First Gulf Dive

[thelmuth]

Saturday we went out for our first dive in the Gulf of Mexico. This was only my second dive since certification. The divers were me, my son, who only has 3 other dives since cert. and our friend Terry who has a couple hundred dives AOW and Cavern.

Our first concern was the boat, a 1989 18' bowrider. Terry and I got it for a day's labor and had to do some engine work and rebuild the transom. This was it's first trip more than a couple miles out. It ran great.

We went out of Hernando County, FL 20 miles to an artificial reef comprised of old Army Tanks in 27 FSW. The seas were very calm and we had planned to buddy up in pairs leaving someone on the boat at all times in case the anchor pulled. We were very pleased to find mooring balls at the reef and felt comfortable with tying off to them, so we all went together.

Visibility was great for the Gulf from what I understand, about 50'. The color on the reef was incredible and we saw several species of fish, grouper, snapper, hogfish and others. There were also several culverts around this tank which provided a lot of holes to look in. We had a dive time of 46 minutes on the first dive. Worked on bouyancy control (I still have a lot to learn), communication and navigation. It was a great dive.

After an hour and a half surface interval including lunch we moved to another mooring ball and went down again. Visability had dropped to about 25' and the current picked up. We were down for about 20 minutes when I had some issues with bouyancy and became separated from the others. I tried to find my way back to them but by this time vis had dropped to about 10'. I surfaced and found myself about 150' away from the boat. I tried going back down a few feet and make my way back but the current kept causing me to drift. I surfaced again and by this time the others had surfaced and were looking for me. I stayed on the surface and made my way back to the boat. We called it a good day.

Thing I learned; don't let your buddies out of sight, current can pick up at any time without warning, visability can change quickly, I need to get a compass on my rig, I need to carry a SMB and know how to use it, things could have turned out very bad, God is good and being underwater is AWESOME.

I know this is a little long but I wanted to share my experience and if someone else learns anything from this all the better.

Tim

 

[vixtor]

Thing I learned; don't let your buddies out of sight, current can pick up at any time without warning, visability can change quickly, I need to get a compass on my rig, I need to carry a SMB and know how to use it, things could have turned out very bad, God is good and being underwater is AWESOME.
Tim

Never leave the boat unattended. What if you would have exited initially in the boat's sight (with nobody to see you) and then drifted out of sight, in the open ocean? It is very important for your safety to not leave the boat unattended. Also, sometimes, the boat could even break free from a mooring ball.. what if you surface at the right spot and there's no boat there?

And it shouldn't be "don't let your buddies out of sight" but "have a clearly defined buddy and look for each other". Large groups tend to have situations where somebody is lost, because nobody is responsible to stay with that specific somebody.

 

[Jupiter31]

Keep at it - what "made" my wife and I divers was diving off our own boat starting in 1985.

It brings everything together, as you discovered! Also gives you a perspective on what the charter boats have to contend with on a regular basis. Its a lot more than just a ride out to the site.

I've dove off small boats (mostly my own) for almost 25 years - from 25' to my current 31' - if you look at the name I post under you can likely figure out the boat I have!

With 18' you need to really pick your day and watch the weather - it seldom "gets better" as the day progresses - if its iffy, bag the diving

I LOVE mooring balls but they are few and far between in the Miami area - so we do mostly wrecks; I often take the anchor down and wrap it a few times to make sure its secure - I seldom anchor and dive reefs, because with a wreck, I have a defined area and its unlikely I'm going to get blown off by current. I also have the anchor line to asend. Look for this type of site vs a reef and you will have fewer worries about getting back to the boat.

Absolutly, get a surface marker - I recommend the one put out by DAN - you can buy it on line; Leisure Pro offers them and last I looked they were not expensive - don't go without one and don't get the small kind - as in so many things, bigger is better.

Assume you have a VHS radio - if not, get one - we dive mostly 2 - 6 miles offshore where a cell phone works; no clue if a cell phone has coverage 20 miles+ out in the gulf.

Good Luck - and remember, take it slow and easy - you are a new diver, looking to learn and get comfortable. Its a great idea to dive with someone more experienced as you indicated in your post; strongly recommend you don't take a boat load of new divers out.

 

[dkktsunami]

Never leave the boat unattended. What if you would have exited initially in the boat's sight (with nobody to see you) and then drifted out of sight, in the open ocean? It is very important for your safety to not leave the boat unattended. Also, sometimes, the boat could even break free from a mooring ball.. what if you surface at the right spot and there's no boat there?

And it shouldn't be "don't let your buddies out of sight" but "have a clearly defined buddy and look for each other". Large groups tend to have situations where somebody is lost, because nobody is responsible to stay with that specific somebody.

I absolutely agree with this - never, no matter how calm, leave the boat unattended (unless you can easily swim to shore). I might also add that 20 miles is a long way from shore in a 18' bowrider. Sea conditions can change with shocking speed.

 

[dkktsunami]

PS: A SMB is going to do you no good if there is no one in the boat to see it.

 

[diver 85]

When diving(like the 2nd dive) in current, you might want to think about not losing sight of the down rope & even carrying a jon rope for further away investigation could be very helpful(like a cave diver marking his trail--in this case back to the anchor rope) and very safe.....

Glad ya'll had a 'successful' trip---many more are probably to come....

 

[diver 85]

you're lucky----we do all our diving 30 to 75 miles offshore in SW Louisiana---due to shallow water....

 

[Walter]

Our first concern was the boat, a 1989 18' bowrider.

That should be your first concern, it's way too small to take 20 miles off shore.

Honestly, I'm worried about you and your son. Gulf diving is not for the inexperienced. Get some dives in on the east coast or the Keys, gain some experience and come back to dive the Gulf. Go out on a bigger boat. While a mooring ball is more secure than an anchor, the boat can still come loose. Never leave the boat unattended. Work on your buddy skills. You made lots of mistakes (as did both your buddies), but thankfully, everyone escaped unharmed. What worries me is when people make lots of mistakes without a mishap, they sometimes thing everything was fine. It wasn't. Things could easily have gone terribly wrong.

 

[thelmuth]

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I know mistakes were made. That's why I posted here so others could learn from my mistakes and the replies that followed.

In response to some of your concerns, there is a VHF radio on the boat, I wouldn't consider going offshore without one. I have lived on the Gulf Coast of Florida since I was 5 years old and am very aware of the weather and how it changes. The forecast called for calm seas and we went early in the day. Usually the winds don't pick up until afternoon which was the case Saturday. It was calm early and the seas were 1 to maybe 2 foot when we started in.

Like I said this was a learning experience and we were very fortunate that all ended well. Thanks again for your comments.