A third non-diver in this same month has asked me if I have watched "Open Water" when I mentioned diving to them. I know it's a terrifying prospect to be lost in the ocean but I have not read any specific incidences in the Accidents forum so perhaps it is rare. I think it's my #1 anxiety right now when diving, getting separated from the group and being lost, I don't have good nav skills or use an SMB so those are next on my list.
Does anyone here have any personal experiences of being adrift in the ocean without being noticed for any extended period of time? What were the circumstances? If one were to ascend independently mid way during a drift dive for whatever reason is it reasonable to assume that you will ultimately catch up with the boat if you stay put and don't attempt to swim off course?
SailNaked
May 13th, 2010, 03:23 PM
for about $250 you can buy a PLB and for another 40 a canister from OMS to put it in so that it does not get wet. then if you ever find yourself alone in the open ocean you can open it activate it and wait for the coast guard (or other national service) to come get you.
Never worry in a box.
For obvious reasons I have not read of it happening to anyone here, however there are a few in the near misses section.
v--Locke--v
May 13th, 2010, 03:24 PM
in most cases if there are not strong currents you can make a surface swim back to the boat assuming it is anchored. in the cases I have heard where people get stranded, they swim in one direction for a long time w/o changing direction or making a reciprocal! or the boat isn't anchored and drifts.
for sakes man! get a safety sausage and a strobe light. also this may help as well:
30 minutes one time after an afternoon drift dive in the Bahamas....Boat driver fell asleep and the water got choppy, lost everybody down @ one point...Group(of about 15) got divided into about 4 smaller groups, we were the 2nd to last to be picked up..The last 2 guys spent about 15 more minutes in the water before being spotted...
&......this was in the late 80's way before SS....
Jorgy
May 13th, 2010, 03:47 PM
Add a loud whistle to your dive gear....
All-Weather Safety Whistle Company - The Loudest Emergency Whistles (http://www.stormwhistles.com/)
I also carry an air horn.......
Dive Alert Surface Air Horn | Hoses,Accessories | Simply Scuba UK (http://www.simplyscuba.com/products/DiveAlert/SurfaceAirHorn.aspx)
Hope this helps.....M
NWGratefulDiver
May 13th, 2010, 03:48 PM
A third non-diver in this same month has asked me if I have watched "Open Water" when I mentioned diving to them. I know it's a terrifying prospect to be lost in the ocean but I have not read any specific incidences in the Accidents forum so perhaps it is rare. I think it's my #1 anxiety right now when diving, getting separated from the group and being lost, I don't have good nav skills or use an SMB so those are next on my list.
Does anyone here have any personal experiences of being adrift in the ocean without being noticed for any extended period of time? What were the circumstances? If one were to ascend independently mid way during a drift dive for whatever reason is it reasonable to assume that you will ultimately catch up with the boat if you stay put and don't attempt to swim off course?
I've not experienced anything life-threatening or particularly traumatic ... but I can relate a personal experience.
We were in Indonesia ... at a dive site off the east coast of Bali. I don't recall the name of the site, but it was off some tiny "islands" ... big rocks, really, since the largest one had just a few trees on it. We were to descend down into a crescent-shaped bay to watch some white-tipped sharks at a cleaning station. We descended and positioned ourselves at the station ... noticing a current that made it increasingly difficult to hold our position. There were four divers and two divemasters. Our divemaster came over and, taking my hand, placed it atop a coral head, wrapping my fingers around the coral. He did the same to my (then) wife. The current continued to increase to the point where we were literally "flapping in the breeze". Holding onto coral is something I was programmed not to do, and so as soon as I felt something rubbing (or "nibbling"?) on my fingertips, I let go. My wife saw me take off in the current, and she also released her hold to follow. The DM quickly came after us.
Shortly after regrouping we begain our ascent from about 80 fsw ... but at about 35 fsw we hit a downwelling that dropped us back down to our original depth. After a bit of struggling and inflating we were able to start back up again and eventually made it to the surface ... only to notice that the current had shot us between a couple of those little islands and we were already about a half-mile distant, and on the opposite side of them from the boat. We could not see the boat and they could not see us. The DM deployed a safety sausage, and we continued drifting for about 25 minutes, moving well beyond where the boat could possibly see us.
Eventually we saw one of those little pontoon fishing boats off in the distance, and started waving our arms furiously. The fishing boat came within sight of us, waved back, and kept going ... !!! He eventually disappeared behind that little string of islands and a few minutes later we saw our boat heading in our direction. Overall we were only in the water about 45 minutes before our boat picked us up. Not sure what would've happened if the fishing boat hadn't happened by.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Reef Tank
May 13th, 2010, 04:11 PM
Add a loud whistle to your dive gear....
All-Weather Safety Whistle Company - The Loudest Emergency Whistles (http://www.stormwhistles.com/)
Hope this helps.....M
I may hate myself in the morning for asking this but...
The manufacturer states the whistle can be heard underwater. Does that mean it can be blown underwater? Has anyone tried it?
On our last dive the DM alerted us when a hammerhead appeared starboard but I didn't look to see what he was using.
BarrelRoll
May 13th, 2010, 04:23 PM
There's a great thread stickied in the equipment section about this:
If one were to ascend independently mid way during a drift dive for whatever reason is it reasonable to assume that you will ultimately catch up with the boat if you stay put and don't attempt to swim off course?
I think those are excellent questions to ask the crew of the boat during the briefing. I've seen it done a couple of ways. One way is that they just take the boat off anchor and drift along with the group while keeping track of the bubbles. Another way is that they move the boat to where the group will probably be doing their safety stop and then drive it back along the reciprocal course to pick up stragglers if someone surfaces early. It's not very common to drift more than a km or so during a dive so if the visibility above water is ok, then someone onboard with binoculars will probably see you as soon as you surface.
There are probably other ways too but I haven't seen them. I also don't dive from charter boats a whole lot.
In any event, there doesn't seen to be a universal way that they do this, so asking the DM exactly what to expect in case of separation from the group is wise and a good policy. (incidentally, this should be a standard part of the briefing).
Personally, I've been lucky. I've had to wait to be picked up for about 20 min or so a few times, but I never felt "lost at sea." all the times this happened I was within sight of shore and even though it would have been a drag to have to swim back, it would have been possible.
R..
Web Monkey
May 13th, 2010, 05:05 PM
Does anyone here have any personal experiences of being adrift in the ocean without being noticed for any extended period of time? What were the circumstances? If one were to ascend independently mid way during a drift dive for whatever reason is it reasonable to assume that you will ultimately catch up with the boat if you stay put and don't attempt to swim off course?
You always need to be "findable."
I was on drift in FL, came up and there was no boat. To make a long story short, the boat showed up about 45 minutes later (he was double-dipping, doing OW checkout dives somewhere else while we were drifting), but it really brought home the need to be findable.
OTOH, I've also been on a boat that sank. It happened to sink near the harbor, so it wasn't a huge risk, but a different choice of dive site could have made it an entirely different situation.
The thread referenced above is a great read. In short, if you can make yourself big, bright and noisy, you stand a much better chance of being found. If you're somewhere remote (or could be remote if you miss your pickup), a good EPIRB will get you rescued pretty much anywhere on earth.
Terry
djanni
May 13th, 2010, 05:23 PM
Here's my experience (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/102986-abandoned-sea-sun-june-26-2005-ibis-dania-beach-hollywood-fl.html). We were not waiting a long time nor did we feel we were in danger but we were left behind.
Thought I'd link to the old thread because we did learn some things and if you're very far from the boat, whistles, horns, SMB's and flags are not much help when the captian of the boat is anxious to get underway. BTW: I still carry a large SMB, whistle and horn.
knowone
May 13th, 2010, 05:45 PM
I may hate myself in the morning for asking this but...
The manufacturer states the whistle can be heard underwater. Does that mean it can be blown underwater? Has anyone tried it?
On our last dive the DM alerted us when a hammerhead appeared starboard but I didn't look to see what he was using.
People love to ask about sharks, great encouragement for apprehensive divers. I tell them shhhh I have done an extra sensory telepathic shark whispering specialty course, then turn my back.
Divers love to ask how's the vis? I tell them shhhh go and have a look, then turn my back.
When the lonergan's extended their vacation here lots of bells and whistles were sold then everything relaxed again.
We have just changed frequency on our beacons so it will be interesting to see what will become available. I would have no hesitation in buying one if my style warranted it, heck I might get one anyway, but shhhh don't tell the people who are going to laugh at you so they don't realise when you are all lost together, why you have swum a few miles away from them.
I definately do not wish to know of which species of hammerhead you speak.
iztok
May 13th, 2010, 05:53 PM
OTOH, I've also been on a boat that sank. It happened to sink near the harbor, so it wasn't a huge risk, but a different choice of dive site could have made it an entirely different situation.
Did they charge extra for wreck diving?
Web Monkey
May 13th, 2010, 08:12 PM
Did they charge extra for wreck diving?
Nope. But I had just finished my DiveCon class and thought that sinking the boat was a huge treat. They seemed a little pi**** when I told them I'd come back next week if they sank it again. :D
Terry
Doc Harry
May 13th, 2010, 09:39 PM
for about $250 you can buy a PLB and for another 40 a canister from OMS to put it in so that it does not get wet. then if you ever find yourself alone in the open ocean you can open it activate it and wait for the coast guard (or other national service) to come get you.
Never worry in a box.
For obvious reasons I have not read of it happening to anyone here, however there are a few in the near misses section.
Avoid anything OMS. There is much better gear out there than OMS.
EPIRBS are great but have one issue, the only communication capability they have is "Come Get Me" My setup uses a Standard Horizon Floating HX850S Marine Band radio with built in GPS, strobe and panic button which squawks your position like an EPIRB. It all goes in a McMurdo dive canister which attaches to your tank strap. The canister is good to 500 feet. This set up allows you to call in the dive boat to your exact position and if all else fails hit the panic button which squawks your position and activates the strobe. I had my canister modified by adding a 4 inch section so the antenna could stay attached to the radio rather than placed alongside the radio in the canister. Gives me a warm fuzzy when on drift dives.
emoreira
May 13th, 2010, 10:36 PM
I've never experienced such a thing, but I've dived in boats with a strict security system to avoid lost divers.
There are two guys on board taking care of the divers, where they are, how many are there in the water, the names and keeping track of the bubble trace. One of the security guys is at stern by the dive platform taking note of the diver's name and the second, well up in the cabin roof with binoculars and a hand loudspeaker to alert the whole crew if something goes wrong with the divers in the water.
In no case the Dive crew in the boat should lose a dive group.
I've also dived in places well far from the coast. The dive place had a buoy and the dive boat anchored to the buoy. The buoy rope also was the descend/ascend line.
highdesert
May 13th, 2010, 11:03 PM
My biggest fear is night dives, with current, in Indonesia. So far, I've had to call a dive, and surface alone, at night, no current, due to an ear problem. I felt there was no need to take my wife/buddy away from the safety of a DM'd group. Boat was a guarter mile away, and after enough flashing it with my liight, they picked me up. I carry a sausage with a strobe on top, which would have been the next step. Don't want to think about the scenario with a running current ...
Doc Harry
May 14th, 2010, 12:16 AM
When the risk of being lost at sea is relatively high (poor weather, strong currents) my girlfriend and I make friends with another couple on the boat. We agree to make sure that we are all back aboard the boat before we leave the dive site. Hopefully, between the dive master's head counts and the other couple, we won't get left behind.
iztok
May 14th, 2010, 10:49 AM
I just ordered McMurdo canister, a VHF Marine radio and green laser (in addition to SMB, mirror and whistle I already have) to add to my equipment. Figured out green laser has high visibility at long distance. (and if I blind airplane crew and crashes at least I will have company in the water j/k)
Rocketmahn
May 14th, 2010, 11:15 AM
I may hate myself in the morning for asking this but...
The manufacturer states the whistle can be heard underwater. Does that mean it can be blown underwater? Has anyone tried it?
On our last dive the DM alerted us when a hammerhead appeared starboard but I didn't look to see what he was using.
Reef Tank
I have one and I can attest THIS SUCKA IS LOUD for a whistle!
I have one attached to my inflater hose for quick access.
It's there so I can quickly alert other people in case there is a problem with me or my buddy. In that case I don't want to waste time digging through pockets with dry gloves on while bobbing on the surface only to drop it..
I have blown it underwater and yes it makes sound. I think that banging on your tank makes a more penetrating sound.
