Fisk mill cove claims another diver

Diver gone missing while AB diving in Fisk Mill cove. Not yet found. Stay safe peeps!! Sucks to see stuff like this .Possibly could have been avoided had he had a dive partner.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131022/articles/131029916?title=Diver-presumed-dead-off-coast;-search-continues

Wasn't there a warning posted for sneaker waves?

it was

Wasn't there a warning posted for sneaker waves?

yeah, long period swell peaked Tuesday-Wednesday. It was all over NWS and the SC Sentinel.

RIP abalone hunter.

Isn't that an MLPA?

That's tragic. The waves were BIG tues and weds down in SC with really long lulls between the sets. Can't imagine the conditions were any better up there.

Isn't that an MLPA?

Fish Mill is an MR.

-Allen

Part of Fisk Mill is in the Stewarts Point MPLA preserve. He was diving on the southern area of Fisk Mill.

sad. prayers go out to his family.

Received this today:

Many of you are aware of our loss here at Cogen.  Craig Willes, Operator at our Cogen plant for 4 years, has passed away.  He was 56 years old.

We received a call on the evening of 10/21 from Craig’s wife, Linda, that he had been abalone diving and did not resurface.  The lifeguard on duty at Fisk Mill Cove in Salt Point State Park was searching for him, along with county sheriffs and the Coast Guard.   They spent a few days searching and finally announced that Craig was presumed dead and the search was changed to a recovery effort.  On 10/24, Craig was recovered and brought to shore by fellow abalone divers, led by a neighbor who is an abalone dive instructor.

Craig was an avid abalone diver.  He would often come in to work after his days off and talk about the number of dives he took and how good he felt.  He spent close to 40 years of his life hunting for abalone and shared his catch with many of us.  It is a dangerous sport because fishing regulations forbid the use of SCUBA gear and the possession of rescue air; it is strictly free diving.  His nickname is Superman.

Services were held privately for family only. 

Linda is hosting a Celebration of Life in honor of Craig.

It will be at:

Fort Ross Elementary School

30600 Seaview Rd.

Cazadero, CA 95421

Saturday, 11/23/2013, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 

Not to be a downer, but he was contacted by a state lifeguard and advised that conditions were bad. I live at Salt Point SP and heard the radio traffic on this. Even his wife pleaded with him to not go down again. He ignored it all for one last ab. His wife had to watch him go down and not return. 

Reading about him I know that he was 10X the diver I am. However the Pacific trumps us all. Please...please....know and respect the conditions.

I am always curious as to how exactly it happened.  Did the surge jam him between some rocks? Tangled on rope or fishing line from someone else? Kelp? Heart attack? It's something no one will ever know.

I am always curious as to how exactly it happened.  Did the surge jam him between some rocks? Tangled on rope or fishing line from someone else? Kelp? Heart attack? It's something no one will ever know.

Rob Winn (Rob102) on here found his body and swam him back into shore with several other divers (jason o'donnell, ken northshorediver and I believe a few others...)

From what I understand his arm was way back underneath a boulder...but no fishing line or rope entanglement...

This is what jason posted on NCUH about the recovery...and saw it on FB so don't feel weid re-posting it here:

On Monday night Craig Willes went diving for abalone in Fisk mill cove, his wife Linda was on shore waiting and watching him dive.... She thought it looked rough, he promised her he would be fine.... This was there last words to each other.....she watched him swim around the back of the giant rock and make his way to a place he had dove many times before. She watched him clip off his board and start diving.... She said he never surfaced from his third dive.....  Just writing this is so painfull to me... Craig and Linda are my neighbors here in Timber cove......Monday and Tuesday I was helping Jon at the lake with the clinics! Wednesday I had an abalone guiding job... I found out Monday night about the missing diver...It made me feel so cold inside... Like freezing to my bones knowing someone was lost out there.. On Tuesday night I figured out it was Craig.  On Wednesday morning I was waiting for my client down at the store when the lifeguards pulled up an started talking to me.. I said that I would he like to help them look and they said maybe Thursday it could help them.. Wednesday afternoon I was sitting on the couch and there was a knock at the door... It was Linda asking me to help her find her husband.... The State park lifeguards had been looking and not having any luck.... This is going to surprise a lot of you but there is NOONE who will go get us, no one who can save us, no one who even wants to put themselves in harms way to recover you... It is somehow too rough or the vis is too bad... Like Wednesday when the searches said it was too risky, and yet I was able to take a guy abalone diving for his FIRST time, and he got three!... Anyways I don't want to say bad things about people.... Which leads me to Linda on my porch, I knew I had to do it, there was never a doubt in my mind about what I would be doing..... I instantly called Tom at Sonoma coast divers and told him I was leaving my house and could he stay open till I got there, not only did Pam wait for me but they donated all the tanks and gear... I wanted tanks there for safety purposes, like if he was really stuck, or if one of us had a problem... On the way to rosa to get the gear Amanda told me to post it, and ask for help, I was very hesitant to ask because this is a lot to ask. I posted a cry for help... Before we hit town rob102 was on his way.. I can't describe in words what that means to me and how it made me feel, rob drove all the way from colusa!!!! When I got home I got a call from the lifeguards saying that I could not be a part of there search for Craig... Wow wtf??? However he was kind enough to tell me that no one could tell me I can't go look for him, I just can't join them...I then called my other neighbor who is the resident sherif here.. He told me it was great I was going to do this and to be safe and not risk other peoples lives.. I assured him that I knew just the guys for this job, and that we enter the ocean on rough days with no vis for fun, he said that if we found Craig and wanted to bring him to shore we could.. I thanked him... I knew what we had to do and who we would be doing it for....the replays just kept coming!!! Rob showed up and we talked strategies for the morning, I couldn't really sleep all night..... When I woke up I walked into Heath, Jack, rob,and ken in my living room!!!! Thank you guys so much... We decided that Freediving is our strong side and we can cover more ground so we decided to pound and and save the tanks as a backup plan for the afternoon...We went to Fisk mill with Linda and she pointed out his board and where she saw him last... Ken got in first cause he had time constraints.... We made our way out... It was surgy and the surge was powerful.. It was the hardest diving I have ever done....I couldn't slow my heart... It is so hard to breathe up with a lump in your throat... This was some really hard shit to talk about...it seemed like a blur in time.... Amanda says it was almost three hours...Jack found a mask..... Then rob called me over.... Craig was stuck in a ledge cave with his arm way back in there... Rob brought him up..... We said a prayer and rob and I swam Craig in to shore... About 100 ft from shore the life guard jumped in the water swam up to us and said he was going to take over... Rob sternly said.. We found him we brought him up... We are bringing him in... When we got in six ft of water the lifeguard said this is good we can leave him here... I said sternly that he has been out here since Monday and that he was coming to shore right now and not staying in the cold water anymore... We swam him in with love and respect.... We brought him to shore... We took off our fins and tops and covered him so he wouldn't be cold anymore.... fuk this is so hard..... It hit me so hard that no one can save us... We have to save each other... Right there on the shore me and rob made a deal, to never leave each other's wife on the shore, we have to take care of each other, we have to recover our own.... No one is more qualified than we are to do the things we do..no one is more qualified to find one of our own than us.... I can't stress enough.. Linda wanted to talk to me yesterday.. There entire family is forever grateful to all of us... They loved how we treated Craig with respect and love... That we brought him home meant everything to them...rob Winn I love you... You have been there for me...I owe you big time... Jack you too... Ken butler you too...Heath you are no longer a rookie, you have grown so much this year, thank you Heath for being here... Desert diver Russ you too... Randyrhoads geo you too... Russ came from Reno off a shift!!!!!  All in all this was the hardest most difficult dive I have ever done............

Very sad...

Sincerely,

Jim

Sad indeed. I too read it on Facebook A couple weeks ago. ...RIP Ab diver!

@ big Jim's post:
That is an immensely powerful read.

As difficult as the subject is, I thank you Jim for posting it.