Why are CA dive boats so different?

[Akimbo]

…The world's first dive charter boat was the "Maray" owned and operated by the late great Mort Toggweiler…

World’s first or just the US’s first? It is hard to imagine why the French didn’t predate us. Any photos of the Moray? That’s a piece of history worth posting, thanks.

I often wondered why Southern California was the US birthplace of recreational diving rather than Florida. It was a better environment for manufacturers for sure… but had wetsuits been invented by that point?

Same with the Bottom Scratchers spearfishing club — why not Florida? You would think that there would have been a lot more spearfisherman there.

 

[drbill]

Because our local boats are intended for real divers who know how to set up their gear? While I enjoy the luxury when I travel internationally of having boat crews and divemasters who often go out of their way to help, when I'm in my home waters all I "need" or want is someone to fill my tank to capacity after a dive.

Boat hull design may be a resulty of the variable ocean conditions in the "calm" Pacific waters.

---------- Post added May 26th, 2013 at 09:57 AM ----------

There are a few boats here that do supply tanks, (AL80's or LP steel), and weights.
A few can arrange full rental gear upon your arrival also.

Our boats out here on the island provide tanks and weights.

Yes, Ron Merker was the poor soul who finally got to certify me when I discovered one had to be "certified" (and not by a psychiatrist) to dive here in California when I moved from the Midwesat in the late 60s. A great teacher.

Sam, I never dived the Maray but recently watched a video about LAC instructors that had sequences of the Golden Doubloon in it.. the first California dive boat I ever dove from.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Sam, I really enjoyed your posting. I simply love history, especially dive history. Please provide more.

 

[geoff w]

My wife and I do lots of vacations in warmer water, which get a lot of vacation divers, i.e., divers who dive maybe once every year or three. The common theme for vacation divers I've observed are warm water divers (as in you don't really need a wetsuit, or at most a shorty), you generally don't have your own equipment, most couldn't assemble their scuba gear (correctly) without help, not much lead weight is needed since thick exposure suits are not needed, a recent dive is in the same year, visibility under 80 ft is considered disappointing, and they have limited ability to plan and execute their own dive and return safely, let along use a compass. This is a generalization, but applies to a significant portion of vacation divers. So Cal conditions are more challenging in every aspect, and in general, people don't come to dive in So Cal expecting concierge diving. Visiting divers will often rent gear from a LDS, get help with setting everything up, and if they're really worried they will hire someone from the shop to lead them around. How many vacation divers are going to fly somewhere for a week to dive in 55 degree water with 20 ft viz as their only dives of the year?!

When we dived Molokai with Lahaina Divers at the beginning of the year, the boat was filled with more advanced divers and nobody from Lahaina Divers assembled anyone's gear. I asked about this and was told they would if asked, but are rarely asked for help since the trip catered to experienced divers. They typically will assemble gear on trips oriented toward less experienced divers.

Most of the other dive operations we dive with in Maui, like Mike Severns Diving, assemble all the gear on the boat while still on a trailer, so they can get going faster and guests aren't trying to assemble gear on board while the boat is rocking, not to mention space is limited. This isn't to say they assemble it way I set things up, but they do assemble gear correctly

Diving on So Cal dive boats can be intimidating, and probably scares off the less hard core divers. I had been diving for over 10 years before I ever started diving local boats. If you're not in a class and don't have all your own gear, including tanks and weights, you might be less likely to go out on a local dive boat, so there's less demand for the local boats to cater to vacation style divers

 

[boulderjohn]

From my experiences, CA boats are pretty similar to other American boats. I didn't see much difference in the CA boat diving I did when compared to the Florida diving I do.

I think the difference is with resort areas, like the Caribbean or the South Pacific. I believe that is because about 95% of the people who dive in resort areas are on vacation, and they just flew in for the experience. They are not going to be bring tanks and weights on the plane, so the norm is for the boats to provide the tanks and the weights. The divers who come to those resorts won't know their way around, either, so they are more likely to need a guide. In American coastal diving areas, most of the divers will be local. They will be diving year round, or at least much of the year, not just on vacation. It makes sense for them financially to own their own tanks, so the default for the boats will be for the divers to bring their own.

In places like Cozumel, the current makes drift diving a necessity, and the structure of the reefs makes using dive flags improbable, if not impossible. Consequently, to avoid having divers scattered all over the pace at the end of a dive, the law requires divers to stay in a group with a DM leading them. That law makes absolute sense in that locality. It would make no sense at all in most American coastal waters.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Sam, I really enjoyed your posting. I simply love history, especially dive history. Please provide more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

I strongly suspect that you are in the minority.

History, especially the short history of recreational diving should be recorded but recorded correctly totally devoid of I think, I head I suppose, I think and some one told me-There is always that "Some one told me."

SDM

 

[robertarak]

Sam, you are right, but in this case...you are the "someone" who told me.

 

[drbill]

Sam, had a nice talk with Jon Council (who I think you know) last night while attending a free concert here on the island. I agree that a good, accurate history of the sport would be very beneficial to a lot of current divers to better understand how we got to where we are now. Jon hopes to put all his vintage gear into a museum some day.

On the focus on the thread, I had a great 11 days diving at Club Ocellaris in Anilao, the Philippines, last month. The crew assembled all our gear and placed it on the boat for us. I must admit it was a luxury to have that service given the number of dives we were doing (60 dives in 17 days with some lasting over two hours).

 

[Sam Miller III]

Sam, you are right, but in this case...you are the "someone" who told me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Dr. Bill said about Ron Merker, LA Co Instructor, who certified him;
"Poor Soul"

Now you can say that about me. I heard it from SDM...Like the internet it has to be true.....

Are you going to the SCUBA Show in LA? I will be one of the presenters, what else? Dive history. Perhaps we can meet up and chat after the presentation or at the Casino night. I will be easy to spot I will be one of the oldest presenters and attendees -- and you and I share the same barber


SDM

 

[danvolker]

World’s first or just the US’s first? It is hard to imagine why the French didn’t predate us. Any photos of the Moray? That’s a piece of history worth posting, thanks.

I often wondered why Southern California was the US birthplace of recreational diving rather than Florida. It was a better environment for manufacturers for sure… but had wetsuits been invented by that point?

Same with the Bottom Scratchers spearfishing club — why not Florida? You would think that there would have been a lot more spearfisherman there.

In Florida Frank Hammett was probably the first charter operator...he made his own home made scuba regulator after seeing Gagnon's plans a year later...Frank had found all the major Palm Beach reefs by 1956 or 57....and he shot alot of the reefs with a 16 mm bolex, back in the early 60's...

Also in this area and the Bahamas there was Art Pinder and his brothers...they were legendary spearfisherman back in that early era.