Spear Fisher narrowly avoids being hit by a speed boat in Hawaii
ViralHog: Christopher Lastra
A diver from Hawaii was within a matter of seconds of being hit by a speeding vessel. The whole incident was caught on camera.
According to Hawaii News NowChristopher Lastra, 30, was spearfishing off Honolulu’s Magic Island. He saw a boat approaching him and he resurfaced.
Lastra shared the footage on YouTube. Men of the Spear-It.
“This is why it’s important to always use a buoy when you dive. He wrote that his buoy was lost in the current last week. “I had originally planned to get one tonight, but instead I did a quick shallow reef dive thinking it would be fine.” “I made the wrong decision to dive near high traffic areas.
“As i was hunting Mu and Uhu, I hear a boat approaching. I should have stayed beneath the water, but instead went up to the surface and inspected it,” he stated. “Unfortunately, the boat was already within 5 meters… heading straight at me.” As I push the boat away from the center, I exhale and yell “Ahh!”
Buoys, floating devices that are used to warn boaters and swimmers of potential dangers, are commonly used.
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According to Hawaii News NowLastra was born in California and has been diving since over a decade.
ViralHog: Christopher Lastra
Kendall Smith, U.S. Coast Guard Diving Supervisor for the Honolulu Sector, stated to the news outlet that divers should use buoys or dive flags in order to avoid accidents with speeding boats.
Smith stated, “Like in the instance, he is very fortunate to be alive.” “Secondly, I saw that he was alone in the video. It is important to always dive with a buddy. You should have a plan, hope for the best, but be prepared for scary situations like this.
He explained that if someone is diving or has a diver down flag it’s a no-wake zone for 200 yards beyond the diver down flag or buoy.
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Lastra said that he couldn’t think of anything other than Hawaii News Now when he saw the boat approaching him.
Lastra stated, “Your life flashes in front of your eyes when it comes to death. But for me, I was thinking that I was an idiot.” “I should have brought a buoy here. I knew the law but I decided to not follow it.”
The caption to the video shows that he accepts full responsibility for the close encounter.
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He wrote that even though boats are supposed not to go around channel markers, he accepted 100% responsibility because he wasn’t using any dive buoy.
He added: “Thankfully God was looking after me. My fin was not damaged. Always use a buoy when diving.