A question to an incident

[Skeeter1097]

While on a dive boat this weekend a diver drooped off the boat with out having the inflater line hocked up. the dive was panicked and lost her reg. The DM and her dad tried to get the reg in her mouth but she was not having any part of that. So they dumped the BCD and that was that. she tuck on some water but was OK. Seating on the boat she was ashamed but OK.
The caption then called all the divers back to the boat and called the dive. 22 min into the first dive. Turned the boat for land and that was that. They did not call Coast Gard, They did not call Dan, They did not call anyone. After getting to the dock there was no EMT, nothing. The girl, friend, dad just got there gear and went home. No sorry about the dive or lack of a dive or two. No credit for a norther dive at a later date. Just this from the caption; The DM works for tips so we need to be genres. Not that we just pain $85 for a 22 min dive,
Question: Should the DM just hocked the inflater line up and inflated the BCD? Maybe drop a wight or two if needed.
But she is here today because he did something and saved her.
In note, I hope the girl keeps diving and I'll never go on that charter again.

 

[Dr Neil]

Boy oh boy one could land on either side of the fence with this one! Call the dive and get back to shore, or monitor the diver back on board and finish the trip.

Sounds to me like the Captain wanted to be back on shore in time to watch the afternoon football games. But that's just the armchair quarterback in me coming out.

 

[tfsails]

I'd be pissed if I were you. At the very least the operation could have credited the rest of you for another dive on another day. I can (sorta) understand the DM's and Captain's wanting to get the "victim" back ashore in case of delayed DCS symptoms, but to penalize the rest of the divers for one's stupidity is just plain wrong.

Did you think of complaining to the local BBB about this outfit?

 

[tstormdiver]

The Dive Master might have been able to hook up the LP hose to the BC inflator. But he diver was already panicked, so probably pointless & also dangerous. A panicked diver is capable of anything & the last thing you want is for a 2nd victim. The Dive Master probably did the best they could for the situation.

As for the missed dives, I would be contacting the dive shop, charter, boat owner or whoever set the trip up. You paid for a certain number of dives & didn't deserve to be "dumped off" after the incident. It sounds like the captain was trying to wash his hands of the incident & be doen with it. I understand bringing the distressed diver back to shore & maybe cancelling teh dives for the day, but you should have been given a rain check or reimbursement fro your missed dives.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I am definitely with the others. You have right to be upset. Not with the girl/father/DM but with the Captain. From everything you have described, there is no reason to believe that there was any danger of any sort to the boat or the people and therefore to call the dive is unacceptable. I am basing this on the information that has been shared and not on "what might have been". She had a bad dive, messed up and was ashamed. Life happens sometimes. The Captain has the unltimate say on his (or her) boat and you are not allowed to question it (I believe it is a very bad idea) on the boat. In this case, the outfit you chartered should be the one to compensate you for it. Obviously about all you could rightfully ask for is a replacement charter. I think if you present the argument well they would likely not put up too much of a fuss.

 

[Ana]

Yep, I'd be upset also. Why bother to turn back to shore in a hurry if it isn't to get medical attention?
If none of the other divers requested money back, some sort of partial credit or at least complaint about the fact they were cut short, this operation will have no second thoughts about doing this again.
As divers some of us care for the safety of every one on board but as consumers we deserve to get the service we paid. Good operators can satisfy the safety of their divers and justify their earnings by providing reasonable customer service.

 

[scuba70]

Who was the dive op? I dive there frequently and this is good information to have. As far as scrubbing the dive, I'd be very upset at not getting any sort of credit or anything. That stinks.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I think before posting the name of the OP (Charter), skeeter1097 should give them a formal opportunity to make the situation right. It might have been a one and only one time occurrance.

 

[nereas]

I would have asked for a credit for another day's dive. And if not received, I would avoid that boat in the future, and post something nasty on the internet about it. [If you do that, be careful. Make you you state only obvious relevant facts, and then a self-evident conclusion such as "therefore, I will avoid diving on this boat in the future."]

The incident was minor, and normally should have resulted merely in keeping the young woman on the boat, while everyone else dives. But it's the captain's call, since he is responsible to the USCG, and to the Florida law courts as well. Taking on seawater is never a good thing. Often it leads to pneumonia, or worse.

On tipping, I will normally tip a D/M $5 if they did nothing for me during the dive, or -0- if they actually impeded me in some way, such as touching my tanks when I told them not to touch my tanks, or $10 if they helped me a little, or $20 if they did a really good job, or $50 for a live-aboard cruise, or $100 for a really outstanding job, or $500 if I thought the charter was fantastic and underpriced.

In your case I think it would be between -0- and $5. [The Euro is at E0.78 to US$1 right about now.]

 

[ScubaSteve]

...........Often it leads to pneumonia.......

Seriously? This I have never heard. I suppose I have learned something today.