AquaSafari

[Aqua Safari]

Muchos thank yous Underseabumblebee.

I wish that I were as sharp and could write as well as Jonathan.
These guys are fine, and if they were here to learn Spanish,
I'd ask them to translate Tek's last post, and have them to hand it to my Captains.
When you want to make a point, find a way to drive the point across. Put a face on it.

Then a breakfast with the association and the harbormaster, to ask him to put out a circular.
Remind ALL the Captains and helmsmen that though we have great visibility, we need to respect a safety margin and have the harbormaster define the divebuoy's safety zone.

 

[ggunn]

I find it pretty hard to agree with the original poster or his actions here.

Applying Occams Razor, it would seem what happened is the dive boat didn't see the flag, the kids surfaced and got antsy and the guys they were yellling at responded in kind. Testerone was an likely to be a significant factor.

The OP should have contacted the shop and complained, yet he jumps on the biggest scuba forums in the world and posts in a manner to utterly discredit the dive operation. The boss comes on, makes himself available and seems to throughly investigate the situation with diligence and honesty. He is backed up by scores of people who have known him for a long time and the way he manages his business.

At the end of the day, nobody but the divers and the dive staff know what happened but it's really extremely hard to imagine anything more sinister than a mistake ensuing in a row and shouting match.

I find it really unlikely than the captain "intentionally endangered his life" - if you are going to make statements like that you better have a reason to back it up and there seems to be no reason whatsoever why an experienced captain would intentionally do something like this.

That's how I see it, too. This has nothing whatsoever to do with diving any more; it's a p!!ssing contest. Though it was quite some time ago, I remember what it was like to be 18. Testosterone rules the world, and one demands satisfaction for every perceived slight. As one ages, it becomes more important to get through life a little more tranquilly. I would hazard a guess that someone who is 18 and living on Cozumel didn't get there all on his own and is used to getting his own way. That's just a guess, mind you.

 

[ggunn]

I almost took out a guy on a motorcycle a while back. I honestly didn't see him. He was on the defense and saw me and got out of my way. I was in the wrong, but in order to protect himself he had to get out of my way even though I was the one who got in his way. I am glad he swerved and covered for my complete error.

I once was driving down a street near my home when a bicyclist blew through a stop sign from a side street and zipped right out in front of me. I didn't see him until he ran through the sign, and I had to swerve to avoid hitting him. As I passed him, he screamed at me and gave me the one finger salute. I would have hated to have hit him, and technically, a bicyclist has the right of way, but c'mon guy, you blew a stop sign.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

I dived with AquaSafari in December.(Stayed at Coz Palace), and have complete confidence in the operation.
However my question is- has this been good or bad for Bill's business, and are there people who now wont use AquaSafari?.

 

[ggunn]

I dived with AquaSafari in December.(Stayed at Coz Palace), and have complete confidence in the operation.
However my question is- has this been good or bad for Bill's business, and are there people who now wont use AquaSafari?.

My take on it is that AS is sitting on nineteen and should not take another card. ;^)

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I would hazard a guess that someone who is 18 and living on Cozumel didn't get there all on his own and is used to getting his own way. That's just a guess, mind you.

Actually I'm here solely because of my own hard work in the past to save the money to live here for an extended period of time. Nobody's paying my way. Just so you know, not all 18 year olds are the stereotypical 18-year-old, the mostly worthless kind.

 

[DandyDon]

I dived with AquaSafari in December.(Stayed at Coz Palace), and have complete confidence in the operation.
However my question is- has this been good or bad for Bill's business, and are there people who now wont use AquaSafari?.

No one is perfect. We read earlier here about the skippers diligently following the divers bubbles, etc. Once while diving with one of the most respected Ops on Coz, I surfaced alone (always the air hog) to see the skipper out of shouting distance doing magic tricks for another skipper, separate boat. I guess it was magic tricks, as he was into that with the customers. I lowered my head into the water and blew my Dive Alert whistle; he came right over.

We've seen discussions on SB about how important it is for the skipper to kill the engine when picking up divers, or that's the firm feeling of some very experienced divers here, but I don't think I've ever seen that done at Coz. They put the engine in idle, disengage the prop, and no one gets hurt, much. I always check the prop myself as the boat approaches or I approach it, then make sure I stay clear of it as I make my final approach - just in case.

Neither case upsets me or makes me feel I'm diving with unsafe Ops. This is an adventure sport, not a vacation activity or hobby - we must take our own responsibilities seriously, too. If I hear a boat when surfacing, I don't - and I make sure I carry enough lead that I always can quickly, as we can't expect them to always know where every diver is in the water - waves happen. I carry a $50 Dive Alert in addition to my Storm Whistle, a sausage, dive light even on day dives, and a white trash bag to make sure I'm easy to find. About the only thing I really fear on Coz is another tourist - on a jet ski, sail board (you can't hear them coming), or driving a rented car on the streets. Well, the sunburns can be bad, too.

Actually I'm here solely because of my own hard work in the past to save the money to live here for an extended period of time. Nobody's paying my way. Just so you know, not all 18 year olds are the stereotypical 18-year-old, the mostly worthless kind.

I thot about that when I read Gunn's post, but he actually said "...used to getting his own way. That's just a guess, mind you." Fine, so you make your own way - cool.

And I have vague memories of being 18 myself. Hell, I had been a cow trucker since I was 12, and at 18 - I was never wrong...

 

[ggunn]

Actually I'm here solely because of my own hard work in the past to save the money to live here for an extended period of time. Nobody's paying my way. Just so you know, not all 18 year olds are the stereotypical 18-year-old, the mostly worthless kind.

Just curious - how did you pull that off?

 

[redacted]

One point I'm still not understanding. Did the captain see the dive flag or not?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Just curious - how did you pull that off?

Working since I was 13-ish, learning a couple of trades, being very good at one of them, and being quite frugal with my dollars.