Did two sharks kill 'Peter Perfect' abalone diver Peter Clarkson Abalone diver Peter Clarkson was reportedly taken by two great white sharks in 2011 off SA's West Coast. BLOOD on the boat, no contact with emergency services, no exact location and no corroborative evidence. To this day, abalone boat skipper Howard Rodd maintains his diver and colleague of eight years, Peter Clarkson, was taken by two great white sharks off the state's West Coast in February 2011. Experts say the possibility of such an event is one in 10 million - six times less likely than being struck by lightning. An inquest into Mr Clarkson's death this week heard Mr Rodd's failure to immediately alert authorities hampered any realistic chance of determining what happened that fateful afternoon. It is not the first time that Mr Rodd has been involved in an incident that resulted in a death at sea. MORE: Skipper's actions questioned In November 2000, he and his deckhand, Danny Thorpe, had to fight for survival when their boat was overturned by a freak wave near Ceduna. Mr Rodd swam for shore about 15km away, while Mr Thorpe - terrified of sharks - opted to stay with the boat in a decision that cost him his life when he disappeared, believed taken by a shark. Mr Clarkson's brother, Richard, and sister, Liz Akeley, who attended every day of the inquest in Port Lincoln, fully supported Mr Rodd's version of events. There is no anger. He (Howard Rodd) was in high trauma mode and things weren't rational as to what he decided to do," Richard Clarkson said. MORE: Coroner threatens contempt charge against witness Mr Rodd - a fisherman with about 40 years' experience - told the inquest he had stopped functioning when he realised the man he had worked with for the past eight years had been taken. It was this confused state of mind, he claims, which meant he: DID not activate his Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). FAILED to realise when he tossed the anchor overboard that he had untied it three days earlier. DID not attempt to contact emergency services using his mobile phone or radio. He broke down as he tried to recall the moment of the attack, before telling the court: "You are not torturing me. I'm just not going there, it stops there - can you understand me? State Coroner Mark Johns reacted strongly when Mr Rodd said he had not reported the attack because there would have been no hope of finding Mr Clarkson. "You do not seriously suggest that authorities would have simply taken your word for it and not mounted a search?" he said. Mr Johns was also critical of Mr Rodd's failure to pinpoint an exact location for the attack. There is not much point telling the authorities it happened in a mile diameter. You are an experienced fisherman. The body and equipment of Mr Clarkson - known as "Peter Perfect" - were never found. SA Police investigating officer Detective Brevet Sergeant Anthony Boots told the inquest Mr Rodd had not pressed the emergency "man overboard" button on Mr Clarkson's GPS. Mr Rodd said this was because he couldn't get a fix on the boat's position. "I can't see why it wouldn't have worked correctly all the time," Det-Sgt Boots said, telling the inquest that police had tested the unit both inside and outside. The court heard a severed airline used by Mr Clarkson was not initially definitively determined as a shark bite by forensic experts. Only when they got a shark to bite another piece of hose did the airline and the shark bite sample show consistencies. Det-Sgt Boots said police had found no reason to suspect foul play. Some of the most intriguing evidence was when the inquest heard that Mr Clarkson's blood was found on the boat's deck and that it had been "washed with water or a cleaning agent." Mr Rodd told the inquest he had vomited on the boat after Mr Clarkson's disappearance and threw "a few buckets of water" on it to clean it up. One of the last people who claimed to see Mr Clarkson alive that day was fellow abalone diver Darryl Carrison. Mr Carrison told the inquest he "still to this day" believed Mr Clarkson was on the deck of the boat shelling abalone and that Mr Rodd was diving. He recalled being surprised when he was told Mr Clarkson had been taken, saying at the time: "How the f*** could Peter have been taken? He was on the boat. Mr Carrison believed he saw Mr Clarkson waving happily on board skipper Howard Rodd's vessel near Golden Island on the day of the attack. Outside court, Richard Clarkson and Ms Akeley said this evidence had surprised them. Despite not contacting authorities, Mr Rodd called Western Abalone Processors manager Jim George, his lawyer Michael Coates and his accountant. The court heard this oversight that meant police were "looking for a needle in a haystack, and we haven't found the haystack yet." Police were not able to send a helicopter to search the water's surface on the night the incident happened and by the next day poor weather conditions prevented divers from going out. Mr Rodd had agreed on Monday - four days after the attack - to go out to sea with police to help determine the location of the incident, but an hour later Mr Rodd's lawyer Michael Coates had contacted police to withdraw that permission. Mr Coates had earlier told the inquest he tried to contact police, but did not ring triple-0 or the police assistance line. The inquest heard Mr Coates made the decision to take Mr Rodd to Port Lincoln Hospital, rather than be treated by ambulance officers at the scene - overriding the advice of emergency services. He (Howard Rodd) was the only person whose information and version of events was highly valuable to mount any rescue effort.