Etiquette or legality?

[ljshooter]

On a surface interval while diving Sombrero reef off Marathon last summer when a flats fishing boat pulled up, put two snorkelers in the water behind the boat on drag lines and the Captain used his electric trolling motor to pull the snorkelers across the reef at a very slow speed. I thought that was pretty cool. But a commercial dive boat Captain got pissed about it and yelled at them that what they were doing wasn't allowed or not legal. Can't remember what he hollered. I've given this a lot of thought and can't figure out why the Commercial Captain was so adamant about this. Can you good people help me out here?

 

[danvolker]

On a surface interval while diving Sombrero reef off Marathon last summer when a flats fishing boat pulled up, put two snorkelers in the water behind the boat on drag lines and the Captain used his electric trolling motor to pull the snorkelers across the reef at a very slow speed. I thought that was pretty cool. But a commercial dive boat Captain got pissed about it and yelled at them that what they were doing wasn't allowed or not legal. Can't remember what he hollered. I've given this a lot of thought and can't figure out why the Commercial Captain was so adamant about this. Can you good people help me out here?

I would have been fine with this.....and have gotten dive boats to tow me with a rope more than once

Would also like to hear how this was something that would upset your Captain.... I can see how it could upset a boat's insurer , as liability might be Sky high for this, but all I can see from this is a dive boat upset that a fishing boat is making money from snorkeling ????

 

[ljshooter]

Oh no, this was obviously not a commercial fishing boat. It wasn't bigger than 20' and had two couples on it...I think the Commercial dive boat Captain was an a$$, but I wasn't on his boat...

 

[Chugwhump]

Makes no sense to me.
In the Keys, on a flat calm day, I have been taken for a drag behind my pal's 23' Pathfinder Bay Boat using his gigantic trolling motor more than a few times.
In Pennekamp also.
I dunno.

Chug
Thinks most dive boat Captains are egomaniacs anyway.

 

[Andy Lazar]

that's a popular way to search for lobster in shallow water, maybe the angry capt thought something was going on that may or may not have been.

 

[ljshooter]

That is a very popular way to search for bugs! But this dive spot is a protected area where you can't lobster. Mini season began the following day. The Captain made it seem as though what they were doing was illegal or at the very least extremely inconsiderate.

At first I thought his reaction was because the boat was motoring across the area...but then again, how else would you get to center of the dive area if you didn't motor? Idle speed is all that's required with dive flags present, right? Trolling motors can't really exceed idle speed!

i ask all of this because next summer I'm going to be the guy at the helm and if my folks wanna drag behind over Sombrero, I'm going to let them do it.

 

[Wookie]

Only reason would be closed area, no dive flag, and endangering the Captains divers somehow. I too get uptight if I have divers in the water and someone trolls above them, regardless of what they are trolling or whether they are "right" or not, I just don't like people underway over my divers except on approach or departing the neighboring buoy. Driving circles over my divers seems like a recipe for some diver coming to the surface not paying attention to what is going on around him or her, not hearing a trolling motor, and surfacing right in front of a boat whose operator is paying more attention to his snorkelers than what is going on in front of him.

 

[ljshooter]

Driving circles over an area with divers down would be a foepah in my opinion as well and I wouldn't do that. You mentioned a "closed area", what would that mean? Rather, if other boats are diving an area, can it be fairly safe to assume that the area is NOT closed?

 

[dkramer]

Driving circles over an area with divers down would be a foepah in my opinion as well and I wouldn't do that. You mentioned a "closed area", what would that mean? Rather, if other boats are diving an area, can it be fairly safe to assume that the area is NOT closed?

I believe Sombrero is closed to fishing.

 

[Wookie]

We'll that's one of the jobs that Sanctuary staff does poorly, is explain the closed areas. There are 3 types, including Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, and Research only areas.

Sanctuary Preservation Areas or SPAs are marked by a yellow buoy boundary marker, and all extractive use is prohibited. Sombrero reef is one such area, so towing a diver for lobster would tend to get a boat captains back up. There are moorings in SPAs, so diving and snorkeling is allowed, so you can see the lobsters, but don't touch.

An ecological Reserve is a higher level of protection, including no anchoring.

A research only SPA is transit only.

so, to answer your question directly, closed areas are only closed to certain activities, fishing and lobstering being one of them. That's why your boat captain got mad, he saw snorkelers trolling for lobster in an area closed to lobstering.