Dive into Danger
In 2002, 35 year old Canadian, Melissa Armstrong travelled to the Solomon Islands in search of adventure. She had learned to scuba dive and wanted to explore the submerged volcano, Kavachi. Accompanying her was David Tomlinson, a marine-biologist with nearly 40 years diving experience behind him.
Melissa was excited about the dive, but she had never dived this far away from the shore before. They were 20 miles out to sea. David reassured her and they went ahead. Rising clouds of sulphur dioxide made for a surreal dive. Melissa described it as 'an amazing celestial scene'.
On surfacing they noticed that the water was choppier and that the boat was now miles away. They shouted, screamed, waved, with no luck. A strong current had carried David and Melissa a long way from the boat. The boatman had kept the engine running and couldn't hear their cries. In the end the boat turned about and headed inland for more fuel. David and Melissa watched it disappear.
The Dive | Left Behind | Twenty-six Hours