Anybody know anything about the dive boat that sunk this morning?

[ReefHound]

Not necessarily. His description of how fast the boat sank sounded like a more catastrophic failure than a blown seal, and water coming in that fast may have overwhelmed a bilge pump even if it was working perfectly.

I'm reminded of the Scubamau boat that sank 5 or 6 years ago crossing the channel. It was a former glassbottom boat modified to a dive boat and sufffered sudden and catastrophic hull failure, going down in seconds.

 

[ggunn]

I'm reminded of the Scubamau boat that sank 5 or 6 years ago crossing the channel. It was a former glassbottom boat modified to a dive boat and sufffered sudden and catastrophic hull failure, going down in seconds.

Yes, it was a hull failure brought on by sea conditions too stressful for the boat (exacerbated of course by bad engineering on the conversion), hence my question earlier about the coincidence between the sinkings and the recent sea conditions.

 

[Wookie]

That guy is called the Captain.

500 - 999 shore dives you say?

If he is licensed he's called a captain. Otherwise, he's probably just a boat driver.

 

[gopbroek]

A few years back a friend bought a new (used) boat in Cozumel. When accelerating the center of the boat would bow upwards. He pulled it out of the water and pulled the glassed in deck up and found that at some point in its life it had been converted to a 'glass bottom' and then converted back. The wood used to make the viewing 'box' was common lumber. Multiple new ribs had to be handcrafted out of hardwood to make it structurally sound again. From the top side or from looking up at the bottom you would never have known,

 

[Thiago Koga]

Everyone at the moment were using neoprene and weights. We were just listening the instructions and preparing to wear our BCDs when the water began to get in by the back part of the boat. The dive master asked us to equalize the weight in the boat and asked some guys to move out to the front, it was not like water everywhere. The water got in thru the back part and then sank completely (based on the video you can see the prow outside the water) . When the dive master saw that there was no way to get the water out he did yell “remove your weights” - on that time I was 100% sure the boat will sink and I put myself outside the front part where usually has a mini roof. Not sure if a bulge pump would work as it was to fast. I didn’t see the “captain” or the “boat driver” anymore. Not even the DM that was with us. They returned to the boat to rescue our stuff and their gears. I had around $400 in my wallet that was inside my backpack. All my cards, ID and backpack were recovered, but not the money. Can you imagine why, right?
Another thing, my backpack was smelling diesel and they told us that came from the boat. I was talking to my friend and try to understand how that happens, there are no excuses. I was even thinking that was done on purpose to get our stuff (like money, cell phone, boat insurance, etc). Anyway, I prefer to not believe on that. I don’t think it’s worthy for them, but it’s totally uncommon. Not sure on your experience but I never faced or heard about a situation like that before. The sand dollar’s (dive company) manager told us they are operating there for 25 years and that never happened before.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Did the recovery divers work for Sand Dollar?

 

[Wookie]

Regardless, the boat operator had a duty of care to make sure the divers were safe and that their belongings weren't disturbed. If a passenger had a claim, it is up to Sand Dollar to make it right. Since Sand Dollar is the cruise lines chosen venue, it is up to the cruise line to make the passenger whole again and recover from Sand Dollar.

 

[ggunn]

Regardless, the boat operator had a duty of care to make sure the divers were safe and that their belongings weren't disturbed. If a passenger had a claim, it is up to Sand Dollar to make it right. Since Sand Dollar is the cruise lines chosen venue, it is up to the cruise line to make the passenger whole again and recover from Sand Dollar.

How would one prove that he had had US$400 in his wallet?

 

[Wookie]

What difference does that make? He made the claim. I can assure you it's way cheaper for the cruise line and Sand Dollar to make this right than it is for him to come on a scuba website and tell his story.

 

[Thiago Koga]

I don’t have a picture of my wallet with the money in but I don’t have to lie. Besides, I have a statement of the money I withdraw before get in the cruise. I didn’t lost only the money, but also a Ray Ban sunglasses, Bluetooth headphone, Calvin Klein Hat, flip-flop, IPhone 8, etc. They found my phone but it’s unstable, sometimes works sometimes don’t. The Sand Dollars manager told us the local people was there helping them to recover everything. The weird thing is how they can rescue all my cards but not the wallet with the money, it was thin wallet, like the front pocket style, there is no way to get out the cards. My backpack was closed and when arrived at Sand Dollar it was with zippers opened (it was like someone looked inside). Anyway, they are working to get me paid on my stuff, other divers also lost iPhones, money and one of them a passport.