Dive Boat Sank???

[Christi]

More info ... Only the three DMs were in the water at the time due to some confusion about the dive site. The captain's GPS didn't have power (no batteries or dead batteries) so the DMs were looking for the dive site.

Seasoned Captains and Divemaster (3 of them couldn't find it???) do not need a GPS to find the standard dive sites here in Cozumel - and very, very few use GPS unless diving remote sites or new sites. This goes back to an entirely different thread from a month or so back about the level of experience a crew on a boat has, specifically referring to a couple of the large resort operations that hire temporary DM's and Instructors as part of their DM and Instructor training programs - this is a good example of why a seasoned crew has so much value when selecting a dive operation vs. those straight out of DM training with minimal experience on the local reefs.

In the ten days diving with them from the Grand, they new how many the boat could hold and if there was demand, the boat was filled. I didn't notice anything that indicated the boats were overloaded. They did keep the dive groups (DM + divers) to nine or less so there were often two dive groups on the boat several times we went out with just six divers + DM and no others on the boat than the crew.

If a boat has a safe capacity of twenty, I don't know that I would expect the op to only load the boat to eight or nine and turn folks away.

Marine park regulations call for a MAXIMUM ratio of 8 divers per Dive master - so that's also an issue if they were in fact sending out groups of 9.

Various reports also confirm that they had loaded the boat significantly over capacity. From reports, Max capacity for that boat is 10 pax + 3 crew (captain, mate, DM) - so if these various reports are true, then they were in fact over safe capacity. It's not just the weight of the divers, but the additional weight from the extra tanks and the extra equipment.

It was choppy that day, but the sea conditions were not dangerous for an experienced crew.

 

[Ron Lee]

The capacity of the boat along with number of people seems fluid. If there were ten paying passengers, why have three DMs? Was one in training? Maybe a private DM for a diver?

Were the divers suited up? When I have seen a DM get in to check the current or location, everyone was ready to get wet.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Even with GPS, which I require on all dives except Paradise Reef, our DMs frequently go in to check if the currents are the appropriate speed and in the right direction for any given dive site. But as Christi said, there is no substitute for experienced dive guides.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Mike]

The boats are absolutely fine for those seas but there are other ways to manage a rear pickup without excessive backing.

Not sure what you're getting at.

Regardless, the dive sites of Cozumel are basically in a sheltered bathtub like waters on the leeward side of the island. The conditions typically are as far from challenging as you can get.

Overloading? Very poor captain skills? Poor maintenance? Unsafe boat? Something beyond the routine process of a dive boat using reverse is the catalyst for Cozumel's newest wreck dive.

 

[gopbroek]

I talked with a friend on the island whose boat was near it when it went down and he thought it was in relatively shallow water and in an area that would allow for salvage. There were multiple boats present, which picked up the people in the water. I heard the rescuers including Jeremy, so if anyone in currently diving with Living Underwater, perhaps you could get the skinny and chime in with what actually happened.
My friend said on the following day he saw a swapped boat that had been dragged to the shore in the same area, hopefully this was the boat and it was recovered with the customers dive gear. As to boat handling it sounds like what happened was pretty dumb, almost as dumb as a fresh water boater leaving out the drain plug (and if you know a US fisherman that hasn’t he is either overdue or lying). The conditions were reported as choppy but not excessively so.

 

[Skittl1321]

They should don the vests before going to the bow, but we know how crews hate to get those out.

I don't quite reach your level if paranoia (then again, my wetsuit can function as a floating chair, so no need for a snorkel vest) but I agree. If you are moving people to weight a boat taking on water, it is a reasonable time for life vests.

 

[Lilipucek7]

Hi everybody ! I'm not so good in english, but I will try my best to let you know all on the event. I was on the tres hermanos when he sinks ! I can assure you that it was the fear of my life. If you have any question on the event, I can answer you. So you will know the real story !

 

[Christi]

The capacity of the boat along with number of people seems fluid. If there were ten paying passengers, why have three DMs? Was one in training? Maybe a private DM for a diver?

Were the divers suited up? When I have seen a DM get in to check the current or location, everyone was ready to get wet.

Exactly - 3 dive guides tells me that they were over capacity from the start - even if one of them was a private DM or instructor

 

[Jax]

It sank on the 13th, not on Valentines Day.
The boat that sank is the Tres Hermanos, rented by the op Pro Dive.
Locals that we've talked to have confirmed what we heard yesterday about a tendency for Pro Dive to load these rental boats pretty heavily.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

Exactly - 3 dive guides tells me that they were over capacity from the start - even if one of them was a private DM or instructor

Wait - it said eleven divers on the boat. The boat can take 20. How could it be over capacity? 3 DMs, 11 divers, perhaps one was a hired DM.

 

[Lilipucek7]

We were not overweight. The boat was able to take 20 persons on board and we were 13 when we leave the hotel. 3 divemasters, 1 captain, 1 crew and 8 divers.