Scuba Shack's Boat Get Wet Sinks in Key Largo

[Heath Sapp]

Any updates?

 

[Wookie]

I spoke to some of the Inspections Branch folks in Key West yesterday. Now, these guys are not investigators, they are inspectors, but they share an office with the investigator for the Florida Keys. They had not heard of the second boat leaving for the Florida Straights and the freighter rescue and the load of whatever it was on the second boat. They said when the investigation team showed up for the original sinking, the captain was cracking wise with them. Probably nerves, but I gotta say, when I have a fatality and my boat sinks, I don't crack wise with the investigating officer.

Oh, wait....

 

[alcoxe]

I have dived in many locations around the world
I have vast experience working (nav & comms) on boats/ships/motor yachts...

I was in Key West diving in October 2011
and I was diving Miami about 6 months before

I think the standards that the USCG set for vessels is very low!
I understand I will get "flamed" for this, but hey its the truth....

Also, the outfit I dived with in Miami, had the attitude "everyman (woman) for themselves, no buddy checks, no buddy assignment for those without a buddy, nothing!
I encountered the same in Key West regarding buddy, so i decided, with another guy we would buddy up...
Is this "normal" in US, or just Florida??

The outfit I dived with, had many mechanical problems with their boat on one of the days I went out, to the point, i almost cancelled.
A few days before, I saw they had problems with water in the bilge on a boat next door - Vessels name "Get Wet"....
They said the "automatic" switch for the bigle pump was not working, and they switched on the pump manually.

Maybe life is to relaxed in Florida and the Keys, but this has left me wondering....
Maybe instead of maintaining the boats, they just look after the profit margin...

It will be along time, and only after much research, before I dive on another dive boat in US waters..

Allen

p.s
didn't "Get Wet" belong to another dive outfit in Key West?
If you look on the web at some of the dive outfits there, you will see....

 

[ScubaSteve]

Also, the outfit I dived with in Miami, had the attitude "everyman (woman) for themselves, no buddy checks, no buddy assignment for those without a buddy, nothing!
I encountered the same in Key West regarding buddy, so i decided, with another guy we would buddy up...
Is this "normal" in US, or just Florida??

This normal for many regions around the world......and privately chartered boats are often dealt with more loosely still.

 

[The Chairman]

I would say a large number of divers,especially new divers, have no idea what a good dive boat looks like.

This is a very good point, after some time, I would not have known either.

The boat floating is the first thing you look for.

 

[The Chairman]

A few days before, I saw they had problems with water in the bilge on a boat next door - Vessels name "Get Wet"....

If you were in Key West, you weren't on the "Get Wet". Neither of the vessels in Key Largo with the name "Get Wet" are Coast Guard inspected vessels.

:caveman:​

 

[DandyDon]

The boat floating is the first thing you look for.

Yeah, a start. I remember a boat we took in Belize to some atolls. We made it ok, but it sank not long after. Been a few of those...

 

[alcoxe]

Sorry, just to clarify, it was Key Largo I was in (yes, I know there is a difference )
Interesting the vessels in Key Largo are not USCG inspected, as I thought one was a dive charter vessel.

I did not go out on Get Wet, it was moored next to the vessel I went on.

 

[The Chairman]

Interesting the vessels in Key Largo are not USCG inspected, as I thought one was a dive charter vessel.

Any vessel carrying more than six passengers must be inspected. Those carrying only six or less do not. They are still subject to the Coast Guard, but they do not have to undergo rigorous inspections. This is true for the entire United States and not just Key Largo.

 

[ShootinSquid]

Totally true NetDoc....but the Coast Guard Auxiliary does do free, confidential and comprehensive "Vessel Safety Checks" which give the owner/Captain an idea of the safety and requirements of the boat. I tend to ask operators if their unnspected boats have a VSC Decal from the Coast Guard Auxiliary. To me, it just shows that an operator cares enough about his equipment...and usually caries over the same care and commitment to the people he has on the boat. Oh.....also, even if you only have ONE paying customer, the boat needs to have a Captain that holds a Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) "6 Pack" license. He should have known better because even if he is NOT the owner of the vessel, he is responsible for the safety of everyone on board when he is in charge of the vessel....i.e. Costa Concordia.