Alive but quite a scare

[RonFrank]

"protocol for the area" does not equate to safe.

OK M_Bipartitus, please enlighten us as to HOW this boat could operate in a safer matter?

A recall likely would have not changed a thing, by the time they realized they were drifting, they were likely far from the site. Permanent Mooring lines don't work very well, or at all, with a sand bottom. Also, ever seen S. Carolina in the winter during a storm, or even a high sea... a mooring line would not last one season.

So what would YOU do different, because I'm rather certain that some thought went into their approach, and they managed to pull 34 divers on-board safely.

 

[jpbutler]

This is too funny.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

A recall likely would have not changed a thing, by the time they realized they were drifting, they were likely far from the site. Permanent Mooring lines don't work very well, or at all, with a sand bottom. Also, ever seen S. Carolina in the winter during a storm, or even a high sea... a mooring line would not last one season.

Mooring lines are easily replaced as needed. Moreover, a temporary buoy with anchor could easily be deployed at the beginning of the dive and retrieved at the end of the day. The boat would not need to stay there and the divers still should be able to surface in the same location.

There are plenty of other things that could be done, but never will. Such as having SSB transceivers for each diver. The only thing preventing such a policy is cost and not having a reason to do it. I would agree that that level of communication is not necessary. However, I bet you if some government organization (or insurance company) said it was required, it would happen. No captain wants to change the status quo, but will easily do so to maintain their business, if they had to. There would be griping, but it would happen.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

This is too funny.

I agree.

 

[ccredifo]

The wide variety of comments is interesting . Some think it was just like a drift dive. Yeh I'm gonna go with no on that one. I've done lots of drift dives and trust me, it doesn't compare.

 

[vladimir]

However, I bet you if some government organization (or insurance company) said it was required, it would happen. No captain wants to change the status quo, but will easily do so to maintain their business, if they had to. There would be griping, but it would happen.

Yeah, it would happen. Isn't that what government organizations do, by and large: create unnecessary regulation that we are forced to comply with and expense we are forced to bear?

 

[vladimir]

There are plenty of other things that could be done, but never will. Such as having SSB transceivers for each diver. The only thing preventing such a policy is cost and not having a reason to do it.

There is nothing preventing an individual diver from equipping himself with a personal locator beacon. I used to carry one. Why mandate it?

http://www.landfallnavigation.com/maxgplb.html

 

[DandyDon]

Let me start out by saying that diving with 34 other divers is not a good idea.

Why not? Did you compare pricing on different charters? Would you pay 50% more to have fewer on the boat? No biggie.

We took the 90' foot boat to Barracuda Alley. Imagine 35 divers sharing a single ladder! Oh the horror.

Done it many times

We estimated the giant stride off the side of the boat was anywhere from 6 to 10 feet. No joke.

So? Did you get lost on the way down? We do much higher strides into Mexican Cenotes; guess you'd better skip those too.

I signaled to my buddy that I'd surface and locate the boat.

You screwed that. Descend and ascend with buddies, always.

Well, drive down to Key Largo and try the newbie boats.

 

[ItsBruce]

Unless I was prepared for seeing the boat at a distance rather than where I left it, and unless I realized what an advanced dive might entail, i.e. migratory boat, rough seas, bad vis, etc. I would be inclined to think of this as an "incident."

This is a good topic as it will allow less experienced divers who may read it to recognize what an advanced dive entails.

 

[*dave*]

"protocol for the area" does not equate to safe.

The ocean is not a 'safe' place and diving is not a 'safe' activity. Nothing short of staying on land will make it safe and trying to regulate safety by policy is not where we want to go.

Mooring lines are easily replaced as needed. Moreover, a temporary buoy with anchor could easily be deployed at the beginning of the dive and retrieved at the end of the day. The boat would not need to stay there and the divers still should be able to surface in the same location.

So, what would they anchor the mooring line to? I'm guessing the same thing they anchored the boat to, so how is that safer? As it turned out, this boat did pretty much exactly what you are suggesting: It didn't stay on site and divers could have surfaced in the same location.

The boat lost its purchase and drifted off. At that point, it wouldn't be safe to fire the engines and motor back to station. Big whoop, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate this event a low 1.5.. a minor inconvenience, nowhere near a dangerous situation, but I can see how it would be concerning to someone unfamiliar with dive operations. The crew should have briefed on the procedure, though.