Surface Support on Dive Boats

Hello,

I would like to ask everyones opinion on surface support on Dive boats. Is having surface support something that you look for when choosing a dive operator or are other factors more important when making a choice of who to dive with?

I ask as someone who has witnessed everything from a diver dying aboard a boat with no surface support to a dive vessal floating off its mooring into the wide ocean due to no one on board to bring it back. For me its a mandatory thing to have but I am interested in others opinions.

Thank you,

Marc

When diving from a boat, the following are mandatory in my mind (and perhaps some of them are mandatory by the coast guard):

1. A person remaining on the boat that is qualified to operate the boat.
2. First aid kit and emergency O2.
3. Person on the boat that knows how to administer first aid and emergency O2.

The following items are bonus:

A. Extra people on board as spotters, hands, etc.
B. A dingy/zodiak already in the water to respond to dive emergencies.
C. Every one of the boat is a certified diver (just as a knowledge base).
D. Extra gear as just-in-case someone else needs to splash in (but doesn't need to be set-up).

Well said Bailey.

I would add that the Coast Guard is US and their rules are not everybodys.
We like the extra hands onboard to assist in getting out of the water as well. Many SoCal boats offer full galleys and food service, hot showers and yet others even have hot tubs! (No kidding, a real hot tub!)

It depends. If you are out with buddies you can expect all to go down or in overlapping shifts.

If you pay for a charter or dive trip, I'd expect someone to be ready for surface support at all times (no exceptions) as you most likely would have aslo signed a waiver and the boat crew should abide by commonsense or due diligence to make the waiver enforceable. You can't be negligent of good boat diving practices and expect the waiver to be upheld if stuff hits the fan.

I think somebody who can drive the boat and call for help if necessary is a must. Nothing else I can think of is.