Boat Captain's rules or your own safety?

[Nemrod]

While I sympathize with your need to help your wife/gf/buddy, the captain is the law on the sea and you either follow his rules or go elsewhere. He has obviously been doing this a long time and for whatever reasons those are his rules. On occasion where I have not been happy, most times the crew or captain will explain things, no point in arguing. It is their boat and their rules and I can go elsewhere and you should too. Though I suspect most will strongly prefer you stay out from under the ladder, deck, boat etc and for darn good reason. If they cannot see you they cannot help you and a boat coming down on your head will knock the Hades out of you.

N

 

[ktomlinson]

Her problem wasn't that she couldn't pull herself up the ladder, it was with working her fins in between the rungs. In order to climb the ladder you've got to slide all the way to one side, pull your foot back enough so the front of your flipper clears the ladder, then cross your foot a bit and slide the fin in between the rungs, then slide all the way to the other side, and repeat with the other fin. Then continue this "crossed fin duck waddle" all the way up the ladder.

I get it now...a little exercise never hurt anyone, but I dont think it would help in this case

 

[oly5050user]

I have been on Howards boat in the past,though not for quite a few years now, and cannot remember having any issues getting up on the ladder with fins on.It is a good solid ladder.Howard takes being a capt. very seriously,its his military background,and what a capt asks while boat operations are on is how it is. Eagles Nest is one of the most,if not the most,comfortable dive boat here in the N.E.
It is true that capts. rules are the rules and if people cannot abide by them then go on someone else's boat. North East wreck diving is very unforgiving and a completely different animal..Howard usually goes to the San Diego whenever I was on the boat, I think that Sundays are the inshore ,shallow wreck days for people to gain experience with NE diving.

 

[idocsteve]

to negatively say things about the operation of that particular boat,on that particular day is wrong.

It's not a matter of right or wrong, and I'm simply stating my experience and how I felt about it and asking for feedback. It wasn't only one particular day I made reference to two other situations with this dive boat that I felt were not handled properly, one being the illegal and unsafe discharge of a firearm towards the open water with boats in the area and another where there was a last minute change in dive destination and my cancelation was not well taken, in fact Howard apparently stewed over it for a year or more.

Howard usually goes to the San Diego whenever I was on the boat.For him to go to an inshore wreck is unusual, must have been a scheduled trip for people to gain experience with NE diving.

The schedule posted on the website speaks for itself. It's not at all unusual, my guess is that he's looking to drum up business and more divers prefer the shallower dives. He goes to the Iberia more than any other dive site.

 

[oly5050user]

It's not a matter of right or wrong, and I'm simply stating my experience and how I felt about it and asking for feedback. It wasn't only one particular day I made reference to two other situations with this dive boat that I felt were not handled properly, one being the illegal and unsafe discharge of a firearm towards the open water with boats in the area and another where there was a last minute change in dive destination and my cancelation was not well taken, in fact Howard apparently stewed over it for a year or more.

He most likely either choose to go to Iberia because of weather
conditions,or lack of experience of a customer on the boat.Could of also been lack of customers on the boat and he wanted to keep his fuel costs down.
Only Howard knows what goes on in his head.
I TOTALLY agree with you about the use of firearms on the boat.Its one of the reasons why I have not been there in a few years.
While I can see reasons for last minute cancellation of a location(I have done it myself while captaining a boat) I cannot understand why Howard should be offended about your choosing not to participate, it should have been no big deal.

 

[RJP]

Steve, I agree it's a bad idea to be underneath a diver climbing a ladder. But just out of curiousity I would like to hear what the Captain's reason was for climbing the ladder with fins on. Also, did most of the other divers climb the ladder without any problems?

Ever try swimming in a current and 2-4' seas with no fins on?

Because that's what you'll need to do if you fall off the ladder.

Personally, I would not dive off NJ/NY on a boat that didn't have a fins-on ladder.

 

[diverrex]

While there has been some interesting disussion in this thread and hopefully some learning by those not yet exposed to rough seas and a T ladder I think the OP is making way too big of a deal about this. Maybe the captain is a jerk but it's his choice to act that way and risk losing customers. Your choice is to not dive with him. I'd move on and drop it.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Just tell him you dive with your fins off



The way I was brought up, if the Captain tells you to wear his parrot you either do it or swim home.

Well... if you put yourself in the position of being a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you.

FWIW, most of that stuff about the Captain being the Master of the Ship, etc. comes to our collective memory from the movies. That's why I used the Pirate ship reference. If the Captain wants to live in that fantasy land, he needs to direct all that towards the crew, not paying passengers who contracted a service with certain expectations. This is reality and divers are customers to a business, not indentured servants in service of their Captain.

 

[diverdoug1]

My boat, my rules Mr. Hooper.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Well... if you put yourself in the position of being a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you.

FWIW, most of that stuff about the Captain being the Master of the Ship, etc. comes to our collective memory from the movies. That's why I used the Pirate ship reference. If the Captain wants to live in that fantasy land, he needs to direct all that towards the crew, not paying passengers who contracted a service with certain expectations. This is reality and divers are customers to a business, not indentured servants in service of their Captain.

BS, its a matter of safety, even if only percieved. A bunch of divers running around a boat, doing whatever they want, is a QUICK recipe for injury, death, lawsuit, you name it. Boats can be dangerous, especially out on the Atlantic. Too many divers are unaware of boating protocall and safety. Someone has to be the voice of authority to keep everyone where they need to be, and it only make sense that the captain is that person.

Nobody is making paying customers work, your imagination is running wild.