Being of Sound Mind...

[rawls]

This is where I have a problem with this whole issue...
You have a dive OP who will take a group of divers out in 8-10 ft seas...HIGHLY dangerous IMHO...Then you have the poster who is telling new divers not to believe the hype but actually goes out on the dive without asking the same questions he is telling the new divers to ask?

The thing that keeps boggling my mind is the idea that divers were diving in 8-10 ft seas...Our dive boat capts will call a dive if the seas reach 5'...sometimes 4' depending on overall conditions. But 8-10'...I wouldn't have needed to question the dive boat operator. My butt wouldn't be out there in the first place.

 

[Steve_Dives]

I've seen tag lines used when there wasn't enough current, and they do become a tangle. If I grab the line, give a pull, and go absolutely no where, I'll swim the line away from the boat. Continuing to pull more line means you're putting yourself in the middle of a great big knot; not a great place to be.

 

[laurelgsc]

I want to know how the OP took his fins off on the ladder with it bucking like a wild horse. I have been out in 6 ft before and really felt that was the upper limit of my comfort level. The danger here is not the diving, but the getting off and on the boat. We were able to back roll in, but getting on the boat was a bit of a challenge. What I hate is when dive ops want you to use a tag line to take your fins off, then the tag line is not attached to the ladder. You must be way more coordinated than I am if you can get your fins off, while thrashing around under the boat.

 

[vladimir]

Just one look and you know... (JK)

Good to see somebody as arrogant, pompous and self aggrandizing as you has a sense of humor.

 

[caseybird]

Lets revisit this... I was not rude to the divemaster. I laughed at her and she laughed with me.... "laughing in her face" was taken out of context. ...

Nope, "laughing in her face" was totally taken in context. If you meant, "we had a good laugh together at her pathetic ignorance" you would have said that. Laughing in the DM's face is rude. Laughing in anyone's face is rude.
New divers, even those well trained, should not attempt to dive in 8-10 foot seas. I wouldn't get on a dive boat in those seas. No dive is worth the risks involved getting back on the boat.

 

[offthewall1]

Everyone has an opinion on this... and I appreciate them all. It seems many think 8-10 ft seas is too dangereous to dive in. Hey, I would agree that sometimes it is... but not always.

Someone else mentioned the Captain vs. the divemaster and that they are often one in the same. In this case the Captain and Divemaster were ... well, both licensed Captains and both Divemasters. As I said, it was an experienced crew... but it was also a crew which seemed at odds with each other. Now don't take this as a chauvanist comment... it is merely a fact. The male Captain didn't like the tag line out... and the female Captain insisted on it's use. I'm not a Captain, so I don't know how this works... but if both are duly certified Captains and they differ in opinion, who has the final say? I would assume the one with some sort of seniority issued to them either by the resort owner or maritime standards... but I don't know. The male Captain seemed annoyed at the female Captains insistence on using the tag line, but as most men do... simply deferred to her to avoid an embarrassing argument in front of the paying customers. The boat was so open there was no where for them to go behind close doors and have a discussion

As for the 8-10 ft seas... as I said, those who were not comfortable did not dive and those who were did. I think that judgements like these have to be made on so many factors that we can't possibly come to a conclusion that will apply to each operator at every location. In this case, 8-10 ft seas, with no current, within site of shore, no more than 15 minutes by boat back to dock, an experienced group of divers with an experienced crew - fit the bill as an OK to do situation.

Take 8-10 ft. seas, with a strong current, 30 miles off shore, 3 hrs by boat and an inexperienced group of divers... and you have a recipe for disaster.

Most situations will lie somewhere in between these extremes... and that is when an experienced dive operator, boat Captain and dive master earn their keep, make their freinds and enemies. they'll make the hard decisions... some will like, some won't, but all must respect.

 

[c r0ck 1]

well in the naui class that im taking right now they say that you should use this line. ESPECIALLY in ruff waters. this will keep everyone in line and in a straight line to the boat. (no drifters) and the way you loaded up the boat with the fins off and handing them to the captain is exactly what im learning right now in my class.. SO i guess its the right way to do it , but you just werent fond of it.. lol

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I prefer a tag line to trying to hang onto a ladder that's bucking one way attached to a boat that's rocking another way simply because I'm less likely to have to add vomiting to the simultaneous skills required while removing my fins on the tag line. All but one of the Great Lakes boats I've been on had a tag line and the one that didn't had a platform in the back that lowered into the water so you could stand on it and they raised you up. My first experience without a tag line was on Catalina and I was wishing for one...even a short one to minimize kelp issues with it...would have been fine. The worst boat I was ever on had a winch to haul your gear into the boat and no ladder...don't even get me started on that one but if the Captain says "Winch" and "Everyone loves it, nobody uses the ladder" you need to either run or insist he bring the ladder along. Been there, done that, learned the hard way.

One thing I don't do is give up my fins, they go on my wrist if I can't wear them on my feet while climbing the ladder. I think I nearly dragged the DM off the boat in Catalina, he grabbed the fin I had just removed and I yanked it right out of his hand to put it on my wrist. You're not leaving my butt to have no way to swim back to the boat if I fall off the ladder.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Bobyjimmie]

To answer your question about which captain was in charge, it would more then likely be whichever was scheduled as the captain that day due to insurance reasons. Meaning if Person A was designated the Capt and person B was designated the dive master that day per scheduling then the insurance for said company would more then likely only cover them in those capacities. Unless they were husband and wife in which she is always right, lol.

 

[cowdog77]

"One thing I don't do is give up my fins, they go on my wrist if I can't wear them on my feet while climbing the ladder. "
______________________
Ditto here.