Like I said, I've never seen a bilge pump failure result in a boat filling with water. I wouldn't label it as much as an excuse, but maybe an easy answer that results in no further investigation.
Not in my opinion. I think twofold. First, most the dive boats in Coz are re-purposed recreational vessels - not a typical dive boat like say a Newton where it can take waves at the stern without issue as they roll off the back as fast as they roll in. These recreaitonal boats retain any waves which roll over the back, putting the onus on the bilge. A series of surges over a recreational stern is more than most any bilge was designed to handle. Additionally, as most of you likely know, the normal tradewinds of Coz keeps the waters mostly calm. Occasionally the winds come from the north, which causes waves coming down the channel, which in addition to being bumpy, it adds a bit of difficulty for a Captain. On the rare occasion of a west wind, I've seen this give our Captains the biggest fits. The wave pattern can put a boat in a dangerous position if the Captain isn't on his game. In fact we had a west wind in December with ports open but I refused to send our boat out in it. That same day a snorkel boat sank. A faulty bilge pump was the cause it seems
