Close encounter between reckless diver and speeding boat - video

While hunting for fish in Hawaii, Christopher Lastra chafed to death when he appeared in front of a speeding boat while surfacing.

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Christopher Lastra, 30, was hunting with a crossbow in the Magic Island area of Hawaii. At one point, as he was surfacing, he appeared right in front of a speeding boat. By his own admission, he was to blame for the whole incident, as he was diving without a buoy or dive flag.

My buoy was swept downstream last week. I was scheduled to pick up a new one tonight, but before that I went for a short and shallow dive on the reef. I thought that, after all, on such a dive, nothing could happen and everything would be ok. Despite the fact that boats should go around the channel marker, I take 100% responsibility on myself, since I did not use the dive buoy – wrote Lastra on his social media profile.

Close encounter with speeding boat

The diver can speak of great luck, because in his case it ended only in fear. However, in many similar incidents, people in the water have suffered very serious injuries, often fatal. We can find out that Christopher Lastra himself chafed to death by watching the video from his camera.

It was a bad decision to dive in a high traffic area. As I was hunting for Mu and Uhu, I heard a boat approaching. I should have stayed underwater, but I launched myself to the surface to keep an eye on it. Unfortunately, the boat at that time was already about 5 meters away from me and headed straight for me – he described the course of the incident.

The diver reacted quite consciously and at the crucial moment pushed himself away from the boat to get away from the center of the boat. By his own admission, he knew full well that this was his only chance to avoid an encounter with the propeller. Christopher Lastra was very lucky, as the boat did not hit him in the head, allowing him to avoid serious injury and remain conscious throughout.

Much less fortunate was one of its fins, which scored a close encounter with a screw. The fin’s feather was badly ragged and we can only imagine what would have happened if….

When you face death, life flashes before your eyes. However, I just thought I was an idiot because I should have a buoy with me. I knew the rules and just knowingly broke them – concluded Christopher Lastra.

The close encounter between the diver and the speeding boat was also commented on by Kendall Smith of the U.S. Coast Guard, who stressed that dive flags or buoys are crucial in preventing similar incidents and can save lives.

In this case, the diver is very lucky to be alive. Secondly, I noticed in this video that he was alone. You should always dive with a buddy, have a plan and hope for the best, but always be prepared for a scary case like this – Smith said.

You can read about how much Spain has to offer underwater in Joanna Kruk’s article. Cabo de Palos is a place you will learn more about in the 20th issue of our DIVERS24 quarterly! The digital version of the magazine is available free of charge, while you can purchase the printed version in our online store.