Capt Jim Wyatt
Hanging at the 10 Foot Stop
Staff member
ScubaBoard Business Sponsor
Scuba Instructor
This thread is started in response to a thread in the A&I Forum regarding a fatality on the wreck of the Benwood earlier this month.
I have observed and participated as a passenger and as a captain in dive boat operations at several dive operations here in Key Largo over the past 18 months or so and see a common thread a amognst the captains. I have also captained dive boats in Hawaii and Grand Cayman in my career and have observed operations in those places too, so I think I have a good base of reference.
In Key Largo I was impressed and continue to be proud of the way I see Captains operate their boats and care for their passengers. Foremost I see the Captains taking their responsibilities to their passengers as the most important part of their day. I see Captains exhibiting professionalism every single day I am out on the reefs and wrecks. Captains continually evaluate conditions throughout the dive day and discuss conditions with each other over VHF channel 18 and over cell phones. They evaluate changing conditions such as current, sea state and visibility.
Every Captain knows that conditions can and do change in a period of a few minutes. Captains know that when they put divers into the water and there is no discernible current at the surface, there can be current at depth, or at 10 feet.
Captains also know that during the course of a dive surface currents can go from zero to swift, creating a hazard for divers. Every Captain trails a tag line off the back of their boats before divers are put into the water. Every boat has a rescue buoy attached to a line that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 feet long and is easily and quickly deploy-able.
The Captains I know at Rainbow Reef, Conch Republic, Florida Keys Dive Center, Horizon Divers, Ocean Divers, Amy Slates', Silent World, and Quiesennce are quintessential professionals and work all day each day they are deployed to care for their passengers and their boats.
Divers also need to be cognizant of the fact that diving in the ocean is not a pool or Disney World dive. Divers need to be in relatively good shape, they need to be aware of their surroundings and continually monitor conditions and their own location relative to the exit point (boat in this case) during their time underwater.
Divers also need to be aware that things happen beyond the control of the Captain and be as prepared as possible to care for themselves. Things such as a safety marker buoy, a signalling mirror, possibly a nautilus lifeline transceiver, and of course AWARENESS.
I have observed and participated as a passenger and as a captain in dive boat operations at several dive operations here in Key Largo over the past 18 months or so and see a common thread a amognst the captains. I have also captained dive boats in Hawaii and Grand Cayman in my career and have observed operations in those places too, so I think I have a good base of reference.
In Key Largo I was impressed and continue to be proud of the way I see Captains operate their boats and care for their passengers. Foremost I see the Captains taking their responsibilities to their passengers as the most important part of their day. I see Captains exhibiting professionalism every single day I am out on the reefs and wrecks. Captains continually evaluate conditions throughout the dive day and discuss conditions with each other over VHF channel 18 and over cell phones. They evaluate changing conditions such as current, sea state and visibility.
Every Captain knows that conditions can and do change in a period of a few minutes. Captains know that when they put divers into the water and there is no discernible current at the surface, there can be current at depth, or at 10 feet.
Captains also know that during the course of a dive surface currents can go from zero to swift, creating a hazard for divers. Every Captain trails a tag line off the back of their boats before divers are put into the water. Every boat has a rescue buoy attached to a line that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 feet long and is easily and quickly deploy-able.
The Captains I know at Rainbow Reef, Conch Republic, Florida Keys Dive Center, Horizon Divers, Ocean Divers, Amy Slates', Silent World, and Quiesennce are quintessential professionals and work all day each day they are deployed to care for their passengers and their boats.
Divers also need to be cognizant of the fact that diving in the ocean is not a pool or Disney World dive. Divers need to be in relatively good shape, they need to be aware of their surroundings and continually monitor conditions and their own location relative to the exit point (boat in this case) during their time underwater.
Divers also need to be aware that things happen beyond the control of the Captain and be as prepared as possible to care for themselves. Things such as a safety marker buoy, a signalling mirror, possibly a nautilus lifeline transceiver, and of course AWARENESS.