Mini Season Toll

[BWDscott]

Discounting the spearo, and counting the scouting death that equals last years tally. Really sad.

I whole-heartedly AGREE that the losses this and every year are horribly sad!!

4 or 5 or 6... out of 10's of thousands of dives made pre and during mini-season. That's a minuscule percentage of accidents when compared to the statistics available through DAN for the entire dive community annually.

As a diver, I can't believe the ignorance I see in this thread. Accusing the divers of being "Bubbas", "morons", under trained, drunk? Training agencies not doing their jobs...

HOLY CRAP!!!

How about showing some respect for the DEAD DIVERS, their family, and friends!!!

Let's try to find out what ACTUALLY went wrong... BEFORE we post ridiculous theories, with no substantiating facts!!

Maybe we can prevent the next loss.

(Sadly one of our friends died at Pelican Flats - a seasoned diver, and long time employee at one of the dive shops I use. My one dive buddy talked to Shane on Saturday as they filled their tanks. Shane was sober, skilled, and loved diving).

Shane was an experienced diver, a Navy Veteran, and a Fireman.

Tomorrow I will pull out my dress uniform. My very best. The uniform I wear, unfortunately, more in times of great sadness, than joy. I will be attending Shane's funeral... a fellow diver, a fellow Vet, a Brother Fireman.

I don't judge him by how he died, but, by how he lived.

As should the rest of you who are so quick to judge.

 

[imwright1985]

mini season is like a jump start on regular season that recreational hunters get, Usually it is bombarded by weekend warriors that dont dive regularly or if they are the smarter divers dont dive in that area regularly to know what to watch out. We were in the keys and current was strong enough we couldnt swim back to the boat a couple times but since we rotate divers we had people on surface manning the boat to pick us up in that type of situation. its sad when people get lost, injured, or die but its bound to happen when you have tons of people that dont dive regularly jumping in the water with the attitude "ohh ive done this before its easy" when they may have only dove one other time in the past year. You see it when you go to the LDS within a few weeks of miniseason. And you have people with the attitude that i havent used my gear much so its fine and the bladder to their bc or some of their o-rings are dry rotted from sitting.

You also do have the statistic that some people pointed out with the thousands of divers it really is a small percent. so the argument does go both ways

 

[DebbyDiver]

I feel very bad about the tragedies of the lost divers and their grieving families.

However, I still maintain that for trained, experienced, frequent divers, mini-season is no more dangerous than the other 363 days of the diving year.

 

[mike_s]

However, I still maintain that for trained, experienced, frequent divers, mini-season is no more dangerous than the other 363 days of the diving year.

I agree with you from a diving perspective. However, it appears that MiniSeason brings on about lots of folks that don't practice good/safe boating skills also. If they don't do the same you listed above for their boat and boating skills, you can run into the same issues for your boat and for other divers in the water.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I wish there were some way of reporting the toll on the reef system during mini season.

That many "experienced" and inexperienced divers attempting to catch their limit while destroying portions of the reef... Hmmm!

Funny you said that. We met someone at a bar who was showing me his "scars"from touching/brushing the coral. Further he "taught us a new way to anchor at the reef". Bring your pwc over the reef,snorkel down and tie a rope around the coral head.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Mike, I gotcha but it hasn't been a problem for me. We don't go where there are a thousand yahoos. EVERY dive (every drive to work!) has its risks involved but for ME...mini-season is no more deadly than a Thursday dive in November.

Actually, I've been diving SoFla since 1980 (actually 1977 but not legally until 1980) and have had little more than a backache or a fire coral sting or a little sunburn.

I've been bicycling for four years and have had some major injuries, including an accident on April 2 that severely impacted my diving season. I've had one friend die of diving in 30+ years. I've lost count of the number of people I know who have died bicycling.

Bottom line is that I am very annoyed by people who feel that it is more dangerous to dive on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of each July than the other 363 days of the year. Want to take your life into your hands??? Sell your dive gear and buy a road bike. Please update your life insurance before you get onto it.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Funny you said that. We met someone at a bar who was showing me his "scars"from touching/brushing the coral. Further he "taught us a new way to anchor at the reef". Bring your pwc over the reef,snorkel down and tie a rope around the coral head.

OMG :shocked2:

 

[deeper thoughts]

OMG :shocked2:

I know

 

[imwright1985]

I was very content about where we were lobstering in the keys, there were 6 boats total we saw both days in the vecinity of our boat. The 200-300ft area around the boat is kinda a pain to keep a flag because it is easy to lose track of the distance from the boat while cruising the reef and tugging around a flag all the time is a pain. I have an inflatable sausage that went with every pair of divers in the water incase they came up a little distance from the boat so they have something to mark where they are as they approach surface. I think alot of the boats cluster because of some of the inexperienced/inconsiderate people running the boats figuring in that general area there is a boat so more than likely lobster so they just dive the area close to boats that are out there that look like they have a clue about what they are doing and not thinking there is coral at many other spots with similar depth to hit also.

Wonder if fwc could add to the lobster fliers about staying away from other boats and recommend gear for finding coral and lobster like a tow board, depth finders and maps to possibly help scatter people more and possibly help cut the number of boat related diving accidents, suggest safety equipment like inflatable safety sausage. suggest that "seasonal" divers use charters for spotting and getting conditioned a little atleast before diving miniseason under qualified supervision

 

[John_B]

What people don't realize is that the act of diving on mini-season is no different from diving any other time. IF you are an experienced diver who dives frequently, that is.

Too many people dive once a year only, on mini-season. They just aren't comfortable underwater and don't know how to use their gear if they have an emergency. Or, they are totally unfit and out of shape...the diving isn't really what kills them, it's the heart attack from the extra stress.

For those of us who dive frequently and stay in shape, it is no more or less dangerous than another similar day of diving. There is nothing about a date on the calendar that suddenly makes it more deadly.

Agree 100%.

I gotta say, the hoity toity attitude of a lot of the SB'ers on this thread... Since when was having fun while diving against the law?

I went on my annual pilgrimage to South Fla. for mini season (unfortunately, these will probably be my only Fla dives in 2009, though I'll get 100 warm water dives in easy for the year). What's the attraction? Well, first this two day season is a jump on the commercial operations. Plus, a chance to hang out and dive with some old friends and collect lobsters and eat lobster tail and have a few cold beverages afterwards. Frankly, I'd bet this group are a whole lot more fun than some of the people on this thread.

Nobody on our boat had less than 50 dives this year, nobody was morbidly obese, nobody dove drunk (or whatever, thankfully my bud the capt doesn't allow that crap on his boat), nobody anchored to a reef or grounded on a reef, nobody took undersized bugs, nobody surfaced away from the boat without shooting a bag (SMB), nobody got hurt or killed.

I think there are some underexperienced or just plain bad divers who don't respect the reef. That doesn't mean everyone who has a couple of days of fun in mini season should be painted with the same broad brush.

This notion that it should be outlawed... I expect that from the commercial fisherman, but not from SB'ers.

Akin to motorcycle season in the northeast (when spring temps first appears after a long winter freeze). The nurses and doctor's call it "Organ Donor" season.

OK, since you brought it up...

What's the actual tally, mini season vs. bike week? Should we outlaw that too? :mooner:

Sheesh!