Question for tropical divers: Gloves or no gloves

[jgttrey]

I like gloves for exactly that reason, if there is current and I want to use the mooring line to assist my safety stop. Since gloves are rarely allowed, I am now in the habit of stretching down the sleeve of my seaskin or rash guard to cover my hand. It usually works okay.

Those rubberized IANTD dive tables work great for this. I keep one folded up in my pocket & use it if there's a need to grab a snotty line. It's just big enough for your buddy to have a place to grab too.

In warm water, I only use the gloves (with some fingers cut off) if it's a wreck dive.

 

[divinh]

Definitely look into getting a Jon Line, Kathy - got mine from Divers Supply - it wasn't expensive.

Ah, so that's what a Jon Line is... I was shopping for a reef hook and saw one that didn't look like the others and a reviewer gave it one star and said it wasn't a reef hook, even though it was labeled as such. It was a Jon Line.

 

[JohnnyC]

Jon lines are great for attaching yourself to a mooring line for deco. That's what they're designed for. When you've got a couple four guys on a line all trying to do a 6m O2 stop, it gets pretty crowded when everyone's in twins with stages and deco bottles. And it definitely keeps the squirelliness down when the line's moving with the swell. However, there is a bit of a learning curve to use it without making a mess of things. It's worth the practice when it's calm. You want to use it for a stop, not descent.

 

[Fastmarc]

Usually how long is the Jon line?

 

[vincent54]

I am curious as to which cruise ships they have "allowed" to tear up the reef in the Cayman Islands. Normally there are some pretty hefty fines levied to ships that run aground on the reef.

Billionaire Conservationist's Yacht Damages Coral Reef was a private yacht, and there was apparently a hefty settlement fee handed over.

Then there were quite a few incidents of cargo ships damaging the reefs, of which this was the latest: Cargo ship crushes George Town reef - Cayman News Service - those resulted in reparations being paid to clean up the mess and help other conservation efforts.

Sorry, but pointing at cruise ship folks to try to devalue a Cayman law that is intended to help preserve the reef from clueless divers is a nasty case of "Whataboutism", in my opinion. (Whataboutism - Wikipedia)

We should also be doing our part - like refusing drinking straws in our drinks: 5 Reasons to ditch that plastic straw
Using reusable shopping bags: The Plastic Trap
Using reef-friendly sunscreen: Coral-killing chemical still appears in many sunscreen formulas

and the list goes on. It's too easy and convenient to point at the big cruise ships and blame them for it all, meaning it takes us off the hook from doing things to help, even in a small way.

I have picked up a lot of plastic on my various dives and really wish I didn't even see it.

Zenith cruise ship anchor damages coral reef in the Cayman Islands | Daily Mail Online

Just a little damage from a cruise ship.. it would take a lot of divers to destroy this much reef. Took the cruise ship a matter of minutes. The law is useless.

Might as well mention the anchor chain from the fuel ship on Brac that took out a portion Sylvia’s reef a couple years ago . No repercussion or fine. No gloves law is useless

 

[jgttrey]

Zenith cruise ship anchor damages coral reef in the Cayman Islands | Daily Mail Online

Just a little damage from a cruise ship.. it would take a lot of divers to destroy this much reef. Took the cruise ship a matter of minutes. The law is useless.

Might as well mention the anchor chain from the fuel ship on Brac that took out a portion Sylvia’s reef a couple years ago . No repercussion or fine. No gloves law is useless

By this logic, there's no point to any reef protection measures except dealing with cruise ship impacts. Why not let dive boats just drop anchor on the reef rather than used the mooring balls? That's less damage than the cruise ship causes and by your logic prohibiting anchoring on the reef would be a similarly "useless" regulation.

That's just a logic-fail. If you can encourage better behavior from divers, that's a good thing even if it doesn't cure cancer at the same time. And I do think the law serves a valuable purpose simply as a reminder to new, less experienced, and less thoughtful divers. If they can't even wear gloves out of concern they might touch the reef, perhaps they'll also pay more attention to their fins and bodies. It's one more reminder that reefs are very delicate things.

I'll also point out that except in exceptionally bad weather when they have to go south, the cruise ships in GCM are confined to the area around G-town, whereas divers potentially impact the reef on all sides of the island.

Does the "no glove" law do a HUGE amount of good. Probably not. But I believe it does some and it is not a particularly onerous restriction.

 

[Alucard]

The idea that we should advocate breaking the local laws of a place just because we think they are not the most effective (or "useless" or "stupid" or whatever) is why tourists can get a bad name. Because this comes across as pure arrogance.

 

[Fastmarc]

Jon lines are great for attaching yourself to a mooring line for deco. That's what they're designed for. When you've got a couple four guys on a line all trying to do a 6m O2 stop, it gets pretty crowded when everyone's in twins with stages and deco bottles. And it definitely keeps the squirelliness down when the line's moving with the swell. However, there is a bit of a learning curve to use it without making a mess of things. It's worth the practice when it's calm. You want to use it for a stop, not descent.

How long are typical Jon Lines?

 

[Alucard]

How long are typical Jon Lines?

Between 7 and 15 feet.

 

[vincent54]

By this logic, there's no point to any reef protection measures except dealing with cruise ship impacts. Why not let dive boats just drop anchor on the reef rather than used the mooring balls? That's less damage than the cruise ship causes and by your logic prohibiting anchoring on the reef would be a similarly "useless" regulation.

That's just a logic-fail. If you can encourage better behavior from divers, that's a good thing even if it doesn't cure cancer at the same time. And I do think the law serves a valuable purpose simply as a reminder to new, less experienced, and less thoughtful divers. If they can't even wear gloves out of concern they might touch the reef, perhaps they'll also pay more attention to their fins and bodies. It's one more reminder that reefs are very delicate things.

I'll also point out that except in exceptionally bade weather when they have to go south, the cruise ships in GCM are confined to the area around G-town, whereas divers potentially impact the reef on all sides of the island.

Does the "no glove" law do a HUGE amount of good. Probably not. But I believe it does some and it is not a particularly onerous restriction.

There was question about cruise ships damaging the reef and an answer was given. You respond with an overreaction. I said nothing about divers haphazardly destroying the reef because the cruise ships do more damage. You make no sense and it has nothing to do with a law about wearing gloves