Learn from my mistakes - minor, but could have been bad

[grey2112]

With 37 dives under my belt, and feeling confident in my abilities (as well as having been trained by an incredible instructor and diving with him numerous times as friends) I thought I was better than this.

But I'm also frugal, and like to get the most out of my dives. Me and a buddy were diving off my boat and I neglected to use the marker buoy to mark the wreck - I thought I dropped anchor in a perfect spot, but after swimming around for 15-20 minutes we couldn't find it - we surfaced and saw the boat quite a ways away - looking at my air I saw 1600 psi - enough for a decent dive - and I didn't want to waste it going back down and swimming back to the boat. So I decided we'd just swim on the surface with our snorkels. Well, the current was faster than we thought, and it seemed to take forever to get back to the boat, and I was getting exhausted fighting the current.

So - lessons learned - always use a marker buoy, if you go down and can't see your intended target then come up, get back on the boat, and find it again. Last but not least, it is far easier to swim back at depth after shooting a bearing with your compass (you DO have a compass and know how to use it, right?) than to do it on the surface - better to have less air when you get back than not make it back because you are too exhausted to swim against current.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The lesson should be to NOT dive from an unattended boat. Period. Better to dive solo than to leave a boat and dive in a place where it has to be there when you come back up. if it is 0.5 miles from shore, the boat can drift away and you will probably be fine. Diving way out in the gulf, the boat HAS TO BE THERE, when you get back.

 

[vincent54]

I agree with never leaving a boat unattended. We did that on a night dive in Bocas and spent the rest of the night swimming back to shore. The boat was found the next morning swamped on the beach. We started in calm seas with no current, and of course the weather changed. In open sea, we would be done for. If I did it again, I would stay in the boat and alternate solo dives. Or better yet get a third person to tend the surface. Enjoy your boat and stay safe. Cheers

 

[grey2112]

The lesson should be to NOT dive from an unattended boat. Period. Better to dive solo than to leave a boat and dive in a place where it has to be there when you come back up. if it is 0.5 miles from shore, the boat can drift away and you will probably be fine. Diving way out in the gulf, the boat HAS TO BE THERE, when you get back.

I always go down the anchor line and really seat the anchor deep into the floor - yeah, I realize that there's always a risk - but it is so damn hard to find anyone to come along and bubblewatch - I wish they made a remote-control for my boat so I could just fire it up and bring it to us after a dive. Or something like a proximity alert.

---------- Post added August 15th, 2013 at 09:47 AM ----------

I agree with never leaving a boat unattended. We did that on a night dive in Bocas and spent the rest of the night swimming back to shore. The boat was found the next morning swamped on the beach. We started in calm seas with no current, and of course the weather changed. In open sea, we would be done for. If I did it again, I would stay in the boat and alternate solo dives. Or better yet get a third person to tend the surface. Enjoy your boat and stay safe. Cheers

I've had to think long and hard about this - the problem I'm running into is that I am finding that while a lot of divers love diving from boats, very few know anything about operating a boat - so even if I had someone up top, if the boat popped off anchor they wouldn't know the first thing about firing up the boat, pulling in the anchor, piloting the boat back to the GPS point, etc. Perhaps I need to train every diver who goes on my boat in the basics of boat handling, operating anchor retrieval system, VHF operation, etc.

 

[Kharon]

... Perhaps I need to train every diver who goes on my boat in the basics of boat handling, operating anchor retrieval system, VHF operation, etc.

Wouldn't hurt and it ain't rocket science. If they are smart enough to dive safely they are smart enough to run a boat safely. YOu wouldn't have to get them ready to take the captain's exam. A written cheat sheet would help too.

 

[grey2112]

Wouldn't hurt and it ain't rocket science. If they are smart enough to dive safely they are smart enough to run a boat safely. YOu wouldn't have to get them ready to take the captain's exam. A written cheat sheet would help too.

Yup - you are correct - I think many of us are "too nice" when it comes to insisting on certain things with those we dive with. I'm learning I have to be a lot more direct and forceful with regards to safety - "where were you certified, how many dives do you have, any specialty courses, do you do safety stops, do you know how to do CPR, can you drive a boat or operate a VHF, will you sign a release/waiver" - answer no to any of those and I have to disqualify you from riding on my boat.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I always go down the anchor line and really seat the anchor deep into the floor - yeah, I realize that there's always a risk - but it is so damn hard to find anyone to come along and bubblewatch - I wish they made a remote-control for my boat so I could just fire it up and bring it to us after a dive. Or something like a proximity alert.

---------- Post added August 15th, 2013 at 09:47 AM ----------



I've had to think long and hard about this - the problem I'm running into is that I am finding that while a lot of divers love diving from boats, very few know anything about operating a boat - so even if I had someone up top, if the boat popped off anchor they wouldn't know the first thing about firing up the boat, pulling in the anchor, piloting the boat back to the GPS point, etc. Perhaps I need to train every diver who goes on my boat in the basics of boat handling, operating anchor retrieval system, VHF operation, etc.

Dive SOLO then....

 

[grey2112]

Dive SOLO then....

Well, once the wife recovers from surgery and we get her certified, I'll ALWAYS have a diving buddy I can trust

 

[FinnMom]

The lesson should be to NOT dive from an unattended boat. Period.

Yeah, what he said!

The preferable standard is to never leave the boat w/o an atendee capable of handling the boat, for example driving it back if the boat drags anchor, or driving it to fetch you if you drift away.
That's the standard. Leaving an atendee with means to summon help (mobile phone if the area offers a good network connection or marine VHF, etc.) is just the minimum.
Please do respect the minimum.

 

[Steve_C]

You were very lucky once. It does not matter if the boat is perfectly anchored. You have to be able to get to it every single time even if you get lost, or current comes up, or you get a cramp, or, .... or you are crab bait.