Surface support from a private boat.

[2airishuman]

For me the primary lesson is, always be positively buoyant before going up the ladder.

Sort of. He should have had his weights off. You don't try to go up the ladder on a private boat with your weights on, because compared to a dive op's boat, the ladder is narrower and more wobbly and not as deep and there aren't handholds in all the right places.

The second lesson is, always have your regulator in your mouth until you are safely on the boat.

Again this is cattle boat thinking. On a small boat you take off your kit and clip it off or hand it up so that you don't have all that extra weight and bulk to carry up the dodgy ladder.

That means you won't have a reg in your mouth, which won't matter because you'll be unencumbered by your weights and your kit, and will not sink. (There is the purely theoretical problem that if you are in fresh water with no wetsuit you could sink. This problem is purely theoretical because there is no freshwater dive warm enough to conduct without a wetsuit where the viz is more than 2 feet)

 

[MaxBottomtime]

You don't try to go up the ladder on a private boat with your weights on, because compared to a dive op's boat, the ladder is narrower and more wobbly and not as deep and there aren't handholds in all the right places.

Sometimes a private boat ladder is just right. Some of the cattle boats I've dived from have ladders and swimsteps that can be deadly when the seas are rough. We don't go out when it's rough with our boat.
Our ladder drops down four feet below the surface and doesn't wobble with the custom swing hinge.

 

[Storker]

You don't try to go up the ladder on a private boat with your weights on, because compared to a dive op's boat, the ladder is narrower and more wobbly and not as deep and there aren't handholds in all the right places.

That's a pretty broad brush you're painting with there. Just sayin'.

This is a private boat. 18'. Custom made ladder and diving platform. It's actually easier to climb that ladder in full gear than to haul the rig up over the gunwale.

 

[Ana]

Things to do to stay safe when diving from a smaller boat.

1. Put out a swim line before anyone gets in the water. Use polypropylene rope or some other kind of rope that floats. Longer is better, put a monkey's fist or at least a big knot at the end. Do this for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving.
   
2. Have plan B if the anchor drags or the mooring line parts, you can't outswim a boat if the wind comes up. Someone qualified staying on board is best. Or a shore you can swim to, or another boat that agrees to wait nearby. If you've never had an anchor drag or think it can't happen to you, you're new to this whole boat thing.
3. Take off your weights and hand them up or clip them off when you get to the boat. Do this before you get out of your BC or take off your fins. Cattle boats don't do this because they're in a hurry to get everyone aboard, and it works for them because they have an open transom, big ladders, and a divemaster. You're not them.
   
4. In most cases it is safest overall to take off your BC in the water. Doing so is a basic skill that you had to demonstrate in order to get your first C card. If you can't do it anymore maybe you should be thinking in terms of some pool time with an instructor unless you want to stick to the cattle boats.
5. If there is any doubt whatsoever about your ability to swim to the boat without fins then put the swim line under your arm while you take them off.
6. If you pencil-whipped the swim test when you got your C card this might be a good time to start hitting the lap lanes every morning at the YMCA and maybe get a swim instructor to help you if you never really learned the strokes.

Your generalizations just don't apply everywhere.

I'm trying to find the correct words so I don't sound confrontational because is truly not my intention, I'm still enjoying the feeling from the past weekend and seems like the seas may be good for more diving this weekend coming up.

With that said your laundry list reads a tad arrogant, almost as if you think the people in this thread don't have a clue about boating and/or diving, maybe is directed just to me as the OP
Either way, happy diving.

 

[jeffsky29]

Sort of. He should have had his weights off. You don't try to go up the ladder on a private boat with your weights on, because compared to a dive op's boat, the ladder is narrower and more wobbly and not as deep and there aren't handholds in all the right places.



Again this is cattle boat thinking. On a small boat you take off your kit and clip it off or hand it up so that you don't have all that extra weight and bulk to carry up the dodgy ladder.

That means you won't have a reg in your mouth, which won't matter because you'll be unencumbered by your weights and your kit, and will not sink. (There is the purely theoretical problem that if you are in fresh water with no wetsuit you could sink. This problem is purely theoretical because there is no freshwater dive warm enough to conduct without a wetsuit where the viz is more than 2 feet)

Your approach has much to be desired. First of all, I own a decent sized boat and you are spot on with respect to how things work when diving on my boat. But, your broad stroke approach is a bit harsh.

I came at this unfortunate accident with an open mind and went with the scenario the way they were diving on their private boat.

 

[2airishuman]

Your approach has much to be desired. First of all, I own a decent sized boat and you are spot on with respect to how things work when diving on my boat. But, your broad stroke approach is a bit harsh.

I came at this unfortunate accident with an open mind and went with the scenario the way they were diving on their private boat.

Jeff,

Thank you for your reply. This thread is in the advanced scuba forum. If your intention was to discuss the accident and not technique, the thread should be moved to A&I. I have flagged the thread for review by the mods.

 

[Colliam7]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

There has been some discussion about the placement of this thread (Advanced Scuba) as well as the tone of some remarks (are they consistent with the expected tone in an accident report, etc.).

This is a report of an experience, presumably intended for the kind of useful discussion it has generated, and is NOT an accident report. Therefore, placement in Advanced Scuba is appropriate, and the Advanced Scuba forum rules apply.

If someone expresses an opinion based on their individual experience, it should be considered as such - an individual opinion. Others are free to agree - or disagree - with it, based on THEIR experience. That is how we share experiences to achieve a broader base of understanding.

Moderators have reviewed the thread, elected to leave it in the Advanced Scuba forum, and at this point are taking no action with regard to individual posts.

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[jeffsky29]

Thank you moderators.

 

[Wingy]

If you are sure your anchor will hold and your boat will be seen by other vessels and are going to dive out of an unattended boat, please at least have a line out on the surface with a monkeys fist and probably wouldn't hurt to dangle one from your ladder - I like the ideas to get your gear off and stowed before you attempt to come up the ladder. Have you made sure your first aid kit and preferably an AED are within hands reach of that ladder. I hope it never happens but if one of you is seriously incapacitated is the other capable of carrying you up that ladder to begin treatment?

Or..you could do it PNG style...saw a local free diving from his dugout - tied to his leg with 30m of rope. He never lost his boat.

 

[FullThrottle]

...We are buoyant at the surface, so there is no chance of sinking after reaching the boat...

That's key, isn't it? The finless diver who fell overboard was apparently not buoyant, or else he might have lived, whatever health issues...