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Celebrity divers throw party, but snub crew

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TWO divers rescued after 19 hours in the ocean have deliberately snubbed crew and passengers from the dive boat they went missing from, deepening a bitter feud between the groups.

Richard Neely and Allyson Dalton will host drinks this afternoon in Townsville for the rescue crews who searched through the night for them.

But crew and passengers onboard the Pacific Star, who have publicly accused the divers of being reckless, were left off the invitation list.

"In the nine days since it took place, the owners of the boat have not been in contact with them at all to ask if they`re OK or to express any sympathy or to apologise," said the couple`s celebrity agent Max Markson.

"Plus, they`ve put repeated news releases out criticising Rich and Ally so I don`t think the people who run OzSail, I mean, they were very rude to me as well on the phone, I don`t think there`s much point inviting them to have a drink."

OzSail, which runs the Pacific Star, has repeatedly defended its handling of the early hours of the search but yesterday preferred to stay quiet.

OzSail office manager Ross Peters said the crew would like to talk with the couple.

"If they`re looking to thank the people who rescued them, I think that`s a good thing."

The couple have returned to Queensland after nearly a week in the US, where they hit the airwaves in a series of network television interviews.

It`s been estimated the couple have made up to $250,000 selling their story in Australia, the US and the UK.

They had promised to make a donation to rescuers from their windfall and dive insurance will cover their evacuation from the moment they were spotted from a helicopter.

The party today is a closed function to "sincerely thank everyone involved in the search", they wrote in the invitation.

They have invited police, Emergency Services, rescue helicopter crews, Queensland Health, paramedics, Volunteer Marine Rescue, AUSAR and the SES.

VMR Whitsunday Base skipper Kevin Hutchison said he would have made the two-hour trek to Townsville but hadn`t received the invitation.

"People volunteer for all sorts of roles and all sorts of reasons but very rarely for the publicity," he said.

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