Possible to buddy dive from own boat?

[zerogravity89]

Please please make sure you have oxygen on board and a very good first aid kit. Bare in mind that if both of you are in the water together, it means you will both have the same dive profile. All the more reason to dive very conservativly, if something happens to both of you there is nobody on the boat to help you. Perhaps set up a system where you radio and let someone know your dive plan and that you will radio back upon ending the dive. It can be done but ensure that you both have the correct rescue and emergency training, a survival pack (the one mentioned earlier was excellent) and that you really are sure of what you are doing. Normally it is the divemaster's job to organise emergency plans and take care of the emergency equipment, this now becomes your own responsibility.

Safe Diving

 

[charlesml3]

This type of thinking gets people killed.

OK. Can you please cite a verifiable article where someone got killed and it was directly due to them leaving the boat unattended?

 

[FLjim]

My ex-wife & I dove from our boat (34' sport fish) for several years in the Keys. Most of the time it was just the two of us, so the boat was left unattended.

The areas of the Keys we most enjoyed were in the sanctuaries auound Key Largo and Loo Key Reef. In those areas there are permanent mooring bouys, anchors are not allowed. The upside, the anchor will not pull while you are in the water. Be sure that your mooring line(s) are in top shape. There are nearly always other boats around in case of an emergency.

But, to avoid emergercies, we planned our dives carefully with an argeement on max depths, directions of travel, and close buddy contact. Since we were married we usually held hands on the dives anyway. We found that for reef diving there was no reason to go below 40-45'.

Navigation precations. ALWAYS dive up current from your boat!! The current will bring you home. Be sure everyone can nvigate by using both a compass and by tracking the terrain and depth as the dive progresses. Use the 1/3 rule for air. (1/3 out, 1/3 back, 1/3 just is case).

Required boat equipmet. Easy access for in and out of the water. Good first aid kit. Oxygen kit. Vinegar in a spray bottle. (Also useful for salads.)

With planning and preparation it can be done.

Jim

 

[billindenver]

It seems to me whatever sport I get into there are always people who go so strictly by the ultra conservative student manual that there is literally no way anything can go wrong..and no way they would have to rely on themselves to fix it if it did. Be that skydiving, car/motorcycle racing, rock climbing etc. Let me say, there is certainly nothing wrong with that approach. Personally, I tend to take a look at what can go wrong, set myself up with a contigency for that possibility and then do my thing. If I wanted to dive in the keys and leave the boat unattended I would just look at the worst case scenario (boat sinks) and plan around it. Anchor the boat. Drop a dingy with a survival kit and a hand held radio in it and anchor it separately. Be sure all anchor lines are in good shape....probably drop a second anchor off the boat. Dive conservative profiles with computers...and enjoy life.

With that said, I've never been the panic type. Been wrapped in another jumpers parachute lines in freefall and had to cut myself out so I know that when it really hits the fan my brain keeps working. If that were not the case, and I were not certain of it....I might reconsider my position.

If you are confident that you are not going to put yourself in a bent situation (which would be difficult in the keys without a dozen tanks or a compressor on board) and are confident that a hurricane isn't going to sink both your boat and your inflatable while you are underwater...I see no reason why I would hesitate to dive off my boat. Naturally, a heart attack or other such medical emergency would put you at greater risk...but then being in the boat in the middle of the keys and having a heart attack wouldn't be so safe either.

 

[String]

If you live in one of the very few places on earth where currents are 100% predictable or don't exist it may work. Everywhere else you can never rule out being physically unable to return to start.

 

[zerogravity89]

If you are confident that you are not going to put yourself in a bent situation (which would be difficult in the keys without a dozen tanks or a compressor on board)

When are people going to realise that its not just deep diving that causes DCS?

 

[GrandpaScuba]

I have 1 rule: Never dive from an unattended boat.

 

[barkeep3514]

I have done dives from my boat when everyone was in the water nobody on board but someone always stays fairly close to the anchor or tie in point which is checked first to alert if something goes wrong. But with nobody on board should an emergency pop up that can be very bad

 

[SailNaked]

Reason must be part of diving it has risks and we do it anyway.

there are only minor differences between diving from an unattended boat and shore diving the obvious major risk being current (for both). So get a really good anchor do not dive where there are known pirates, do not dive in lots of current and if you happen to be in the minority of dives more than 10 miles from shore consider what you might do if your boat had a 1:1,000,000 chance and sank. Then go ahead and do what you love to do. It is not possible to take all the risk out of diving, riding in a car or sleeping.

I do not feel that all accidents are avoidable and are the result of incompetence. A person that has a heart attack did not plan for it and almost certainly did not have a contingency plan for it unless they know they have heart disease. and then the contingency plan will still not prevent the heart attack.

If you dive from your own boat you should have the same safety precautions that the professional dive boats have, oxygen, first aid, radio, cell phone, back board, system to lift an unconscious diver from the water, a working head, ect.

 

[shawnstam]

When we dive from my boat usually around 4 or five of us we always leave the boat unattended. We do this for time considerations so we can all do a dive before the weather turns ugly. Before we get into the water the first thing we do is put lines out over the side, about four of them on both sides of the boat about 10 feet in lenth. Second put up a dive flag. Then we put out a 200 foot drift line with a floating bouy secured to it with a dive flag on it. Next put the dive lader in place. If it is night time turn on your deck lights. The next thing is done when you go down, Make sure the anchor is set and not dragging 95% chance it will be set. If not move it without smashing or catching a finger to a place it can set. Then enjoy your dive. When you surface up current just swim back to the boat or if you find the anchor go up the anchor line.

Make sure you have a anchor that is to big for the size of craft you are anchoring.
Always check the condition of you anchor road and Line.
if you have a large boat you should probally have a windlass if not have someone motor the boat slowly in the direction of the anchor line Carefull not to run it over while a person take in the slack and secures it on deck or in anchor locker. If anchor gets stuck use the wave action and boat to get it unstuck. When the boat goes down into the trough of the wave pull in all slack quickly and secure it to the bit. When the boat rises back up the boat will break it free. Never put you hand or fingers near the bit while doing so. when the anchor is free or the line is snapped pull it in and head home.

If you are not comfortable doing any of this you should probably have other stay in the boat while you dive. I have been doing the above for years and works for me.

hope this helps