Boat Diving With Nobody at Surface

[Bob3]

27 miles is a long ways ...

I had the luck to hear the story in person, it was much better than what I'd be able to do justice to.
I've gone on long swims before, the parts I thought were the roughest was the hike through the mangroves with all the dive gear, and NOT murdering the ****** afterwards.

 

[Genesis]

I don't think I'll be leaving the boat unattended that far offshore

 

[RichLockyer]

Genesis once bubbled...
There is an interesting question here though - if you have two people on a boat, is it safer to dive a a buddy team, leaving the boat unattended, or is it safer to dive SOLO, one after the other, with the other person up on the boat?

Now THERE's a debate that could take YEARS to resolve

One fatality one serious injury involving just that situation on Farnsworth last year.
MHK can provide details.

 

[emeyer36]

For what it's worth, my answer is read the article "The Unmanned Dive Boat" in the April 2003 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine. I just got my copy and was reading yesterday. If that isn't enough to make you think twice about whether to have someone stay in the boat, than go ahead, but don't ask my group of divers out on your boat, please. We would all like to arrive back at the dock with only dive stories to tell, not survival stories.

emeyer36

 

[Genesis]

it doesn't happen with a "group" on board.. only when there is one or two people out....

I'm not saying its a "good idea" - but then again, lots of things aren't but we all calculate the risks and place our bets in this life....

 

[mddolson]

If you're in the St Lawrence sea way or Trent Severn water way the coast guard, or OPP will tow, and impound your boat.

MikeD

 

[redacted]

I've done it occasionally with my bass boat in local lake and with a Hobbie cat on gulf oil rigs. I had to swim the bass boat down once after moving the anchor for easy retreival and then getting distracted before surfacing.

While its nicer to have someone in the boat, it's not always possible. Even in the gulf, shore is no more than 8 miles with the wind.

How badly do you want to dive?

 

[zeN||]

ut:

I frequently dive solo in a nearby lake, and have been using my inflatable recently; there isn't much risk from theft but if so I am usually only 200 yds offshore. What is important is your motor runs flawlessly so you aren't 2-3 miles away from your exit, that's a long way to paddle, if you have paddles. Getting back into the inflatable can be difficult, and I am presently fabricating a good ladder. One important thing the boat does for you if you spearfish, you can take your bloody, wiggling, shark lure (your catch) out of the water, and leave the scene if you do get an unwelcome dinner guest. All in all having a small boat for diving really opens up your dive experience. Anyone spearfishing in Monterey July 16th?
zeN||

 

[Snowbear]

seakdivers once bubbled...
We do it all the time! Of course my situation is probably alot different than most people's.
Where we live, a person's boat - be it big or small - is not something to be taken lightly. It is a source of income, it is a source of transportation, and most importantly it is a source of safety. Most people wouldn't even dream of taking someone else's boat that they found anchored in some bay.

.....

But really, people up here are (for the most part) very respectful of others on & in the water.

....,

Pretty much exactly what I was thinking!! I dive in Southcentral, but these rules apply here, also - kinda like stealing a horse in the Old West - likely to get you lynched!! The primary concern with the boat owners I know that will leave them anchored in some cove is that the anchor is secure!!! On the other hand - that dang Lion's Mane Jellyfish that stung my bottom lip on the bounce to 96' to free the ding dang fouled anchor at Boulder City (90' max, 45 min dive, but AWESOME swim-through and fun with Sea Lions during safety stop) was getting seriously cursed through the VERY slow ascent and precautionary deco stops when there was NOTHING I could do to prevent the dang regulator from aggravating the burning on my poor lip. When I was climbing the ladder and said a curse word as I whined about my burning, 3X normal sized lip, the boat guy and all the paying customers on the boat laughed at my swollen lip and lisp when I cussed. For some reason I declined the offer of the boat guy to pee on my lip to neutralize the jellyfish toxin :wacko: OK, So I got side tracked. Point is - most of the time an anchored or tied-off boat is still safe from predators here, but a secure tie-off or anchor and good conditions are mandatory if no-one is staying on the boat....

 

[Ari]

Yes it is unsafe but I can't say that I don't do it.

We leave the boat with a diving (Alpha) flag and go under. most of the times the first one to get UW will check that the anchor is well fixed.

In any case, this doesn't work to well if the sea is not calm. I would not recomend it to far from the beach.

Ari