Avoid Tank Ha In Playa Del Carmen

[BKP]

Thanks for the trip report, and info on Tank Ha...

One of my big fears, since my salt water diving is usually at sites 2 to 5 miles from shore, is surfacing to the site of an empty horizon... no boat... I know it happens (in decreasing frequency, I'd hope), however, that doesn't help when it's you bobbing on a very lonely surface.

I was wondering what a "new captain" has to do with leaving the site? Was he not moored/anchored, and drifted? What made him leave?

Anyway, while PDC wasn't on my diving short-list, I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Rule62]

Good question.

 

[Rule62]

According to the folks at Tank Ha, El Capitan apparently misled them regarding his knowledge of running a dive boat along PDC. Given the strength of the current, he and his compadre's responsibility was to track the bubbles.

 

[billeelou]

I am sorry YOU had the problem with Tank HA. When I dove with them several years ago, they were considered one of the better ops in PDC, but again that current can be brutal....I also have been in the 6-9 foot swells in that channel( just before Hurricane Wilma), (Cozumel) but luckily I was diving with Dive with Martin and other than the" grab the ladder at the bottom and Pray" departure, it was still a good dive

 

[Dectek]

With the drift diving along PDC usually the boat captains follow the bubble trail and watch for the surface markers that are put up by the DMs during the safety stop. It was probably not a matter of the boat leaving...it was a matter of him not being able to follow. We have run into that situation there before and that is what prompted me to buy my first Dive Alert. Everyone in that area uses the same tank restraints in the boats and it is a shame that the tanks were getting bounced out but it is not like they are using inferior tank racks as per industry standards in that area. I too find it hard to believe that hypothermia can set in with a 5mil in less than 90 minutes in 81 degree water. Other than that it seems you experienced almost common circumstances as far as rough seas drift diving off the Yucatan. Funny...you say the port was open until the 21st because we could not dive the 20th thru the 23rd. On the 24th we dove but got beat up pretty bad on the boat.(BTW if anyone plans to ever dive with Aqua Inn.....please email me first so I can talk you out of it)
Hopefully your next trip will be mirror smooth so you can enjoy it.

 

[Rule62]

With the drift diving along PDC usually the boat captains follow the bubble trail and watch for the surface markers that are put up by the DMs during the safety stop. It was probably not a matter of the boat leaving...it was a matter of him not being able to follow.

As I said, their job is to follow the bubbles

Everyone in that area uses the same tank restraints in the boats and it is a shame that the tanks were getting bounced out but it is not like they are using inferior tank racks as per industry standards in that area.

Everyone in that area??? The Op I dove with out of Puerto Aventuras the 20 & 21 did not have the same restraint system at all. Result, rough seas and tanks did not fall out!!

I too find it hard to believe that hypothermia can set in with a 5mil in less than 90 minutes in 81 degree water.

Glad you found it hard to believe Doc.

Other than that it seems you experienced almost common circumstances as far as rough seas drift diving off the Yucatan.

As I mentioned before, rough seas and current weren't the issue, Tank Ha was.

Funny...you say the port was open until the 21st because we could not dive the 20th thru the 23rd.

I don't know where you were but, again as I said before, I dove out of Puerto on the 20th and 21st.

Hopefully your next trip will be mirror smooth so you can enjoy it.

Again as I've said before, if the only time I dove was when it was mirror smooth, I would dive very much. It wasn't the conditions nor my preparedness, it was the captain at Tank Ha who didn't know what he was doing and the ill equipped DM.

 

[guggie]

Bottom line of this thread seems to be just as the OP has stated, poor dive boat captain and DM who could have been better prepared for the sea conditions at the time. As far as the hypothermia concerns, if his wife was cold and shivering, that's the beginnings of possible real problems. Doesn't matter suit thickness, etc. She still got cold. My son dove everyday there in a 3mm shortie and was cold at the end of the dive. The only dive he was comfortable on was in 2 cenotes where he wore a 3mm long and a 3mm shortie over it with a hood. He was extra cozy in the halocline of Calaveras where the temp was 83. So, it is an individual issue as to wetsuit need. You can only generalize to a certain extent.

 

[Rule62]

Bottom line of this thread seems to be just as the OP has stated, poor dive boat captain and DM who could have been better prepared for the sea conditions at the time. As far as the hypothermia concerns, if his wife was cold and shivering, that's the beginnings of possible real problems. Doesn't matter suit thickness, etc. She still got cold. My son dove everyday there in a 3mm shortie and was cold at the end of the dive. The only dive he was comfortable on was in 2 cenotes where he wore a 3mm long and a 3mm shortie over it with a hood. He was extra cozy in the halocline of Calaveras where the temp was 83. So, it is an individual issue as to wetsuit need. You can only generalize to a certain extent.

EXACTAMUNDO!!!! Being a regular member I'm sure you've seen on this board how the discussions can end up in the weeds. There are more interetested in disecting the post (usually with unfounded opinion rather than fact) than to "getting it". You get it!!!!

 

[Byte Me]

EXACTAMUNDO!!!! Being a regular member I'm sure you've seen on this board how the discussions can end up in the weeds. There are more interetested in disecting the post (usually with unfounded opinion rather than fact) than to "getting it". You get it!!!!

Man if that's not the understatement of the year!

We were just there 5/7 - 14 and I dove w/ Fantaseadive & Jason. Had a wonderful time once again, however, the current this time was ripping the day we were in Coz and two days later south of PDC at Islote and Punta Venatos. Coz was so bad we couldn't do many of the swim through and it was kicking up enough sand to reduce vis to about 20-30 feet.

Two of the days I was diving the harbor master closed the port in the afternoon and wouldn't let the small boats out. Sorry to hear about your issue with them and glad you're OK.

One of the good things about these boards is you can find out info good & bad about local ops in the places you're going. I've had two great experiences w/ Jason and the folks he uses for Cenotes (Playa Scuba - Klaus & Luis are awesome!) as the folks we went with in Coz.

 

[Tank-Ha Dive Center]

Response to the article “Avoid Tank Ha In Playa Del Carmen” on ScubaBoard.com

After 18 years and 5 months providing diving services in the Caribbean, we may state that, unfortunately, it is not always as blue, calm and friendly as it appears on the pictures in the travel agency.
As a policy, we dive under any ocean condition as far as the local harbor authority keeps the port open for the navigation of small boats AND at least one diver wants to join the trip. It is also our policy to advise the divers about the rough conditions so they can make their own decision if they wish to join the trip or not, taking in consideration their own skills level, experience and other personal factors (like sea sickness sensibility…).
We know that diving under very rough ocean conditions can ask for the ability to handle a considerable amount of stress that can make it difficult to enjoy the trip and predisposes to a negative experience. This fact drove us several times to reconsider our policy. On the other hand, divers often get very disappointed and even up-set if we cancel a dive due to ocean condition when the port is open and, eventually, other Dive Centers are operating. Therefore, we decided to hold on to our policy and keep transferring on the diver’s shoulders the final decision about whether or not to cancel a planed dive.
Having said that, we want to sincerely apologize about the true fact that our Captain lost the bubble track. Under no circumstances, doesn’t matter how bad they are, this is acceptable. Our Captain was deeply concerned and ashamed of this. We did solve the matter internally.
Through the past 18 years our boats have occasionally recovered divers form other local Dive Centers. When it happens, local dive operators don’t take advantage of the rival on business failure and limit themselves to provide assistance and drive the divers to the proper boat or shore. Most probably this is the case because we all know that, while diving under these conditions many days of the year, nobody can swear “this may never happen to me…”. By the way, the Captain was “new…” at Tank-ha Dive Center, but he has been driving diving boats in the area over the past 11 years.
Further information:
We use tank racks that are sold world wide (US product), most of the dive operators in our area use them. Anyway, tanks should never fall out and we will revise our procedures of tying them in harsh weather conditions.
The DM signaling device is 4ft long. We will equip them with longer ones.
The harbor in Playa del Carmen was open from May 16-19, closed on the afternoons of May 20 and 21, closed all day on May 22 and 23. Beginning of May 24 open again. Conditions in Puerto Aventuras can be different, depending on wind direction and therefore protection from high swell by Cozumel.

Above all, we highly regret the bad experience of the divers and would have liked to show them on another occasion that this is not “Tank-Ha style”. Also contacting the management before posting such article would have been highly appreciated. But of course, this is the diver’s decision. Nevertheless we are sad to find our name marked as to be avoided, in such a reputable diver’s forum as “ScubaBoard.com”. Especially after having served thousands of divers from all around the world during 18 years, having worked hard to be known as one of the most reputable dive centers on the coast and having created a considerable amount of returning customers.

Management Tank-Ha Dive Center