Divers left behind

[Beachman]

To add a serious note as a DM who deals with this responsibility every time I'm on a boat, the surest method of accounting for every person after a dive is a tank count.

Not every dive opertor likes to have every rack full on every dive for many good, and valid reasons. But from an "accounting standpoint" I can say that "if a tank ain't there, somebody ain't here" is the only sure fire method of accounting for folks. Roll calls are fine (ever try to get a bunch of happy divers to really yell out clearly?), tag systems are great (ever try to get someone not to do a favor for a buddy in the head?), counts are fine (ever try to get everyone to sit down, even for a double captain and mate check count?).

If I have my way, I still like the tank count. If a rack is empty, we ain't got somebody. Let's find out why! Easy and conclusive.

JMHO......been there, and tried to do that many times. So far, successfully...thank God. Wondered a couple of times when I wasn't doing "tank counts".

 

[Dectek]

Lets say two idiots climb onto your boat but they do not belong....You count the tanks.

Ok ... Lets go because we have all the tanks


You just left two of your divers behind.

Who do you work for...I NEVER want to dive off your boat!

 

[Zept]

...what happens if one of your divers goes off snorkelling while they are waiting for the rest of the group to return?

Zept

 

[WreckWriter]

Dectek once bubbled...
Lets say two idiots climb onto your boat but they do not belong....You count the tanks.

Ok ... Lets go because we have all the tanks


You just left two of your divers behind.

Who do you work for...I NEVER want to dive off your boat!

And this happens much more often than one might think. in 10 years working dive boats I've had divers who weren't mine on my boat at least a dozen times. I've had them get completely out of their gear and start sunbathing before they realized (only after we asked them if they recognized us) that they were on the wrong boat.

A roll call, with eack pax required to answer only for themself, is the only sure method of bring home all of your people. Head counts, and tank counts, are asking for trouble.

WW

 

[Beachman]

Sure you check divers into the water with time of entry. Sure you have a manifest. Sure you do a roll call. Sure you do a double head count. All standard procedure.

My point about having the tank racks full was simply this. One glance around at any time and you know how many divers are down. One quick check near the end of the dive tells you how many are still out. When racks are full it's time for a roll call and head count. And it is, of course, a double check before leaving.

Sorry if I assumed too much about what would normally be done anyway.

 

[WreckWriter]

Beachman once bubbled...
When racks are full it's time for a roll call and head count. And it is, of course, a double check before leaving.

I agree that its a good tool for that purpose.

WW

 

[Fly N Dive]

i have a story, all of the names have been changed, and i will not say when this happened. i was not on the boat ( sinus thing) but heard it from 17 other members of our group.

on one of the dives, the group was diving a wall, when another group passed close by. john (not real name) was taking photo's, and when he saw the divers cross paths he went with the wrong group. this was 1/2 way through the dive, so he swam with them untill they went up. at the boat he was supposed to be on people were counting, and recounting, trying to figure out who was missing. another boat came at them head on, and passed very close. there sitting on the back of the boat, on the swim platform was john. he swam over the the correct boa, and when asked ho the other boat was said only "it sucked" in a very sheepish tone. ut:

 

[Beachman]

Folks have replied to this thread about "what if you got somebody from another boat", and "what if somebody is snorkeling" and "what about a roll call being the definitive basis", etc., etc.

First, every boat in any given area knows "their tanks". Maybe yours are red on top, theirs are "a green stripe", someone elses have a "yellow bottom".

Maybe the captains in this case Fly-N-Dive sights above were from the same marina and talked on the VHF radio, and said "we're going to give this person a lesson". Let's face it, if he followed the wrong group he didn't know where he was! WOW! How many times have we seen this on a "recreational dive boat" with folks that live in an area where the good Lord didn't give them conditions where they could dive twice a week in warm water...now they're having fun diving with you.....hooray, they deserve a good time.

Second, as a DM, it's your responsibility to help everybody have a noneventful, fun time (i.e., safe, back on the boat, saw a lotta stuff). You don't want to give them the wrong kind of unforgetable experience....like being left.

Third, with experienced divers on a smaller boat where everybody knows your name and each diver has their own tanks, the DM's job is easy. When you count and take roll call you already know the answer. ( I love the tech diver trips...they also haul their own gear. If I touch it I'll probably get my arm broken.) What about when you try to know everybody (sure helps the tips), but you have 3 trips a day with 20+ folks each trip and sure enough half of them are yahoos (sort of like the national average in K-mart).

I still say that the best final check on a cattle boat trip with no hunters or experienced photo bugs, after all the normal procedures, is "if I ain't got a tank from my boat, I got a problem...don't leave". The only way you can make that check easily is to have all the racks full when you leave.

JMHO

 

[DiverBuoy]

One cove in laguna is heavy traffic during peak diving season - especially for instruction. On a given Saturday morning having 150-300 divers is normal. When this happens in 15 foot of visibility with a bunch of students divers all wearing the exact same black gear from hood to fin, they can and do become confused and follow the wrong group.

As an instructor you can't take your eyes off of them for 1 second. I usually swim backwards leading the group and facing them simultaneously. Otherwise if I turn for even a moment then back around I'll have the same number of divers I started with, but later I'll discover one or two of them won't be mine! <LOL>.

 

[svidlano]

Not that I am experienced diver but.... During a war we had problems distinguishing us from the other side (similar uniforms, bad visibility, ....)
For that reason we would tie a ribbon on a shoulder - different color each day.
Maybe if you put a blue (or yellow, or, ...) ribbon somewhere you can make difference between "yours" and "others" divers more visible.


Sanjin


:getsome:

PS once the war starts, you have already lost (even if you "win")