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Every year experienced divers die in diving related avoidable accidents that should not have happened because the victim was "always so careful". One of the more common examples is a failure to analyse gas before diving, but there are many different types of avoidable accidents. The usual explanation put forward is a lapse in following their training, typically as a result of complacency. The victim is blamed for becoming complacent, the dive community is again reminded to be vigilant against complacency, and then another avoidable accident occurs. Perhaps a different way of explaining the cause of these predictable accidents could help effect a change in this unfortunate cycle.
The concept of Normalisation of Deviance has been used to describe the cause of NASA's flawed decisions that led to the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Normalisation of deviance from dive safety begins when the diver has a lapse in one or more safety protocols (often as a result of time and/or financial pressures) and nothing bad happens. The lapse reoccurs without incident and slowly the diver grows more accustomed to the deviant behaviour. Eventually the diver becomes so accustomed to a deviation from dive safety standards that they consider their unsafe behaviour to be acceptably normal. Ultimately one or more safety protocols are permanently deleted from their routine; enabling the diver have a serious, perhaps fatal, accident. To other divers, the accident is bewildering because the behaviour seems obviously unsafe and the victim had enough training and certainly enough experience to "know better".
It's clearly not productive to keep blaming the victim for these avoidable accidents. We can't solve this complex problem in a Tech Tip but a step to addressing this dive safety issue is to begin a discussion within the dive training community. Do we need a different educational approach that formally recognises and addresses normalisation of deviance as an underlying cause of many avoidable accidents among experienced divers? If you are an experienced diver, or dive professional, The Scuba Doctor urges you to raise awareness of this issue among your peers.
Amazon
Wreck Dive | 
Shore access
Three-Masted Wooden Barque | Max Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft)
Amazon Wreck Site Survey 2018
© J Leach & M Khoiru
Level: Open Water and beyond.
The shipwreck of the Amazon, a three-masted wooden barque, is located in the intertidal zone at Inverloch Beach, in Venus Bay, near Andersons Inlet, at Inverloch on Victoria's East Coast. Most of the wreck is situated between the high and low watermarks. The remains are typically covered by sand, but this changes from time to time.
Heritage Victoria, in collaboration with Parks Victoria, have carefully removed large sections of the exposed wreck and reburied them for preservation.
Amazon Shipwreck History &# Built in 1855
Barque Paasch (1885)
Thought to be similar to the Amazon
Source: Heritage Victoria
Amazon was a Units: unknown unit type given barque built in 1855 by Frederick Charles Clarke of Jersey in Channel Islands, UK. The vessel was owned by the merchant John Carrel and other shareholders.
Amazon was built as a three-masted barrow with wooden frames, a round stern, carvel build and having a 'full woman' figurehead, thought to be similar to the one pictured. The final entry for the barque in Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign shipping identifies the ship as 131.5 ft (40 m) long, 25.5 ft (7.77 m) wide and 16.2 ft (4.94 m) deep.
Amazon Sinking — Wrecked 15 December 1863
Amazon left Melbourne bound for Mauritius on 12 December 1863, with a cargo of salted meats. The vessel cleared Port Phillip Heads at 8 pm that same evening and turned to starboard to head west towards the Indian Ocean.
By 2 am on the 13 December 1863, the wind had picked up, and by 4 am the Captain reported the gale had turned into a hurricane. 14 miles off Cape Otway, the wind tore off some of Amazon's sails. By the 14 December 1863, Amazon attempted to return to The Heads and the relative safety of Port Phillip, but by noon on the 14 December 1863, the Captain realised they weren't going to make it and turned his attention to keeping his vessel away from the shore.
Amazon Wreck Site
© Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club
Amazon continued to drift east as the storm still raged through into the next day and at 6 a.m. on 15 December 1863, there were breakers off the port bow and rocks ahead. Amazon struck the beach near what is now the Inverloch surf beach, at 10 am and Captain Ogier kept the vessel on course in an effort to drive the ship as far up the beach as possible. The crew, having been on deck for 48 hours straight, were exhausted, and it wasn't until 3 p.m. in the afternoon that everyone made it to shore.
They set up tents on the beach the next day and searched the nearby area for signs of inhabitants. There was no sign of anyone until the 21 December 1863, when Mr Heales, who was passing close by on his way to Melbourne to visit family for Christmas, saw a distress flag flying. He escorted Captain Ogier to Melbourne who raised the alarm.
The crew were rescued by HMCS Victoria (which happened to be the first vessel of the Victorian Colonial Navy). Victoria's captain reported that the wreck was lying broadside onto the beach but embedded into the sand about three metres. The ship was high enough up the beach that it was dry at low tide. He also reported that sixty feet of the main keel and forefoot was broken off and lying on the beach at the high-water mark.
See also, Amazon 1863 Project,
Heritage Council Victoria: Amazon, and
Australian National Shipwreck Database: Amazon.
Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.
Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.
Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.
Amazon Location Map
Latitude: 38° 38.912′ S (38.648533° S / 38° 38′ 54.72″ S)
Longitude: 145° 41.773′ E (145.696217° E / 145° 41′ 46.38″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
| Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-29 13:44:17 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Artisan, 10,315 m, bearing 263°, W
Three-Masted Wooden Barque, 402 ton.
Built: Jersey, 1855.
Sunk: 15 December 1863.
Inverloch Beach, Venus Bay.
Depth: 1 m.
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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.
The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.
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