bad drop: ya pay yer money and take your chances?

[dogtownmax]

while diving in mexico near cancun, i switched dive ops as the one i had been using wasnt going to a wreck i wanted to see that day.

this new op dropped us *down current* of the site, and by the time we had worked our way to the wreck (at 80') the dive was over. while ascending on the buey line attached to the wreck and doing my safety stop in a pretty howling current, i began to wonder why we hadnt just used the buey line in the first place. even with the strong current, it would have been a gueranteed way to get on the wreck. granted, when we pulled up, there was a dive boat on the buey, but it would have been fine to wait a few minutes if it meant actually getting the dive i had paid for. also do these guys not talk to eachother about he conditions using the radio? a quick look at the site or a call ot the boat that was on it would have let them know which side was up current.

there are a lot of details ill skip for now to keep from cluttering up my question. what i am curious about is what people think the responsibility of the dive op is. their bad drop location basically took a dive that would have been challenging but doable, and made it into a missed dive. the current was a bit of a surprize, as it was really howling, but that would have been visible to the boat that was on the buey, based on being able to see the angle of the line to the site.

i just sort of feel like the dive op didnt have any info that i didnt have, and if thats the case, what differenciates them from just being a taxi service to the location?

i realise that an op isnt responsible for the weather, or the current, or the viz. they are supposed to know enough about the site to get you on it, though, especially if there is a buey on the site! stuff happens, but it didnt happent to the boat that got on the buey line. i assume they decended to the wreck on the line, did their dive in the wrecks current shadow, and ascended the buey line back to the boat, thus getting the dive they paid for in the exact same conditions that the op i used was unable to get us to the wreck in.

this makes me think i was screwed out of $80. am i being unfair? :huh:

i didnt ask for a refund, quite honestly assuming they would just offer a discount on another dive which i didnt have time for, and not really knowing if it was right to ask. im not a petty person, but i also dont expect to have to pay for someone elses mistakes.

any input? i can provide more information about the dive if it is usefull, but i wanted to keep this as concise as possible.

thanks.

 

[The Horn]

Since you didn't ask the operator or complain they may not even think you had a bad dive. When you surfaced did you complain at all or inquire as to the reason you were told to get in the water so far away?

I doubt you would have gotten your bling back but perhaps you may have been invited on the next outing which would have been reasonable.

If you didn't complain no one can help you

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
this new op dropped us *down current* of the site, and by the time we had worked our way to the wreck (at 80') the dive was over. while ascending on the buey line attached to the wreck and doing my safety stop in a pretty howling current, i began to wonder why we hadnt just used the buey line in the first place.
..snip..

I can't help but wonder with your experience level why you were not able to evaluate the condtions for yourself before jumping in.
Especially since you say the wreck was buoyed.
At some sites I know the boat cannot get to the buoy and so divers are dropped up current and then drift down to the buoy submerging as they get close in order to grab the shot line below the surface.
We generally throw something organic in first to check the current line - an apple core or piece of bread or a banana skin.....

 

[dogtownmax]

I can't help but wonder with your experience level why you were not able to evaluate the condtions for yourself before jumping in.
Especially since you say the wreck was buoyed.
At some sites I know the boat cannot get to the buoy and so divers are dropped up current and then drift down to the buoy submerging as they get close in order to grab the shot line below the surface.
We generally throw something organic in first to check the current line - an apple core or piece of bread or a banana skin.....

very good question.

this was my first dive on this site, so i didnt know the buey line went to the wreck until we used the buey line to ascend. viz was about 40 or 50 feet, not enough to see the wreck from the surface. to tell you the truth, i didnt actually even know there was a buey line until we used it to ascend.

your suggestion that we could have been dropped upcurrent of the buey line and used it to descend is a good one, would have resulted in a succesfull dive. now that i know there is a buey line on the wreck, if i dive the site again i will make sure it is considered in the dive plan, as it appears that my one dive on this site has given me more insight into it than the local "dive op" has.

Since you didn't ask the operator or complain they may not even think you had a bad dive. When you surfaced did you complain at all or inquire as to the reason you were told to get in the water so far away?

I doubt you would have gotten your bling back but perhaps you may have been invited on the next outing which would have been reasonable.

If you didn't complain no one can help you

this is true. i should have complained. i suppose that was the gist of my question.

the guide knew it was a bad drop as he got into a brief argument with the boat driver when we surfaced, which they professionally cut short as it got immediately heated.

 

[String]

, and if thats the case, what differenciates them from just being a taxi service to the location?

Thats all i want/expect a dive charter boat TO be.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Thats all i want/expect a dive charter boat TO be.

Yes, buy even a taxi service will drop you off at the right address. If I ask to be dropped off at my house I don't expect to have to walk half a mile to it when the road goes right to it. If they don't get me to my door, they are a bad taxi service and I'll malign them publicly for it to prevent others from being screwed.

 

[String]

If the diver didnt bother mentioning his reservations to the boat thats his problem.

 

[cinder4320]

If the diver didnt bother mentioning his reservations to the boat thats his problem.

So whats your solution? If the poster is in a foreign country, pays for a certain wreck and then is told they are there and they aren't how would he express reservations ahead of time? After the dive it makes sense to perhaps complain but the poster here is trying to figure out what to do in the future and what responsibilities a Dive Op has so he can take action in the future. He isn't just bad mouthing the guys who took him to this wreck.

Miranda

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I don't understand your point. His reservations?


The boat driver knew where the dive guide was going--the wreck of this ship. He dropped them in the wrong spot. No excuse, becuase that's a fact: he dropped them in the wrong spot. Exactly what he should do about it is what's up for debate, as far as I can see.

 

[String]

More to it than that. What was said on the dive brief? How was entry and orientation covered? Was there a brief? If not, why didnt the diver request one?

Can he be sure the dive op knew there were currents? If so, can he be sure they knew the wreck was up current? Did they know the strength?

Post dive did he ask them why they were dropped there? There may have been a good reason. If he didnt ask, he loses all right to complain and second-guess their actions.

Lots of things here not in the original post that make all the difference in deciding what happened.

Ive been on and paid for dives where for one reason or another we couldnt hit or find the wreck. It happens.