MORNING SENTINEL • June 19, 2021
June 5, 2021, will forever be a date ingrained in Roland Constable’s mind. Around 1 p.m. Constable went for his second-ever scuba dive in Maine. His first Maine dive the week prior was a bit unnerving when Constable surfaced for a break and a fishing boat idled nearby. As soon as the boat drivers saw him, they drove off. A week later, a boat hit him from behind, striking Constable’s silver oxygen tank. The regulator that he uses to breathe broke free and Constable lost control. His body rocketed toward the back of the boat and hit the propeller. All diving precautions were taken, so why did the boat approach him? According to Maine’s boating laws, a diver-down flag, required by the U.S. Coast Guard, is rectangular red with a white diagonal stripe that can be attached to a watercraft, float or buoy. Boats are required to stay at least 100 feet away from the flags.