Details of the events of Saturday 14-Sep-2019
We went for a normal dive at Shark Point. Conditions were fine. The dive team that day was me (Sarah), Sean, Im, Thierry, Adam and Simon. I picked Thierry up from his home before the dive.
We met at 8am and walked out to the cliff top to check the conditions. Conditions looked good for Shark Point. Simon was joking around as normal. We joked about his tummy, and about me accidentally stroking my dog’s butt the night before, and an idea Simon had about renting a house for a bunch of us in the Blue Mountains to play card games, hike and drink all weekend. We were all in high spirits.
When we were putting on our wetsuits I asked Simon to zip me up and I zipped him up. His wetsuit was new so felt a bit tight. I asked if he was ok in it and he said he felt great as he slapped his tummy in a joking manner.
We walked down to the dive site towards the “gutter” (the place we jump into the sea) and all seemed well. We agreed for Sean to go first. So Sean jumped in first, followed by Adam, then me, then Im, and then Simon. Thierry was the last to jump.
As soon as Simon was out of the gutter and turned to look at me I could see he wasn’t ok. He was breathing very quickly and almost comically. I shouted at Sean and Adam that something was wrong and we all swam to help him. Im had spotted it straight away too and was already reassuring Simon.
We thought it was a panicked diver situation rather than anything more serious at first. We held him and said “It’s ok Simon, breathe slower”. Thierry came towards us and asked if we were ready for the dive and I said no, Simon wasn’t right.
We asked Simon what was wrong and he said he couldn’t breathe. I went to the back of him to unzip his wetsuit, but all I could do was release the top flap. To undo it further we needed his Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) jacket to be taken off.
We asked Simon if we could take off his BCD and he said no.
I swam back round to look at him and tried to get him to mimic my breathing. I took off my mask so that he could see my face more clearly as I tried to slow down his breathing.
He clutched at his neck and threw off his mask in a panic but immediately asked if we had his mask. Im said that he was holding it for him and “its ok Simon, we have your mask, it will be ok”.
We all were holding him and Thierry and Sean suggested that we tow him back to shore. In his lovely soft Irish accent Sean said “we got you buddy” and “we will get you back to shore mate” and “its ok Simon just lay on your back”. We needed him on his back so that we could tow him. Adam pushed Simon’s fins from behind whilst Sean and Thierry pulled him. Im was holding his hand and trying to calm him down. Everyone had a moment looking at Simon to reassure him it would be ok.
Sean told me to inflate a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) to attract attention, and started calling for help. Sean or Adam threw me his SMB too – so I had two SMBs which both were nearly 2m in height and bright orange to attract attention.
A big wave came over which panicked Simon so we asked him to use his regulator. He did for a bit but threw it out saying he needed us to help keep him out the water. Sean and Thierry held his head out of the water as they continued to tow him back to shore. We had drifted quite far by now.
A surfer came past and Thierry asked him to get help. He said he was going to find us help and set off for Clovelly at a quick pace.
When Thierry turned back he noticed Simon was unresponsive and checked if Simon was still breathing. There was no sign of Simon breathing and so he started to give Simon mouth to mouth resuscitation.
A man on a kayak came past and said he couldn’t help but would call for help.
The man on the surfboard returned saying no lifeguards were on duty but he had called for help, so we tried to get Simon lifted out of the water and onto the board. I held on to his dive gear so that he could be lifted onto the surf board. They managed it pretty quickly as Thierry continued with mouth to mouth.
I don’t know if it was my fault or a wave but I know I was next to him as the board tipped and he fell off back into the water.
The boys were incredible and somehow got him back on top of the board for the second time. I remember the surfer said we needed to turn the board round 180 degrees as we were drifting further out to sea. Somehow the boys did that too.
Im tried swimming off for help, and so did the surfer at one point, but the current was too strong and we had no safe way out of the water. I remember ducking my head under water for a moment and noticing how clear the water was and that there was a beautiful blue groper fish swimming under us. This couldn’t be happening.
The lifeguards showed up on a jet ski in the distance as a helicopter flew over. I crazily shouted and waved the SMB high in the air for help. I shouted at Simon to “STAY WITH US”.
The lifeguards on the jet ski arrived. They got the surfboard that Simon was on close to their jet ski and Adam, Thierry and Sean did exceptional efforts to get him on the jet ski board.
I remember Simon visibly had changed. I knew deep down he had already died with us.
They got him on the jet ski and the lifeguards flew off with him at a super quick pace into the distance towards Bronte beach.
But now we were all exhausted. I had been carrying his dive gear, Thierry’s camera, my camera, 2 SMBs and felt I had nothing left to keep swimming. The boys had been working continuously for almost half an hour and also were now very tired.
Luckily all our signalling had attracted a boat who came towards us. Thierry called to them asking if they would help us get back to shore as we were all exhausted.
The boys helped me get out the water first. I remember the ladder being really difficult and feeling so heavy. As I got on the boat I collapsed. I was hit by all these emotions and started crying. A lovely lady called Tanya on the boat cuddled me whilst her and her husband helped the boys on the boat.
The lifeguard on the jet ski returned to us asking what his name was and if he had any heart conditions and if we had been diving. Our answers were no – Simon had no known conditions and was not on medication and we had not been diving. He said that they were working on him and doing everything they could.
I started vomiting overboard as we made our way back to Gordon’s Bay.
Once we got close to Gordon's Bay as far as the boat could take us we jumped off the boat and swam to shore. By far it was the easiest swim to shore I have ever had at Gordon’s Bay. I think the ocean had started to help us.
As we got out the water we just sat on the rocks looking at each other and feeling drained. We then carried our gear and Simon’s gear up to the car park. I had to stop 3 times. When I got to the grass at the car park I sat down – I was absolutely knackered.
Only a few moments later a police car showed up. The man asked if we were the dive group and we said yes. He then told us “unfortunately he did not make it”.
We all broke down. I was screaming. I could hear him saying he knew from our faces that we were close and it was not a nice thing to say to us but he said there really is no right way to say it.
Sean spoke to the police and explained what happened. I saw Adam in pieces and held him tight as we cried and hugged for a while. Cathal then showed up and gave me a big hug. I was so sad and empty. Jo was there now too and was comforting us but also sobbing. I was hollow. I remember we were trying to think of contacting as many people as we could.
Soon Christina showed up. I hugged her so tightly. We were all in pain.
Our world had fallen apart.
I felt like I was outside my body and watching some kind of movie. It wasn’t real.
I remember the police asking how we knew Simon and I told them he was our family and best friend. I explained we are a diving community that are a family. After the police reports were over and we handed over Simon’s car keys and dive gear to the police we all headed to Paul and Lori’s for comforting one another.
About 20 of us were there within the hour to hold each other and try to understand what had just happened. We had all lost one of our best friends and a huge part of our family.
We went for a normal dive at Shark Point. Conditions were fine. The dive team that day was me (Sarah), Sean, Im, Thierry, Adam and Simon. I picked Thierry up from his home before the dive.
We met at 8am and walked out to the cliff top to check the conditions. Conditions looked good for Shark Point. Simon was joking around as normal. We joked about his tummy, and about me accidentally stroking my dog’s butt the night before, and an idea Simon had about renting a house for a bunch of us in the Blue Mountains to play card games, hike and drink all weekend. We were all in high spirits.
When we were putting on our wetsuits I asked Simon to zip me up and I zipped him up. His wetsuit was new so felt a bit tight. I asked if he was ok in it and he said he felt great as he slapped his tummy in a joking manner.
We walked down to the dive site towards the “gutter” (the place we jump into the sea) and all seemed well. We agreed for Sean to go first. So Sean jumped in first, followed by Adam, then me, then Im, and then Simon. Thierry was the last to jump.
As soon as Simon was out of the gutter and turned to look at me I could see he wasn’t ok. He was breathing very quickly and almost comically. I shouted at Sean and Adam that something was wrong and we all swam to help him. Im had spotted it straight away too and was already reassuring Simon.
We thought it was a panicked diver situation rather than anything more serious at first. We held him and said “It’s ok Simon, breathe slower”. Thierry came towards us and asked if we were ready for the dive and I said no, Simon wasn’t right.
We asked Simon what was wrong and he said he couldn’t breathe. I went to the back of him to unzip his wetsuit, but all I could do was release the top flap. To undo it further we needed his Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) jacket to be taken off.
We asked Simon if we could take off his BCD and he said no.
I swam back round to look at him and tried to get him to mimic my breathing. I took off my mask so that he could see my face more clearly as I tried to slow down his breathing.
He clutched at his neck and threw off his mask in a panic but immediately asked if we had his mask. Im said that he was holding it for him and “its ok Simon, we have your mask, it will be ok”.
We all were holding him and Thierry and Sean suggested that we tow him back to shore. In his lovely soft Irish accent Sean said “we got you buddy” and “we will get you back to shore mate” and “its ok Simon just lay on your back”. We needed him on his back so that we could tow him. Adam pushed Simon’s fins from behind whilst Sean and Thierry pulled him. Im was holding his hand and trying to calm him down. Everyone had a moment looking at Simon to reassure him it would be ok.
Sean told me to inflate a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) to attract attention, and started calling for help. Sean or Adam threw me his SMB too – so I had two SMBs which both were nearly 2m in height and bright orange to attract attention.
A big wave came over which panicked Simon so we asked him to use his regulator. He did for a bit but threw it out saying he needed us to help keep him out the water. Sean and Thierry held his head out of the water as they continued to tow him back to shore. We had drifted quite far by now.
A surfer came past and Thierry asked him to get help. He said he was going to find us help and set off for Clovelly at a quick pace.
When Thierry turned back he noticed Simon was unresponsive and checked if Simon was still breathing. There was no sign of Simon breathing and so he started to give Simon mouth to mouth resuscitation.
A man on a kayak came past and said he couldn’t help but would call for help.
The man on the surfboard returned saying no lifeguards were on duty but he had called for help, so we tried to get Simon lifted out of the water and onto the board. I held on to his dive gear so that he could be lifted onto the surf board. They managed it pretty quickly as Thierry continued with mouth to mouth.
I don’t know if it was my fault or a wave but I know I was next to him as the board tipped and he fell off back into the water.
The boys were incredible and somehow got him back on top of the board for the second time. I remember the surfer said we needed to turn the board round 180 degrees as we were drifting further out to sea. Somehow the boys did that too.
Im tried swimming off for help, and so did the surfer at one point, but the current was too strong and we had no safe way out of the water. I remember ducking my head under water for a moment and noticing how clear the water was and that there was a beautiful blue groper fish swimming under us. This couldn’t be happening.
The lifeguards showed up on a jet ski in the distance as a helicopter flew over. I crazily shouted and waved the SMB high in the air for help. I shouted at Simon to “STAY WITH US”.
The lifeguards on the jet ski arrived. They got the surfboard that Simon was on close to their jet ski and Adam, Thierry and Sean did exceptional efforts to get him on the jet ski board.
I remember Simon visibly had changed. I knew deep down he had already died with us.
They got him on the jet ski and the lifeguards flew off with him at a super quick pace into the distance towards Bronte beach.
But now we were all exhausted. I had been carrying his dive gear, Thierry’s camera, my camera, 2 SMBs and felt I had nothing left to keep swimming. The boys had been working continuously for almost half an hour and also were now very tired.
Luckily all our signalling had attracted a boat who came towards us. Thierry called to them asking if they would help us get back to shore as we were all exhausted.
The boys helped me get out the water first. I remember the ladder being really difficult and feeling so heavy. As I got on the boat I collapsed. I was hit by all these emotions and started crying. A lovely lady called Tanya on the boat cuddled me whilst her and her husband helped the boys on the boat.
The lifeguard on the jet ski returned to us asking what his name was and if he had any heart conditions and if we had been diving. Our answers were no – Simon had no known conditions and was not on medication and we had not been diving. He said that they were working on him and doing everything they could.
I started vomiting overboard as we made our way back to Gordon’s Bay.
Once we got close to Gordon's Bay as far as the boat could take us we jumped off the boat and swam to shore. By far it was the easiest swim to shore I have ever had at Gordon’s Bay. I think the ocean had started to help us.
As we got out the water we just sat on the rocks looking at each other and feeling drained. We then carried our gear and Simon’s gear up to the car park. I had to stop 3 times. When I got to the grass at the car park I sat down – I was absolutely knackered.
Only a few moments later a police car showed up. The man asked if we were the dive group and we said yes. He then told us “unfortunately he did not make it”.
We all broke down. I was screaming. I could hear him saying he knew from our faces that we were close and it was not a nice thing to say to us but he said there really is no right way to say it.
Sean spoke to the police and explained what happened. I saw Adam in pieces and held him tight as we cried and hugged for a while. Cathal then showed up and gave me a big hug. I was so sad and empty. Jo was there now too and was comforting us but also sobbing. I was hollow. I remember we were trying to think of contacting as many people as we could.
Soon Christina showed up. I hugged her so tightly. We were all in pain.
Our world had fallen apart.
I felt like I was outside my body and watching some kind of movie. It wasn’t real.
I remember the police asking how we knew Simon and I told them he was our family and best friend. I explained we are a diving community that are a family. After the police reports were over and we handed over Simon’s car keys and dive gear to the police we all headed to Paul and Lori’s for comforting one another.
About 20 of us were there within the hour to hold each other and try to understand what had just happened. We had all lost one of our best friends and a huge part of our family.
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Further thoughts on the day
Following the events of the day, we found out that the name of the surfer who was a huge part of the rescue was a surf lifesaver from North Bondi called Murray. We found out the names of the lifesavers on the jet ski – they were Will and Joel. Joel had been attempting CPR on the back of the jet ski all the way back to the beach. We found out that the phonecall that had been made that alerted the lifeguards of our situation was an ex-lifesaver who happened to be walking on the clifftops over Shark Point and knew to call Bondi Tower directly. The trauma did not end when Simon was rescued on that jet ski. The trauma continues. But there is comfort to know that Simon died in a place he truly loved, doing what he loved, surrounded by people that he loved. There is comfort to know that Simon died hearing words of support, love and encouragement from those around him. There is comfort to know that each of us were able to look Simon in the eyes and give him strength in those final moments. There is comfort to know that his hand was held throughout his last moments. It doesn’t bring him back to us of course, and that is the hardest part of all of this. I can still feel his energy at Shark Point in the waves and am fortunate to be able to continue visiting him. Simon, you are an absolute legend, we love you and will never forget you. |
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