riverdiver
Contributor
Any info out their about the diver getting hit by a boat today near the Algonac Mi. Diver was diving off a maybe 26' Searay white with green strip and the name on the boat was Hay Babe. Sounds like diver may be rough shape.
Diver hit by boat in Algonac
- Thread starter riverdiver
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I was unfortunate to have witnessed the aftermath of this accident. I was at my friends cottage on Dickenson Island across from Decker's. We all heard a blood-curdling scream and ran out to the channel to see what happened. He was approximately 450-500' down current from his flag/boat. A 27-30' boat was in accordance with the posted no-wake zone when it struck the diver. The water was immediately stained with his blood. He was pulled from the water and taken to Decker's. Apparently, his arm was chewed up by the prop(s). I have no idea of his current condition.
jridg
Contributor
I truly hope this guy is OK in the end. With all of the attention that dive flag awareness has in places like FL, and elsewhere - it's important for us as divers to maintain our proximity as well as the boaters to respect the flag....
Until there are mandatory boater safety classes there will always be accidents involving boats.
Most weekend boaters don't know half of the rules or laws about operating a boat, especially inland lakes. We had a cottage near Ann Arbor and we gave up trying to dive in the lake because of the boaters have no clue how to operate safely let alone looking out for the safety of others.
There are responsible boaters, don't get me wrong but your attention only gets drawn to the idiots.
It is my opinion that, regardless of proximity to the boat, a diver should always carry a diver down flag when there are other boats in the area. There are some exceptions like heading out where there are no visible boats for miles.
Most weekend boaters don't know half of the rules or laws about operating a boat, especially inland lakes. We had a cottage near Ann Arbor and we gave up trying to dive in the lake because of the boaters have no clue how to operate safely let alone looking out for the safety of others.
There are responsible boaters, don't get me wrong but your attention only gets drawn to the idiots.
It is my opinion that, regardless of proximity to the boat, a diver should always carry a diver down flag when there are other boats in the area. There are some exceptions like heading out where there are no visible boats for miles.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Sounds like we also may need Mandatory Diver Safety classes because surfacing that far from your flag in unacceptable in any situation and if it was an emergency then you are already in trouble so likely willing to risk it.
Perhaps this is an accurate account, perhaps not. Bottom line is, there is no reason to blame the boat operator if the diver was in fact 450'-500' from his flag. And, if it is an emergency and one is that far from their flag, then shooting an SMB would be a wise move.....maybe even just having an SS would have made the difference.
I do however hope they recover. Terrible news no matter what.
Perhaps this is an accurate account, perhaps not. Bottom line is, there is no reason to blame the boat operator if the diver was in fact 450'-500' from his flag. And, if it is an emergency and one is that far from their flag, then shooting an SMB would be a wise move.....maybe even just having an SS would have made the difference.
I do however hope they recover. Terrible news no matter what.
DocIndyDiver
Contributor
We Florida divers can drag a flag on a line in 60+ ft of water against a surface current and divers dive without one in a lake? Even in Cozumel we were told to use a SMB/SS on a line to deploy on our safety stop. I hope it wasn't a case of "Key Largo navigation" pop-up to look for the boat. Buddy? Anyone on the boat?
OP
riverdiver
Contributor
I believe that they where diving one of the wrecks at that end of the channel. At the same time vis on a good day is 6 feet, and their is a small current. So it would not take much to get disorientated and surface. And with all of the boat traffic on a Sunday at that time of day did not help.
- Messages
- 53,687
- Reaction score
- 7,869
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
400+ feet from a boat with a dive flag, busy boating area - a diver is just not at all expected. So if the moving boat was in accordance with the no-wake zone, then maybe the diver ascended right into the prop, which was not making much noise. This how you read this...?
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
I read the observers account to say:
To me, that is the most important part of the puzzle if it is in fact true. Understanding that the person who posted this has no way of confirming the actual distance, I would think it would be safe to say that the diver was quite some distance from their flag. Some areas have very limited teaching on dive flag safety when obtaining a boating lisence...others have well written laws. No matter what, there is no reason for a boater to expect to see anybody surface that far from a flag.
Never been under a boat that doesn't make much noise, it's obvious when they are close. Any actual info on this incident or are we just up to our usual speculation? We have one eyewitnees account but who knows if the distances given are accurate. I'll wait for more info and some cold, hard facts to draw my conclusions, ya'll can speculate all you want. I hope the diver recovers fully and we can learn something from this incident.
Similar threads
