Tagline for Strong Current?

[Sea_Jay]

Hello SB,

I have a question for those of you who dive off of your own boat......I have a small Whaler (15') which I dive off of frequently, and I was out this past Friday 10/20 with two friends, we were hunting on a shallow reef at dawn. First dive went off without a hitch --- excellent conditions w/ low current which made navigation a breeze. We ran a square pattern from the boat & surfaced right at the mooring buoy. The second dive started out with similar conditions, but about 20 mins into it, the current started ripping. I made a conscious effort to adjust our course but when we surfaced at the 60 min mark - we were about 1/3 mile from the boat. Once I took a moment and evaluated the situation, I decided the best course of action was simply to swim it. Which is what we did. All was fine.....after about 15-20 mins we were close enough to grab my docklines; this is what brings me to the question at hand:

I have always run ~20 ft docklines....two off the stern & one off the bow. When I tie up to a mooring for a dive, or set my anchor, I always toss the stern lines into the water. Just for something to grab onto when returning to the boat. On Friday, as I was nearing the boat on my surface swim, I could see the docklines off in the distance and they looked *SO* close, but working against the current (with all of my gear....incl. speargun, lobstering equip.) and after spending 2+ hours underwater, it took me a long time to reach them.

From the moment I could see the lines, all I could think to myself was "why the f--- don't I have a 100' tagline on a carabiner, that I strictly deploy for this scenario?" and that thought has brought me here to this post. Do any of you run a similar setup? As a captain myself, first potential hiccup is an entaglement hazard for other boaters - especially on a popular dive site with multiple moorings. Could potentially mitigate this hazard by attaching a floating dive flag to end of tagline? You'd still have the submerged line in between boat & flag, which no other vessels should be crossing over, but we all know how that goes.

Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[RyanT]

IDK...maybe leave somebody on the boat?

 

[Sea_Jay]

IDK...maybe leave somebody on the boat?

Usually that is what we do. But not always. Looking for suggestions w/o surface support.

 

[Waterwulf]

We always dropped a line over the stern, at least a hundred feet long. We just used ski rope which has the added benefits of floating and being bright. We tied buoys onto it every twenty or thirty feet or so, usually the small half gallon milk jugs. It came in handy many times.

We also tied a buoy to the anchor line after it was down and holding. The idea behind that was in case somebody had to come after us, they would drop the anchor line instead of pulling it up to save time. Then go back and get it. (Don't forget to leave your keys in the boat!)

Yeah, the line dragging in the current is a navigational hazard to other boaters but why in the Hell are they that close anyway if you have a dive flag out. If they pass within a hundred feet of a flying dive flag, they deserve to get snagged.

We did those things regardless if somebody stayed in the boat or not.

 

[Nemrod]

Hello SB,

I have a question for those of you who dive off of your own boat......I have a small Whaler (15') which I dive off of frequently, and I was out this past Friday 10/20 with two friends, we were hunting on a shallow reef at dawn. First dive went off without a hitch --- excellent conditions w/ low current which made navigation a breeze. We ran a square pattern from the boat & surfaced right at the mooring buoy. The second dive started out with similar conditions, but about 20 mins into it, the current started ripping. I made a conscious effort to adjust our course but when we surfaced at the 60 min mark - we were about 1/3 mile from the boat. Once I took a moment and evaluated the situation, I decided the best course of action was simply to swim it. Which is what we did. All was fine.....after about 15-20 mins we were close enough to grab my docklines; this is what brings me to the question at hand:

I have always run ~20 ft docklines....two off the stern & one off the bow. When I tie up to a mooring for a dive, or set my anchor, I always toss the stern lines into the water. Just for something to grab onto when returning to the boat. On Friday, as I was nearing the boat on my surface swim, I could see the docklines off in the distance and they looked *SO* close, but working against the current (with all of my gear....incl. speargun, lobstering equip.) and after spending 2+ hours underwater, it took me a long time to reach them.

From the moment I could see the lines, all I could think to myself was "why the f--- don't I have a 100' tagline on a carabiner, that I strictly deploy for this scenario?" and that thought has brought me here to this post. Do any of you run a similar setup? As a captain myself, first potential hiccup is an entaglement hazard for other boaters - especially on a popular dive site with multiple moorings. Could potentially mitigate this hazard by attaching a floating dive flag to end of tagline? You'd still have the submerged line in between boat & flag, which no other vessels should be crossing over, but we all know how that goes.

Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

We dive from our 19 feet long Whaler. If very benign conditions, we will leave the boat anchored and without anyone aboard. The conditions must be no current, light wind and seas, near shore enough I can swim it. And I do not leave the immediate vicinity of the anchor rode.

Benign conditions and very near shore with little or no wind and current, swimming distance to shore, fish schooling over wreck:





You left nobody aboard, there was current and wind(?), you ventured very far from the anchor and surfaced far away, hmmm, sounds dangerous.

Yes, if there is current, I will run a tag line 100 feet long with ski floats on the line and a dive flag tied off at the end. Of course, idiots will do idiotic things and run over the line and then yell and scream and carry on over their tangled prop and I have no solution for that and sometimes I am certain it is purposeful. People being nice to people is a lost art apparently.

 

[Gone for diving]

We do dive from a boat occasionally without someone in it.

The plan is that if anchor breaks, and the boat drifts, one guy leaves his gear with the other guy, and swims after it, with fins and mask, and preferably snorkel.

But a line off the back is not a bad idea.
200 ft is even better

 

[The Chairman]

First, if there's enough current to pull the boat, I will always swim into the current. I'll return a few yards to one side or the other on my way back.

There is so much less current on the bottom. Consequently, I will do a commando peek halfway through the dive (on my turn), then when I think I'm getting close just to see where the boat is to be sure I don't surface far away when I do. I would rather do my swim at depth, than on the surface.

A hundred-yard tag line with a nice sized buoy only makes sense.

 

[Sea_Jay]

We always dropped a line over the stern, at least a hundred feet long. We just used ski rope which has the added benefits of floating and being bright. We tied buoys onto it every twenty or thirty feet or so, usually the small half gallon milk jugs. It came in handy many times.

We also tied a buoy to the anchor line after it was down and holding. The idea behind that was in case somebody had to come after us, they would drop the anchor line instead of pulling it up to save time. Then go back and get it. (Don't forget to leave your keys in the boat!)

Yeah, the line dragging in the current is a navigational hazard to other boaters but why in the Hell are they that close anyway if you have a dive flag out. If they pass within a hundred feet of a flying dive flag, they deserve to get snagged.

We did those things regardless if somebody stayed in the boat or not.

Ski rope with 1/2 gallon jugs sounds ideal! With the added benefit that I already own a ski rope, and I drink milk!

Also, the buoy on the anchor line is a fantastic idea, one that I am going to adopt. Thank you!

 

[Sea_Jay]

We dive from our 19 feet long Whaler. If very benign conditions, we will leave the boat anchored and without anyone aboard. The conditions must be no current, light wind and seas, near shore enough I can swim it. And I do not leave the immediate vicinity of the anchor rode.

Benign conditions and very near shore with little or no wind and current, swimming distance to shore, fish schooling over wreck:





You left nobody aboard, there was current and wind(?), you ventured very far from the anchor and surfaced far away, hmmm, sounds dangerous.

Yes, if there is current, I will run a tag line 100 feet long with ski floats on the line and a dive flag tied off at the end. Of course, idiots will do idiotic things and run over the line and then yell and scream and carry on over their tangled prop and I have no solution for that and sometimes I am certain it is purposeful. People being nice to people is a lost art apparently.

"If very benign conditions" -- 'if' is the operative word here. When you descend on your dive, the conditions may very well change prior to your conclusion of that dive. Which is what happened to us here. We were also on the 2nd reef with the shore plenty visible. If it came down to it I'd ditch my gear with one of my buddies & swim for the boat, then return for my buddies.

Good to know I'm not the only one thinking along the same train of thought w/ the 100' long line! I'm going to set up a rig for future dives

 

[Sea_Jay]

We do dive from a boat occasionally without someone in it.

The plan is that if anchor breaks, and the boat drifts, one guy leaves his gear with the other guy, and swims after it, with fins and mask, and preferably snorkel.

But a line off the back is not a bad idea.
200 ft is even better

This has always been my plan; luckily I have not (yet) had to get to this point.....but this last experience was the closest I've been. Gave me the idea for the extra-long lines.