Miami Beach charter leaves divers in open waters off Key Biscayne

[cruiser]

What are the opinions on having a cell phone in a watertight /waterproof case for things like this?
At least you can call (if you have a signal) for help, and have them triangulate your position.
Then again, cell phone signals are fairly touch and go.

I have a cell phone in a waterproof container. I bought it when I was a new diver. My LDS was like, "Why would you want to take your cell phone with you !?!" I smiled and said it sounded like a good idea.

I bought it mainly for diving in the US, where hopefully I'll have a cell signal if I get lost.

The phone won't work out of the US though, or if I (and my phone) get swamped by a wave.

There are better gadgets on the market today that are more reliable and seaworthy.

 

[DandyDon]

My cell phone is good to 3 ft for 30 minutes.

Hmm, has the Coast Guard ever revoked a Captain's license for any other such incident? Thankfully, I create enough of a ruckus boarding a dive boat that I should not be so easily forgotten.

There was a couple left overnight off of Key Largo years ago. They spent the night on a buoy I think, no one missing them. I think I heard the resort even called the guys office looking for him before they go word because he hadn't returned his rental gear. The resort became one of the safest to dive with after that but I heard that the skipper lost his license. Oh, I think both of the dives were lawyers. I don't remember the name of the place now. I think it was bulldozed to make room for hiway expansion.

I read this earlier in the newspaper and was shocked. I dived with that outfit a couple times, a few years back. It was a large and packed boat, as I recall. I am just incredulous that the captain could just up and leave two divers.

I feel bad for South Beach Divers, the shop that contracted with the charter boat. It's not their fault, and their business is probably going to suffer for it.

Not their fault? Maybe not but I like to book with the party responsible, not just call a boat.

 

[Tom Winters]

Hmm, has the Coast Guard ever revoked a Captain's license for any other such incident? Thankfully, I create enough of a ruckus boarding a dive boat that I should not be so easily forgotten.

There was a longtime guy on Oahu who left a certified Japanese tourist underwater off Waikiki even with her sister telling the crew that she was still in the water. The company, Atlantis Reef Divers, paid a pretty nice chunk of money to the family in Japan and this was the death knell for the Atlantis Submarine dive operations, although nothing happened until the case was settled. He trusted his DM's to tell him that all were back onboard, something I never did.
The captain's license was suspended for six months. Plus he pretty much became unemployable for any reputable outfit in Hawaii. It worked like that for dive staff who killed a customer. The person was kept on the company payroll going their regular job for as long as it took to settle the case - in this case, almost two years. Approximately ten seconds after the final signature, the person was fired and out the door. And he was surprised!
All the years that I drove dive boats, we didn't leave the mooring until I was personally happy that everyone was back onboard. No reading a roll call - I physically counted every paying SOB (hey, that's Soul On Board) and making sure every tank was back in its spot. The DM's cooperated since they didn't want an irate captain in their face after the dive.
And I drove some packed cattleboats.

 

[glock17girl]

someone needs to step up to the plate, be an adult & admit they screwed up...yeah, its gonna bring a sh**storm raining down on them, but bottom line...SOMEONE accept the responsiblity for human life, even if they were divers

 

[Splitlip]

There is a guy who dives on Jim Abernethy's boat, and on Narcosis I think, that likes to spearfish solo, and does not like to pay any attention whatsoever, to where he is going --relating to the current and where all the other divers have gone....to simplify his getting picked up by the boat, he bought a water proof radio/gps combo that is in a pressure safe container in his bc at depth, and on surfacing, he can pull it out ( still 100% waterproof) and call ditrectly to the radio of the boat he is on ( and 2 other boats he frquents) and also provide his exact gps location.... I believe his investment was about $500 for this.... His name is Mark, and he is an electronics guy for boats in Palm Beach ( he fixes electronics problems on boats).

I dived with Mark (well on the same boat) on and off 10 years ago. Abernethy's boats. The captain would set him up, and he'd back roll off the gunwale. The rest of us would eventually get dropped then pick him up. I don't know that he had the electronics back then.

At the time Mark was using an h-valve with redundant first and second stages as well as a 19 CF O2 bottle.

 

[Mortis65]

I am curious if the boat is a 6-pack license or larger? I ask because I just returned from diving in Key Largo, and while I was there I saw two types of operations, the boats with the larger capacity, and subsequently a captain with a ticket for a specific tonage (he had a 100ton ticket) and 6 pack tickets where the captain could operate any size boat, but could only carry 6 passengers.
In my mind it is a question of personal dicipline of the captain.
All the dives I did were well run, and the captain did a role call before leaving dock, after each dive, and again at the dock. If someone went off the boat at the dock (forgot gear in their car for example) the mate checked them off the boat.
I've seen different setups for the same basic process, but the source is the same, dicipline on the part of the captain and crew.

 

[emoreira]

I dived two times with this boat and this captain in january and april 2011.
They did roll call at the end of the dive operation prior to returning to Miami Beach South Marina both times. I rented the dive excursion with Tarpoon Dive Center (Tarpoon Dive Center).
January 2011

The guy with the blue Nike hat is Capt. M. Beach

April 2011

Here again Capt. M. Beach and Mercedes Smith

RJ Diving Crew (Meet the Crew of RJ Diving Ventures - Miami Beach, Florida USA)

I also insist always that my name is listed in the roll list.

 

[emoreira]

It was also reflected in a local newspaper :
Dos turistas fueron abandonados en alta mar mientras buceaban

 

[DandyDon]

Roll calls help but fail. DAN offered a DAN tag system but Ops wouldn't use it.

When I dived the Flower Gardens, the skipper met me at the ladder after ever dive himself to mark me off after talking to me.

 

[BladesRobinson]

I wonder what responsibility the divers have and hope I don't get too much criticism from my question. I understand that the CAPTAIN of the boat has the ultimate responsibility but there is another side to the coin.

Did the divers listen to the dive briefing before the dive? Did they stick with the group? Did they stay in the area they were told to stay in? Did they return to the surface at the time designated during the pre-dive briefing? If the divers are not responsible enough to follow the safety instructions given by the captain and crew, is the captain and crew still responsible for their safety?

This is a rhetorical question and not based specifically on this incident. I do not know any details other than those reported by the press but I wonder if there aren't extenuating circumstances that may deflect blame from the crew.