A DIVER drifted for more than six hours in waters off South West Rocks on Sunday before being rescued by the Trial Bay Marine Rescue NSW boat.
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The man was eventually found after an air and sea search involving Water Police, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Marine Rescue.
The 50-year-old man, believed to be from Wollongong, was tired and dehydrated but otherwise unharmed after his ordeal.
He was part of a dive group that entered the water about 8.30am on Sunday morning with the intention of exploring Fish Rock.
Police say the man soon became separated from his diving companions after he swam to an area known as the pinnacle, about 16m below the surface.
After becoming disorientated the man attempted to return to the dive boat but was faced with strengthening currents and quickly became fatigued.
He eventually surfaced about 500m from the dive boat, but could not attract the attention of the occupants.
He attempted to swim to the boat but was unable to make any headway in the current and began to drift away.
The dive operators contacted the emergency services as soon as the man was reported missing.
Trial Bay Marine Rescue boat skipper John Cragg said his crew responded to the emergency call about 12.30pm.
“When we were alerted my crew, Mark Winn, Josh Woodhead and Matt Evill and I got underway and headed to Fish Rock,” he said.
“Once there we followed our training and established a drift set which enabled us to calculate according to wind and currents where the missing diver might have ended up.
“We then conducted an expanding square grid search of the area and on our second last leg we found him about 300m from black rock about 2.5km from where he fist went missing.
“He was very happy to see us obviously but he was OK and in no distress.
“He had his safety sausage inflated and was just waiting to be rescued (a safety sausage is an inflatable buoy that stands about a metre above the water and makes them more visible).
"Once on board we gave him some water and an energy drink and we returned to base.
“There was an ambulance there to meet us at the Mattys Flat boat ramp but the guy said he was fine and he just got in his car and made his way back to the dive shop.”
The rescue helicopter arrived as the rescue was being completed.
Mr Cragg said the rescue highlighted the value to the community of having a capable Marine Rescue unit and vessel at SWR.
“It really is a big asset to the community and the people who come to SWR on holiday,” he said.
“We are always looking for volunteers as well for both the rescue base radio room and the boat crew so if you want to get involved you can phone the unit on 6566 5240.”
