Boat capsized in pompano beach?

[Reck Diver]

I have to agree --that this should not be considered off-topic...the thread needs to be allowed to run it's course. If I was captaining my boat into an inlet like this, or you yours, our insights are relevant....Most divers that have never run a 30 to 50 foot boat, will not have much experience with the issues a Captain will consider in getting the boat into a rough inlet....So I think this is a valid path.

I agree
Now somebody note the time and day. BTW it seemed like my keyboard quit three or four times trying to post this... and my hands cramped up to the point I couldn't type the two words. lol

 

[peterbj7]

Another perspective. Most dive boats here in Belize are in the 30'-40' range, most use outboards, and our barrier reef has few openings. I have twice been on boats that capsized on entering the main and generally safest reef opening at Ambergris Caye, though we've come close on other occasions. On the two occasions the boat capsized, a PFD would have been a dangerous liability. A deflated BCD with no tank attached would have been ideal, but on neither occasion was I or anyone else wearing one. There are two considerations here - avoiding hard parts of the boat as it goes over, and getting clear of the boat. Since very sharp coral is close by and the waves are trying to push you onto it, the best way to escape is to dive under the waves and swim underwater away from the reef. Once away you need to surface, and at that point a previously deflated BCD can be inflated. But constant vigilence is needed to avoid being swept onto the coral.

I have dived countless times in the Miami area though we never came close to capsizing. Ditto for all the dives I have done around the British Isles, though we've come close on several occasions.

I have never heard of any regulations covering the use of buoyancy devices in British/Irish waters, so if there are any they're universally flouted.

 

[DandyDon]

I still like my snorkel vests. Won't ride on any moving boat without wearing one. Glad I lived thru the times I should have worn it before I finally wised up.

 

[jar546]

Crazy as they are trying to go out, I could not imagine trying to come in with conditions like there are in this video.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=d_Hdkt1_ivo&desktop_uri=/watch?v=d_Hdkt1_ivo


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Just a point of clarification. I am only providing information about the rules here. In NSW Captains are REQUIRED to have all on board wearing life vests BEFORE attempting to cross a dangerous sandbar. I am not talking about coral outcroppings and passing through channels in reefs. I am not sure if the specific "Dangerous Sandbars" are listed in the Act. I mention this because so many people read these threads and some may be expecting to dive here in NSW. I respect the rights of any country to establish their laws through just process. When I travel it is incumbent on me to follow the laws of the country I am in. This event happened crossing a sandbar so that is why I think this discussion is relevant.

We also have occasions where "The heads are closed" to specific sized boats. Many divers are not boat owners or captains and have difficulty knowing the conditions that are or are not appropriate for them to go out. I remember once we were on a dive trip organized by our local dive shop. Costs were paid in advance. We were 45 minutes out to sea and on the way back conditions were so bad we came close to capsizing several times! The next day my buddy and I refused to go out as conditions were even worse! We were told that since they were willing to take us out.. and indeed did go out and we ELECTED not to go for personal reasons they would not offer a refund or allow us to use our trip at a later date! We found out much later that they had "breached their charter" by going out in those conditions. At that location they were launching from shore mid coast. We have never dived with that operator again and as far as I know our shop no longer deals with them either. Some places are more worried about the money than safety. Some people don't have the knowledge to know when they are not safe and IMHO that is where reasonable laws are needed.

It seems to me that passing out PFD's and information in the chaos of an impending event is ineffective. I would rather the captain be able to focus totally on managing the boat and not trying to issue directions and pass out equipment at that time. There has been some brilliant and I believe valuable information shared in this thread. I think the most important one is that we need to think and have some plan ahead of the event. You know the old saying..... "When you are up to your a$$ in alligators it is hard to remember the primary objective is to drain the swamp!"

DD your snorkel vest sounds interesting. A lot of the time we dive in gear that is neutrally buoyant and not wetsuits. Mostly we dive off smaller boats and dive gear including BCD's are secured with tanks attached. The space is pretty limited so wearing your BCD would not be practical. Would you please post a picture of what you are talking about?

 

[DandyDon]

Crazy as they are trying to go out, I could not imagine trying to come in with conditions like there are in this video.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=d_Hdkt1_ivo&desktop_uri=/watch?v=d_Hdkt1_ivo


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Anyone else having difficulties with that? I can do the link, but not the video.

DD your snorkel vest sounds interesting. A lot of the time we dive in gear that is neutrally buoyant and not wetsuits. Mostly we dive off smaller boats and dive gear including BCD's are secured with tanks attached. The space is pretty limited so wearing your BCD would not be practical. Would you please post a picture of what you are talking about?

It ain't much, won't help if I'm unconscious, etc. but - if I ever fall off the back of a big boat taking a leak as men often do from large dive boats here, just clumsily screw up and fall overboard, get thrown off by a wave, or a boat sinks, I'd rather have it on than be searching in panic or struggling with waves. We had a panga sink crossing Cozumel channel last year and there was an emergency rescue of BCs as she went down. Swimming is not one of my favorite hobbies so I don't practice and I don't have any idea how good I'd be in an emergency, but I know this floats. Doesn't bother me at all wearing it deflated on a boat, and I could swim from an overturned boat or a cabin before inflating if needed. At a birthday dinner last summer in Coz, a friend gave me a new, orange one as a joke - but it came in handy strapping it on a young relative playing in dirty water on a lake beach a week later, while I kept mine handy as a rescue aid, and my granddaughter wore her blue one. I've given yellow ones to daughter & soninlaw, but getting them to use them is challenging. They fail to bring them to lake outings, and play in the water when they can't see the bottom.

They're easy to find on the net over here, like Seac Adult Snorkeling Vest @ Divers-Supply.com. Anyway, it's on my profile pic, from river kayaking in Oklahoma one year...

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Swimming is not one of my favorite hobbies so I don't practice and I don't have any idea how good I'd be in an emergency,

If one spends much time on the water, one should really be comfortable in one's swimming skills. Lack of such comfort can lead to panic at a very inopportune moment.

 

[DandyDon]

If one spends much time on the water, one should really be comfortable in one's swimming skills. Lack of such comfort can lead to panic at a very inopportune moment.

Sounds good, doesn't walk far. There are many shoulds never put into practice.

Anyway, I don't spend much time on the water actually. I was probably over confident in my swimming skills when I did more, but I survived those. Some confident swimmers all too commonly don't survive boat mishaps. Over 500 last year: http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/Publications/2011BoatingStatisticsreport.pdf

 

[SC_Hoaty]

We are drifting off topic again. That report says nothing about swimming skills, confidence in swimming skills, etc.

There could be a whole thread, maybe even a whole forum devoted to using an "equipment solution to a skills problem."

PFDs are valuable life saving devices. They are not a guarantee of survival in all on-water emergencies. From the cited report, 84 people drowned wearing life jackets in the reporting period.

 

[danvolker]

Sounds good, doesn't walk far. There are many shoulds never put into practice.

Anyway, I don't spend much time on the water actually. I was probably over confident in my swimming skills when I did more, but I survived those. Some confident swimmers all too commonly don't survive boat mishaps. Over 500 last year: http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/Publications/2011BoatingStatisticsreport.pdf

Put a diver in mask, fins and snorkel, as if the boat sank ( say in the space of 5 minutes it went down).
What possible excuse is there for a DIVER not to be able to either swim to shore( if it is within 5 miles and there is no outgoing tide or current) OR, to stay horizontal, relaxed, and breathing comfortably through the snorkel for even an entire day, if not longer.

For a huge percentage of divers out on boats, there is the potential for swimming to shore, or to an area where many other boasts could be found( potential rescuers). The pfd wearer floats on the surface 100% helpless and generating no body heat from swimming--meaning hypothermia is much more likely to visit the pfd wearer, much sooner.

As relevant to this thread---the safety of divers on a boat entering an area of some danger, and how to best ensure their continued safety....Should the Captain tell divers to don pfd's in this case, or would this be foolish, given MUCH BETTER OPTIONS open to "divers". And again, if anyone thinks the danger to protect against is unconsciousness, that is NOT what a pfd is made for.....for this you need a bike helmet, a whitewater kayak helmet, or a football helmet type solution. This will likely PREVENT your becoming unconscious. An unconscious person in the water with a pfd could easily drown, particularly if they were in a boat that just flipped over. So...Either protect your head so you can take a huge hit and stay conscious, or, find a way to avoid the hit.