A Close Call (from jsonline)

[danvolker]

I don't recall seeing you on the boat.

Because diving from an anchored boat is against my religion, unless we are talking about a liveaboard in the flat zero current of the Bahamas

I have dived in Lake Erie and the Niagra river....similar in some ways....storms can come up fast, waves can become huge in 20 minutes, almost without warning, and an anchored/moored boat is just begging for trouble....

 

[vondo]

That's an interesting perspective. Not being a boat person, I can't really evaluate it. On the other hand, if only moored or anchored boats ran into problems then there wouldn't be much to see in Lake Michigan and I wouldn't have been there that day.

 

[murphyjones]

I almost have to agree with danvolker, if the boat were floating freely, it would have just rolled with the waves. But often times when a boat takes on water--even a boat like that one which can take on almost a couple feet of water and not have any problems---people get nervous, which is understandable. I wonder if everyone stayed in their seats or if the water scared them and they all tried to get away from it. If you put water and 13 passengers all on one side of a boat, it's going over!

 

[SDAnderson]

That's an interesting perspective. Not being a boat person, I can't really evaluate it. On the other hand, if only moored or anchored boats ran into problems then there wouldn't be much to see in Lake Michigan and I wouldn't have been there that day.

That's just Dan, missing the glory days of alt.rec and the GI3 flame wars, still looking to stir up the silt a little bit.

 

[murphyjones]

I would guess you're going to get back some dirty gear, but thats not a big deal, that's what water is for.

I heard the life preserver from the boat was found on the beach in Port Washington.

If you had things that float and they weren't in a bag, they may have floated away, unless something heavy landed on them. I lost a fin to the lake just diving, had it on my foot and it fell off and went away.

 

[Paco]

Just wondering. Did the outboard motors stay with the boat?

 

[murphyjones]

Yes, the motors are still with the boat.

 

[DiverBeth]

A couple of times the boat started to fill with water from the waves while we were on our way out to the site. Everyone stayed in their seats. When the boat started to roll there was no panic.

I got lucky they recovered 100% of my gear including my camera, still works, and even my little dry box with my car key which still works.

 

[DandyDon]

A couple of times the boat started to fill with water from the waves while we were on our way out to the site. Everyone stayed in their seats. When the boat started to roll there was no panic.

I got lucky they recovered 100% of my gear including my camera, still works, and even my little dry box with my car key which still works.

It sounds like some nice folks put some real effort in finding & returning things.

 

[vondo]

There is an unfortunate addendum to this incident. One of our members initially thought his ankle was sprained during the rough ride out. After it worsened, he went to the Dr. yesterday. Unfortunately his tibia is fractured. His recovery should take 4-6 weeks.

All of my diving gear was recovered. Some dirty, some needing service to feel safe diving it again. I had all my neoprene with me, so nothing floated away. My personal items were recovered but are a complete loss.