Divers Found Drifting Way Offshore

[anchochile]

Wow, most boats in Coz don't carry THAT many divers, it is hard to imagine how nobody on the boat would've noticed they were three people short after ending the dive - even if the crew failed to do a basic headcount which is inexcusable. If this is all true, why hide the name of the op? If they are that well established, they owe it to the public to explain what happened and exactly how they are addressing it.

 

[scubadada]

How did the divers become separated from their boat? If with the guide, I would imagine a DMSB. If not with the guide, I would imagine a DSMB. I can't understand how they could have been missed for pick up. I drift dive all the time in SE FL, we often end up pretty far apart. Given, we often dive flags, but not everyone does, How do you leave divers in the water?

 

[SaltyFrog]

Well there are only so many well established shops in Cozumel.
It’s only one of them. I feel very relieved.

 

[ReefHound]

Wow, most boats in Coz don't carry THAT many divers, it is hard to imagine how nobody on the boat would've noticed they were three people short after ending the dive - even if the crew failed to do a basic headcount which is inexcusable. If this is all true, why hide the name of the op? If they are that well established, they owe it to the public to explain what happened and exactly how they are addressing it.

Who knows the real story? It already went from "no one was looking" for them in the first post to the dive op "was looking in the marine park" in a later post.

 

[ggunn]

How did the divers become separated from their boat? If with the guide, I would imagine a DMSB. If not with the guide, I would imagine a DSMB. I can't understand how they could have been missed for pick up. I drift dive all the time in SE FL, we often end up pretty far apart. Given, we often dive flags, but not everyone does, How do you leave divers in the water?

It would be a very unusual current that would take the divers two miles offshore near that part of the island, and I doubt that the boat captain was not looking for them unless they surfaced very early and weren't expected for a while. As for the OP not telling us who the dive op was, I suspect it had to do more with him being careful about his own liability than protecting the dive op. In his situation I might do the same.

 

[ReefHound]

How did the divers become separated from their boat? If with the guide, I would imagine a DMSB. If not with the guide, I would imagine a DSMB. I can't understand how they could have been missed for pick up. I drift dive all the time in SE FL, we often end up pretty far apart. Given, we often dive flags, but not everyone does, How do you leave divers in the water?

I've never heard any Coz dive op even recommend that divers carry a DSMB much less require one. I've probably dived with at least 10 different ops.

 

[ggunn]

I've never heard any Coz dive op even recommend that divers carry a DSMB much less require one. I've probably dived with at least 10 different ops.

I certainly carry one and I deploy it on many dives. I tell the DM ahead of time that I might and that if I do it doesn't mean I am in trouble. If I get into a situation where I need it I wouldn't want it to be the first time I have attempted to send it up. I also like to be a little negative at the safety stop so I can hang from my SMB like a subway rider.

 

[scubadada]

I've never heard any Coz dive op even recommend that divers carry a DSMB much less require one. I've probably dived with at least 10 different ops.

Irresponsible, what do you do if you ascend apart from your group? All the drift dive operators in SE FL require a SMB

 

[ReefHound]

Irresponsible, what do you do if you ascend apart from your group? All the drift dive operators in SE FL require a SMB

Nothing goes wrong in paradise, lol. When divers need to come up early, the DM shoots it from depth and has them go up the line. I've always carried my own. It's how it's done in Texas too.

 

[yle]

For all of you insisting the OP should name the dive op, the point of this post was not to tell everyone "don't use this dive op!"

The point of the post was to tell you that this happened with a well-established dive op... so you should assume it could happen to any dive op. I'll admit that when I dive in Coz, I usually bring my SMB, whistle, and dive-alert airhorn. But sometimes I slack off, and trust that everything will be fine... as it always has been.

The point of the post is to remind everyone to be vigilant and be prepared to handle these kind of situations. It could happen with any dive op.