Blue Heron-caught by the tide

[Ana]

I have being active in diving for over 25 years I cannot count one diver ever mention the desire to dive at BHB until I became active on SB. The last time I dived on the Breakers Reef it was teeming with tropicals and a menagerie of the other sea creatures. Ocen diving or intercoastal diving? Let me think about that for awhile. Back already, ocean diving won hands down...

Truly I can not argue with you with a straight face but only because I have a boat in my backyard and because I'm lazy. Similar to your scene, when is time for me to dive I have to decide between:
1 - take fresh tanks to the boat and head out at whatever time I feel like
or
2- take all the gear out of the boat to the car, drive to the bridge (or to a parking lot for a shore dive) unload gear, safe up the car haul gear who knows how long... oh forget it, just typing it makes me tired.

But again, I have to admit the BHB is a nice easy dive. When I was short on funds and not so lazy I enjoyed greatly. I've also been diving for many decades and seen quite a bit but the juveniles in BHB used to get to my soul, I do miss them.

 

[Reef_Haven]

It's true. nothing to see at the BHB. Move along!
Besides, we don't need another 40 divers mucking things up every time.

 

[ScoobaDood]

Which is it? They told you to be there at 9:45AM and be in the water by 10:30AM, or be in the water at 9:45AM and out by 10:30AM?

It seems pretty clear to me that the story has been consistent all along. In the water by 9:45 and then be IN done with the dive and on the shore by 10:30AM. I am just wondering why this is so hard to understand. I can tell you that just yesterday I had a similar experience with a dive in Southern California. Reported Conditions vice Actual Conditions made for a horrible day. Enough to kill my interest in diving? No, but it could have.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I guess the OP will not be taking Cool Tech up on his very generous offer.

 

[Zieg]

I guess the OP will not be taking Cool Tech up on his very generous offer.

Guess so, which is a shame. She would probably have a great time, learn how to read tide tables, and to judge for herself the currents. But that would mean she would then be able to take responsibility for her own dives and her own safety.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

It seems pretty clear to me that the story has been consistent all along. In the water by 9:45 and then be IN done with the dive and on the shore by 10:30AM. I am just wondering why this is so hard to understand. I can tell you that just yesterday I had a similar experience with a dive in Southern California. Reported Conditions vice Actual Conditions made for a horrible day. Enough to kill my interest in diving? No, but it could have.

That's just it... It hasn't been clear from the first post, and answers to the real questions have not come forward.

The first statement...

They told us to go at 9:45 am and be in by 10:30, they also told us that the conditions were good and that it was an easy dive.

Reads to most people as "They told us to go at 9:45AM (in order to have a parking space) and be in (the water) by 10:30 AM..." That is why it is so hard to understand.

There are so many inconsistencies in mandy987's statements that questions are natural to understanding what actually happened...

1. There were two classes taking place
2. One class was an Open Water class and they were not having problems with current
3. They were screaming for help
4. They were ignored by trained instructors and lifeguards and were told that they were "fine" (by Open Water Students) over their screams for help?
5. There were people spear fishing in a location it is illegal to spear fish
6. While they were illegally spear fishing, the ONLY way they could assist these divers was by jabbing their spears into the sand in order to get to the screaming divers.
7. No other divers were in the area... Just 3 illegal spear fisherman and these two athletic ladies
8. No one above the water line where they were screaming for help reacted in any way to assist
9. There were close to 60 divers and even more beach goers... Not one reacted to assist people who were screaming for help
10. ... Again, students told people "screaming for help" that they were "fine" and trained instructors made no attempt to assist people "screaming for help"

Yeah, it is consistent... and clear as mud

 

[ScoobaDood]

If you really think that your safety is the responsibility of others( a dive shop, fellow divers, etc.) maybe you should rethink the whole diving thing.

Ok I have yet to hear where she has said that her safety was anyones responsibility but her own. She stated that the information she got from the dive shop was incorrect. It was a fact of the story, leaving it out would have left everyone less informed about what happened.

Get defensive all you like, but you should have learned in your OW class that your safety is NOBODY'S responsibility but your own. Take this as a lesson learned. Check the tides yourself. It seems that you spoke to Force-E, but even if you didn't, we all go off the same tide charts. Please don't blame anyone else for your lack of info. YOU did not do the proper research to do this 'easy' dive, it is nobody's fault but you and your buddy's.

While I agree that they teach in OW that your safety is nobody's responsibility but your own, I don't believe they meant that if you are in danger everyone around should ignore you. I check my own gear, I make the determination if my skills are up for the dive, and I make the decision if I should call the dive or make the dive. I think that is more what is meant about the responsibility for your own safety being yours. Things happen, even the most trained responsible, expert divers have mishaps. If you doubt it, perhaps you should scour these forums as they are all about accidents, mishaps, near-misses, and even fatalities.

I won't even comment directly on the spear fishermen, who are not allowed in the park... I'm sorry, and I know that this will upset you, but noone was in the wrong here but you and your buddy. Next time, take the responsibility, and don't put your life in the hands of others. Please don't try to pawn off this mistake that YOU made on others(the dive shop, the classes in the water, the instructors). Own up to your mistake of not planning the dive well, correct that mistake, and if you feel up to it, keep diving. If, however, you feel that your life is the strict responsibility of others, maybe you should take up fly-fishing, or volleyball. Because I, for one, have no interest in saving some diver who got into trouble because of his/her lack of research. BTW: SEATOW has tide tables for the bridge at any of the dive shops around here. Education in this matter is free.

As I have said above, I don't see where the OP has said that anybody else was responsible, but rather pointed out that the information from the LDS was inaccurate. Now, I think most would believe that if you contact your LDS and they give you current conditions, you can probably trust them. I only relied on the LDS giving me information about my dive when the reports I was looking for online all came up as N/A with the exception of one. It contradicted the LDS and so I checked it out for myself, and interestingly the LDS was accurate not the website.

As for your statement highlighted above...all I can say is WOW. I certainly would hate to dive anywhere near you. I am not saying you are out there to play rescue ranger, but I have read and seen enough accounts of things gone bad to know that anyone can end up in a bad situation. I'm just curious, do you believe that if a person makes a bad judgement call, or fails to do more research than the OP did, they some how are undeserving of being rescued?

I for one come to this site to learn from others. To learn from others mistakes, and others successes. I generally find that everyone here is supportive of other divers, even the newest of divers. Suggestions and Comments on how a person could better prepare in the future rather than kicking them while they are down would be more beneficial.

As always, just my $.02

 

[Cave Diver]

Before we went, I researched the bridge and even asked the dive shop about the conditions. They told us to go at 9:45 am and be in by 10:30, they also told us that the conditions were good and that it was an easy dive.

It seems pretty clear to me that the story has been consistent all along. In the water by 9:45 and then be IN done with the dive and on the shore by 10:30AM. I am just wondering why this is so hard to understand. I can tell you that just yesterday I had a similar experience with a dive in Southern California. Reported Conditions vice Actual Conditions made for a horrible day. Enough to kill my interest in diving? No, but it could have.

That's not how I read it. I've never dove the bridge, but from numerous conversations I've seen here about others planned dives there I read the initial statement as follows:

They told us to go (to the bridge) at 9:45 am (to have adequate time to gear up) and be in (the water) by 10:30

1) The shop could have been clearer in their statement.
2) The diver could have asked additional questions.

 

[Cave Diver]

The first statement...

Reads to most people as "They told us to go at 9:45AM (in order to have a parking space) and be in (the water) by 10:30 AM..." That is why it is so hard to understand.

I've never laid eyes on the bridge and that is exactly how I read that statement (see previous post). If the OP researched this dive like they claimed, I'm a bit surprised that this wasn't evident to them as well.

Lessons learned:

• 
  Ask as many questions as you can when diving an unfamiliar site.
• Do a site survey and talk to other divers about conditions when you arrive.
• When in doubt, sit it out.

 

[jhayes75]

Would a rip current be possible at BHB? I have never dove there so I am not familiar with its location.

Rip currents are a source of danger for people in ocean and lake surf.[3] They can be extremely dangerous, dragging swimmers away from the beach. Death by drowning comes following exhaustion while fighting the river or ocean current.
Although a rare event, rip currents can be deadly for non-swimmers as well[citation needed]: a person standing waist deep in water can be dragged into deeper waters, where they can drown if they are unable to swim and are not wearing a floatation device. Varying topography makes some beaches more likely to have rip currents; a few are notorious.
Rip currents cause approximately 120 deaths annually in the United States.[4] Rip currents cause 80% of rescues by beach lifeguards.