Dropping Diver's On Drifts

[Cacia]

Well, it can be a little anxiety provoking.

Any tips for assuring things go well?

I dropped WC and VBlueV off Baboon Nose the other day...a little remote.
Capt Joey asked who was on my boat with me and when I said "nobody", he belly laughed. (not a good sign)

I like for them to drag a sausage, then I'm fine. If I know which way the current is taking them, I can sit there and know where they are. We "compromised" at them blowing the SMB after 30 minutes. The first thiry minutes seemed long.....

I was thinking....if I had a medical emergency, or the boat started to sink, it would be handy to be able to alert them.

Any other ideas/ tips? I noted the time they went in, asked for a current direction, discussed SMB timing...anything more to add?

 

[scarefaceDM]

Drift diving..the only way to fly....

Know where yur heading is one thing. FOllow bubble patterns is another. Having a float is the optimal solution.

All depends on what the boat traffic is like. How close to shore depth etc. In my neck of the woods we do not drag a float nor SMB. It becomes a navigational hazzard and the coast guard or Marine patrol will be picking you up.

What we do in the event of an emergency. You try to get ahead of the bubbles and power up and down your engines. This will signal to the divers something is wrong. And they should blow a surface mark of sorts to indicte they got the message. ( it is all relative to how deep they are) Our usual dift dives are no more that 70 feet deep.

Now this of course is mentioned in the pre-dive planned. Three rev*up and three power downs doing this quickly. Or banging a metal object just below the surface. Three pings. wait five seconds three pings.

But it all depends on the area and what type of boat traffic, waves weather etc.

 

[Cacia]

hmm. I have trouble with the bubble thing because I am fearful of a diver getting under my prop...everybody else does it fine. I am worried and can never see everyone's bubbles. Right now, I like to sit off out of the area and watch the marker IF THEY WILL use it.

Engine signals...I like that one.

We had no boat traffic, just whales.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Hang a marine speaker over the side of your boat if you have issues.

Play "Flight of the Valkyries" at high volume.

They will swim toward the sound of thunder!

(They, too, love the smell of napalm in the morning...)

Problem solved...

 

[REII]

Hi Catherine;

Here in South Florida, drift dives are very common. The current generally moves in the same direction, the question is how strong. Divers are dropped in groups of 2 or more. Each group is required to drag a floating buoy with a dive flag on it. I think that is a law, not just the dive boats requirement?

On the boat there is a captain, and a dive master who watched the flags. People are fairly easy to see because both the reef and the current run north and south along the coast.

TOM

 

[altitudemike]

The use of a marine speaker is great but if you want everyone back in the boat I suggest the theme song for JAWS!!

 

[Charlie99]

Well, it can be a little anxiety provoking.
.......
I like for them to drag a sausage, then I'm fine. If I know which way the current is taking them, I can sit there and know where they are. We "compromised" at them blowing the SMB after 30 minutes. The first thiry minutes seemed long.....

If you are uncomfortable tracking just their bubbles, then have them tow a flag or SMB. You're the Captain, it's your perogative.

No reason to do it in a way that makes you uncomfortable.

Sporasub makes some nice torpedo shaped floats for freedivers that are very easy to tow.

 

[dlndavid]

The use of a marine speaker is great but if you want everyone back in the boat I suggest the theme song for JAWS!!

or "do you really want to hurt me" by boy george

 

[dlndavid]

Catherine, like in water skiing, it is the law to have a spotter, you would think there is a similar law for diving.

 

[lazyturtle]

Catherine

I always require my dive groups to carry a float. Following the bubbles isn't always an option along Koko Head, sometimes the wind and waves can really hide the trail (or create false ones). One time I dropped the divers between Big Sea Cave and Spitting Cave I had the DM get in an let me know which direction the current was running.He told me the current was heading towards Spitting Cave and that he wanted to pop the float when they started thier safety stop. About 35 mins later (the dive was supposed to be 40 min) I started to stress as I had lost the bubble trail and began scaning the area with my binocs. I finally saw the divers down by Big Sea Cave (the opposite direction of where I was expecting them to be based on the DMs current assessment, about 3/4 to a mile away!). When they got back on the boat the DM said 'oh I guess I was wrong about the direction'. I was SO pissed I couldn't even talk to him for a day or two.
Since then I've required my drift divers to have a float. If they want to go into caves, just have them tie it off near the enterance.
If the day is FLAT I'm willing to follow bubble trails, however I don't like it (and I'll only do it with a few people that I trust). It doesn't take more than a few seconds of inattentivness (like getting a drink, changing a cd, or seeing some whales) to lose a bubble trail, then you're in the guess work territory, which I really don't like.
As far as using the engine to signal the divers, it can be unrealistic especially in the neighborhood of Koko Head. The waves bouncing off the cliffs can cover the noise pretty effectivly, especially on a rough day. I'd say that the best option would be to get one of those 'ducks' (a little noisemaker that attaches to a lpi), go near them and blast it if you need to get thier attention. Those noise makers create a very loud and distinctive sound.
While REII's point about the legality of dive flags is valid, there's simply nobody out there to enfore the law. The CG would never be in that area and we have no marine police boats. There's also minimal boat traffic (occasionally another dive boat or fisherman) in the area. The people who use that particular area know what's going on there.