Miami Beach charter leaves divers in open waters off Key Biscayne

[boulderjohn]

$85 seems unusually cheap for a 4 hour boat trip with two separate dive sites. Is this an example of you get what you pay for?

What do they expect, concierge service?

I dive just a bit north of that area every year, and those prices are fairly typical. You can pay less.

Is picking up divers at the end of a dive what you mean by concierge service?

 

[DandyDon]

I'd still be pissed if I had to swim a mile to shore and hitchhike or beg to make phone calls and wait even if there was no emergency all because of skipper negligence.

 

[Couv]

There is just something very reassuring, when you are well out of sight of any land, having the captain with a roster come up to you and say, "Gary, how are you feeling".

I suppose if my name was Gary I would find that reassuring.

 

[DaMaDo]

I believe the unit is the Nautilus. It is a marine VHF radio with GPS unit. is waterproof with the cover open to 15 feet. With the cover closed is waterproof to 300 feet. As a marine radio will reach any boat within 8 mile radius on VHF. As gps transponder will send SOS signal to Coast Guard with location. I believe the unit is $300.

Come to think of it, I just may have to pick one up before I go on my next dive boat. It's a little pricey, but what is the cost of your life? We spend that much money or more on lots of other scuba gear.

There's also the option of a Standard Horizon HX850S. It's a handheld marine VHF with GPS distress calling (sends GPS coords to coast guard). It's only waterproof to 3.3 feet, but for $100 on ebay and an otterbox case, it could be a good option. Or just leave it naked attached to a flag if you're drift diving. I'm happy with mine, although the nautilus would be more convenient size-wise.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

If they were only 2,000 yards off of the shore, that's a swim that should take them well less than an hour.

Just curious: Might there be current(s) in that area that would make a swim less straightforward?

 

[Pedro Burrito]

The most likely explanation here is that they never got on the dive roster in the first place.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen divers show up late to a busy dive boat getting loaded up, crew running around taking care of last minute diver problems... "I can’t find my fins!" or whatever… 2 divers get on board and chat through the dive brief and the first role call and no one notices that they never even got on the list.

Before you spend all your hard earned $ on new gadgets and GPS systems how about SHUT UP during the role call and dive brief and MAKE SURE your happy a$$ is on the roster? This is an easy way to help save you own life.

*Side Note* all the stories about this in the media have been wild and ridiculous, “Divers Left to Die at Sea” very sensational and play on everyone's fears. However, the biggest problem these guys had was NOT getting hit by another boat while there were in the water. They were smack in the middle of one of the busiest recreational boating areas on the planet and within sight of land the entire time. I dive here every weekend and can’t imagine how they went 2 hours and how many boats they allowed to pass before they decided to flag one down?

If you come to South Florida to dive, sure enough bring your SMB, you will need to wave at knuckleheads trying run you over, or maybe at pretty girls on the beach, but not because you are “lost at sea” less than 2000 yards offshore.

I'm not trying to defend the captain but did you see where the divers were from - South Beach Divers. I have never been on a boat that had people from South Beach Divers who were not late. They rush on to the boat, dropping equipment, stepping on people's feet, knocking over gear with the South Beach Divers instructor/DM hurriedly adding folks to the roster. I asked the folks who run the boats about why a boat load of people had to wait for South Beach Divers to show up and the reply was that they generated lots of revenue for the boats so the boats did not want to leave them on the dock. Even if that meant that there was a boat load of people sweating in the sun waiting. I've stopped using boats that have reservations from South Beach Divers because I know we will have to wait for them.

 

[BTravlin]

I can't believe it, 121 posts in this thread and nobody has commented on the fact that the divers were left in "shark infested waters." Are there any waters not shark infested where the media is concerned?

 

[ams511]

Not to excuse the captain or the crew but I can see where this can happen. Miami is very multicultural and you get people from all over the world with different languages and customs. I have seen this on smaller boats, for a larger boat I can see this turning into a CF rather quickly. It was probably a matter of time before something like this happened. As another poster pointed out I am surprised there was not more boat traffic in the area. The good news is no one was hurt and we should all be thankful for that.

 

[reefman]

2,000 yards? The original story says three miles off Key Biscayne?

the calender @ south beach divers stated the sunday PM trip was full, 1st dive wreck(60FT), 2nd dive captains choice, often sundays it is neptunes memorial reef located 3.25 miles east off key biscayne. the vessel that retrieved the missing divers was 80FT long, i doubt the captain was 2000 yds or less from the shore off key biscayne. furthermore as a competetive master swimmer, i can tell you a 2000yd swim is no easy chore for most people in a swimming pool(wearing a speedo or jammers) nontheless in the open ocean(waves, currents, winds in key largo were NE around 15KTS all day sunday, sloppy) with full dive gear. hanging on to a buoy(with an inflated SMB) was most likely a prudent move considering the time of day and their lack of local knowledge,,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo

 

[reefman]

I'm not trying to defend the captain but did you see where the divers were from - South Beach Divers. I have never been on a boat that had people from South Beach Divers who were not late. They rush on to the boat, dropping equipment, stepping on people's feet, knocking over gear with the South Beach Divers instructor/DM hurriedly adding folks to the roster. I asked the folks who run the boats about why a boat load of people had to wait for South Beach Divers to show up and the reply was that they generated lots of revenue for the boats so the boats did not want to leave them on the dock. Even if that meant that there was a boat load of people sweating in the sun waiting. I've stopped using boats that have reservations from South Beach Divers because I know we will have to wait for them.

ocean divers here in key largo takes out south beach dive charters 2 or 3 times a week, and iv'e heard the same stories: their usually late and rushed. by the way, OD takes 2 head counts @ the dock prior to roll call(manifest from the dive shop upstairs) and calls the last name if there are multiple divers with similar 1st names and repeats the process after every dive(divemaster usually conducts the head count and roll call and the captain observes from the dive deck not hanging out up on the bridge),,,,,,,



reefman
key largo