Diver, Reinaldo Novoa Snr, 66, missing off Manzanilla

Postby **Duane 3NE 2NR** » November 10th, 2020, 10:03 pm

I'm sorry I didn't see this news report sooner to post it here.
His son Reinaldo Novoa Jr. helped to do programming work on TriniTuner in the past

A search is under way for a 66-year-old diver who went missing off the coast of Manzanilla on Sunday.

Reinaldo Novoa, a retired nurse, went alone to dive and has not resurfaced.

Mayaro police confirmed that a search was going on at mid-morning on Monday.

His son Reinaldo Novoa Jr told Newsday that his father may not have hit land as yet, based on information received. A message circulating on social media said his last GPS co-ordinates were 1027711 06043332.

The message said Novoa went missing while doing an open dive at 3.45 pm on Sunday.

“He is a strong swimmer and diving instructor and did have a buoyancy device. Coast Guard is waiting for air support before co-ordinating their efforts, which (are) still to be sorted," the message said.

“As a family, we are asking all owners of boats and fishermen along the coast from serpents mouth to Gran Cayo Point, Mayaro all the way up to Toco to join efforts this morning (Monday) to search for him.”

Novoa is a pharmacy representative and father of two from Westmoorings. The message also says he is a grandfather of seven and is married to Jasema Mungalsingh.

“Time is of the essence. He does have survival knowledge and experience to last this long. Please help this morning,” it said.

A man identified as Bryan, a “very close friend” of Novoa, said the search is ongoing.

“We have a few crews searching right now, including the Coast Guard and Bristow Helicopter Services, to see how best we can find him. We began co-ordination yesterday when we got the news at about 4 pm,” Brian said. “The boat had dropped him off to dive, and later the boat couldn’t locate him.”

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https://newsday.co.tt/2020/11/09/diver- ... anzanilla/

pugboy · Postby **pugboy** » November 10th, 2020, 10:07 pm

was the son into martial arts ?
i recall that name

Postby **Duane 3NE 2NR** » November 10th, 2020, 10:34 pm

pugboy wrote:was the son into martial arts ?
i recall that name

Yes still is
his 66 year old father is the one that's missing

RedVEVO · Postby **RedVEVO** » November 10th, 2020, 10:45 pm

^^

It's really SAD that the "boat man" left him in the ocean .

When you open dive , you should have a marker to show your position .

Boat man claims he did not see it and left .

%#$@%$%

http://www.looptt.com/content/search-re ... sing-diver

88sins · Postby **88sins** » November 12th, 2020, 10:21 am

Any updates?

Dizzy28 · Postby **Dizzy28** » November 12th, 2020, 11:38 am

88sins wrote:Any updates?

Son posted this morning -

AIR GUARD and COAST GUARD BARBADOS WE NEED YOU AGAIN!
This wide area out at sea is impossible for us civilians to cover. you have been silent heroes in all of this sometimes not even making it to the actual search maps. We thank you!
We have a lot to cover today on foot. The entire South East shore line. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We meet at our base location North Manzanilla at 9am Today 12th Nov 2020.
(Thank you Search and Rescue Trinidad and Tobago for organising this hub for operations yesterday and today. Collin, Akeem and the Team THANK YOU!)

Redman · Postby **Redman** » November 12th, 2020, 11:42 am

How wonderful would this be for him to be found alive.

elec2020 · Postby **elec2020** » November 12th, 2020, 11:54 am

Boat man said that he left to get help as he could not find the marker anymore. Its a damned if you do damned if you don't situation unfortunately.

pugboy · Postby **pugboy** » November 12th, 2020, 12:38 pm

solo diving 18 miles out
them brave

RedVEVO · Postby **RedVEVO** » November 12th, 2020, 5:51 pm

elec2020 wrote:Boat man said that he left to get help as he could not find the marker anymore. Its a damned if you do damned if you don't situation unfortunately.

How long has it been since he was lost @ sea :shock:

?

Hmm .. not looking good :oops:

matr1x · Postby **matr1x** » November 12th, 2020, 6:30 pm

Who dotish enough to dive out there?

RedVEVO · Postby **RedVEVO** » November 12th, 2020, 6:47 pm

matr1x wrote:Who dotish enough to dive out there?

Open Dive without the buddy system is one thing .

But to hire a "boat man" who leaves you in the middle of the Atlantic ocean is another .

matr1x · Postby **matr1x** » November 12th, 2020, 7:09 pm

Shark probably take him

agent007 · Postby **agent007** » November 12th, 2020, 7:44 pm

Our waters, especially north and east coast has a lot of bull, sand and black fin sharks. Being lost at sea as of the typing of this post approx. 100hrs now, means, the likelihood of finding Mr Novoa is getting slimmer by the second.

An experienced diver as his relatives have posted countless times on fb especially one who teaches diving sure did not follow some key precautionary measures.

Firstly, the atlantic waters was not the most pleasant at the time due to bad weather (I must know, I was on the east coast too at the very same time Mr Novoa went missing). Secondly, going solo 18miles offshore with no dive buddy? What was so important in this dive to go solo where the depth was about 92ft? No redundancies in place can spell trouble if trouble comes.

Next red flag is, the boatman left his anchored position to seek help? He should have radioed in CG and held position until another dive party arrived. What if Mr Novoa got into difficulty but resurfaced only to realize the boat gone? The boat holding position is also a visual marker for the diver as well.

So, due to the nature of the currents, and the time past, this guy could be adrift into Grenadian waters by now.

Truly sorry to hear this as I also know the family quite well. If no success by tomorrow, I'll probably cover a couple miles of shoreline on Saturday.

Learning lesson for all of us...and ultimately it gives rise to a question, what would we have done differently?

RedVEVO · Postby **RedVEVO** » November 12th, 2020, 10:11 pm

agent007 wrote:Our waters, especially north and east coast has a lot of bull, sand and black fin sharks. Being lost at sea as of the typing of this post approx. 100hrs now, means, the likelihood of finding Mr Novoa is getting slimmer by the second.

An experienced diver as his relatives have posted countless times on fb especially one who teaches diving sure did not follow some key precautionary measures.

Firstly, the atlantic waters was not the most pleasant at the time due to bad weather (I must know, I was on the east coast too at the very same time Mr Novoa went missing). Secondly, going solo 18miles offshore with no dive buddy? What was so important in this dive to go solo where the depth was about 92ft? No redundancies in place can spell trouble if trouble comes.

Next red flag is, the boatman left his anchored position to seek help? He should have radioed in CG and held position until another dive party arrived. What if Mr Novoa got into difficulty but resurfaced only to realize the boat gone? The boat holding position is also a visual marker for the diver as well.

So, due to the nature of the currents, and the time past, this guy could be adrift into Grenadian waters by now.

Truly sorry to hear this as I also know the family quite well. If no success by tomorrow, I'll probably cover a couple miles of shoreline on Saturday.

Learning lesson for all of us...and ultimately it gives rise to a question, what would we have done differently?

A good assessment

He should last longer than most if he had full rubber suit - but then sharks etc.

A 92 feet dive is a feat then to come up and no boat waiting :evil: