Ascending to a lost boat - what should you do?

[tursiops]

Have you ever taken part in an MOB drill?

Yes, I have. Why do you ask? What point do you wish to make?

 

[boulderjohn]

So the answer is no?

Yes, I have. Why do you ask? What point do you wish to make?

I am baffled, too. What does one have to do with the other?

In case you were thinking of asking, I have never climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, either.

 

[Doc]

I’ve been adrift after surfacing with four other divers. Our surface interval began at 1630hrs and ended the next day at o13o. This was in the currents of Tobago off of Speyside in December. It got dark very fast. (A solo diver tried this same stunt 3 years later)

Just one of those life experiences.

 

[tech_diver]

Many years ago, this happened to me in Belize. We came up and saw the boat 60-70 yards away and everybody on it was standing as tall as they could looking for us in the completely wrong direction while we drifted away.

I gave a quick beep on my old school Dive Alert and we could see everybody on the boat actually jump as it startled them. They saw us and got us.

EDIT: I did have a signal mirror and lift bag for a surface marker but they stayed stowed.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I would just point out that "swimming to shore" is not without its own hazards: Searchers may not be able to find you, and some of the gnarliest diving injuries I've seen involved waves, rocks, coral, reef critters, and inexperienced divers.

 

[johndiver999]

Yes if you start swimming it may be harder for searchers to predict your location. The benefit of swimming is situationally dependent.

 

[Guille G]

Deploy DSMB to signal anyone close by and not be run over. After that, flag down ANY passing boat and have them call your boat on the radio. You should know your boat name, captain's name, and radio channel.

If no other boats are thought to be forthcoming after "suitable" wait, well, you gotta do what you gotta do (go for shore). A beacon of some type is a good idea if things are that remote.

I didn't think of this, but it is a great point. We did see two fishing boats go by which we could have probably flagged down if we had tried to. I did know my boat's name, we should have probably done that and tried to get them on the radio - or even notified the Coast Guard and ask them to localize our boat and report our location. Less anxiety when waiting then. Thanks for the insight!

I would just point out that "swimming to shore" is not without its own hazards: Searchers may not be able to find you, and some of the gnarliest diving injuries I've seen involved waves, rocks, coral, reef critters, and inexperienced divers.

Yes, for sure. Swimming to shore seemed like kind of a no-brainer at first, but a bank of nasty seeweed and a very uncomfortably wade through a shallow reef/rocks later - maybe not the best idea in hindsight. If the waves had picked it would have been easy to get banged up.

With all the comments in this thread, I'm thinking a) Get my own DSMB, b) get a whistle or other signaling device and c) stay put unless that becomes dangerous (current pulling you into open seas, bad weather coming, rough seas, etc). Locator beacons are probably overkill in this area since there is plenty of boat traffic and most diving is relatively close to shore (you are likely to have the mainland or island in sight).

I’ve been adrift after surfacing with four other divers. Our surface interval began at 1630hrs and ended the next day at o13o. This was in the currents of Tobago off of Speyside in December. It got dark very fast. (A solo diver tried this same stunt 3 years later)

Just one of those life experiences.

Yikes. That is scary stuff!

 

[CT-Rich]

With all the comments in this thread, I'm thinking a) Get my own DSMB, b) get a whistle or other signaling device and c) stay put unless that becomes dangerous (current pulling you into open seas, bad weather coming, rough seas, etc). Locator beacons are probably overkill in this area since there is plenty of boat traffic and most diving is relatively close to shore (you are likely to have the mainland or island in sight).

The thing about safety gear is that it may be overkill, except the one time you need it. I didn’t buy the Nautilus for 90% of the diving I do, I bought it for the 5-10% of the dives where either the situation or the conditions change significantly. The one time you need it, there will be no substitute. The longer you are in the water, the larger the search area has to become.

 

[tursiops]

I'm thinking a) Get my own DSMB, b) get a whistle or other signaling device

You imply you are AOW. AOW now requires both a visual and an audible signaling device as part of the class.

 

[Belzelbub]

The thing about safety gear is that it may be overkill, except the one time you need it.

Yep, and it’s cheap insurance. Definitely better to have than not. I have the original one with talk capability. While it’s larger than the newer version, it is not in the way at all. It lives the right side shoulder strap on my BC. Never needed it, and intend to keep it that way, but I still bring it along on every saltwater dive.

I also generally run my own boat, and have a fixed mount VHF, a handheld VHF (at least one), and an EPIRB in addition to all the required safety gear. I’d much rather all that go unused and be just “wasted” money. The alternative is much worse. Plenty of big news stories about missing boaters and divers without that gear. The news is just not interested in reporting about those that were prepared, as they are usually quickly rescued.

Around the same time as the football players disappeared in the gulf, I remember reading another story that ended differently. Similar circumstances, boat capsized and people in the water. They had an EPIRB or PLB. The response was incredible. IIRC, they were located within 20 minutes of the Signal being received.