After the first dive, which was unusually strong current, we heard a report that something had gone terribly wrong at Patong Beach, Phuket.

CNN: Tsunami tragedy: Your e-mails

Just a couple of minutes earlier, on the first full day of a holiday with his wife and anxious to hit the famed Phuket blue water, Boardman had watched the tide off Patong beach recede suddenly.

CNN: Survivor's tale: This is surreal

As the Boxing Day tsunami swept him into the Phuket resort town of Patong, Australian Les Boardman, 56, from the beach suburb of Cronulla in Sydney, reached out and grabbed a post.

CNN: Survivor's tale: This is surreal