swimming and drifting for 20 Kilometers and having been in the water for 8 hours. The
waves and winds were very strong and Bobby felt it not safe to get on shore without help to avoid them
from getting cuts and bruises. For several minutes, Bobby kept on shouting for Rene, the caretaker at
Haleya. Rene is well known to Bobby and the rest of the dive shop staff, as protocol of the dive shop is
for Haleya to be the last defence point in case of emergency. Rene heard Bobby who got a small fishing
boat to assist them to shore. Rene so kindly fixed up dinner of chicken and rice as well as a warm
comfortable bed for the couple. Bobby chose to stay out on shore just in case a boat passes by Haleya.
At this time though, rescue boats of the dive shop, the province of Sorsogon, the province of Masbate,
the Coast Guard, and the Philippine Navy were all being deployed from different areas and
municipalities. The different boats were strategically located and all kept in coordination with each
other as they searched for the missing divers. All boats were directed to keep watch around the danger
zones as the safety zones would be searched by some of the boats in the morning. The couple and
Bobby saw so many lights out in the ocean and they knew these were boats searching for them. There
was no way for them to make contact with anyone since they didnt have a mobile phone or radio and
although Rene had a cellphone, there was no mobile phone signal in Haleya. Lance and Nicole did feel a
little bit of guilt as they had the chance to have a good nights rest while everyone was out worried and
searching for them. Throughout the evening, there were 16 boats searching the vicinity.

At about 6AM, a small fishing boat was moving towards Ticao Island Resort. Upon seeing Bobby, Vicky
and the rest of the Ticao Island Resort team were ecstatic and had food and rooms ready for the group.
Vicky then informed all affected persons that the divers were safe in the resort. The municipality of San
Jacinto had a doctor ready at the resort to check on the divers. They all cleared medical tests. After a
few hours of rest and interviews, the coast guards boat took the divers back to Donsol, where a doctor
from Donsol was waiting to do further medical examinations. More interviews and discussions were
held at Elysia Beach Resort. The couple and Bobby are all ok. Bobby is back home with this family and
ready to dive another day. Nicole and Lance will be meeting with their family on the 22nd of January.

In Nicoles words, Everything still feels so surreal. I feel like it never happened and we were just
watching a movie. No one is to blame, it is just an unfortunate situation. We really owe our lives to
Bobby and Rene. Bobby never let us give up hope and just kept us heading towards Haleya. Rene heard
Bobby calling his name for help, and came to pick us up in a small fishing boat. He gave us drinking
water, dry clothes, cooked us dinner, gave us a warm bed to sleep and took us to Ticao in the morning.
We wouldnt be here without them. We are also so thankful to the numerous people that spent so much
time looking for us, and to fantastic staff of Fun Dive Asia, Donsol Eco Tour, and Ticao Island Resort who
gave us the warmest welcome to land imaginable! Although we are happy to have our feet on dry land
we will definitely get back in the water again.

Rico Calleja is happy that his entire team followed protocol and that everyone was on top of the
situation, reassuring him that the entire operations team have been well trained. We all know that
scuba diving has its dangers. The moment you sign the waiver form, you are reminded of the risks of
scuba diving. Every time you jump into the ocean, you know that nature is in command. In diving, you
learn to respect the ocean. The important thing when you dive is that you know you are with a facility
that has safety first in mind and has the all precautionary measures and the right plans should the worse
happen. Despite this, Mr Calleja is looking on how to better improve standard protocol and will be
working with the local government on how the private and government sectors can support each other
to be ready for events like this.

Fun Dive Asia dive shop is thankful to Kagawad Dong Adrao who facilitated contact with the necessary
government agencies. The immediate response and all out support of the Department of Tourism
Region V through Director Maria Ravanilla, the Province of Sorsogon through Mr Raden Dimaano, the
Province of Masbate through Mr Ilyo Natural, the Philippine National Police, the Coast Guard and the
Navy is very much appreciated. A special thanks is given to Dancalan Beach Resort and Elysia Beach
Resort who warmly opened up their resorts complete with free flowing food and drinks to all those
involved in the rescue mission.

This article has been read, checked, and approved by Lance and Nicole Macdonald to ensure accuracy
and to have their real feelings documented. Nicole personally typed in her quote on this article.