boat lanuch and scuba diving

[gfisher4792]

Sounds like CT could use a few more dive sites

Yeah, those dive sites are called Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine

 

[DA Aquamaster]

May be because of what happened at the Waterford Boat Launch.... We had a dive group there last year. All the boaters were complaining of the couple of dive flags near the boat launch. Thier complaint was that it was impossible for them to get their boat in if divers were towing a flag near the boat launch. They put up a big stink about it.

Be very careful of your relationships with boaters in your area as they outnumber divers and the legislation can get worse if some common sense and common courtesy is not used. It also pays to cultivate a positive and informed relationship with state legislators.

For years South Dakota has had a dive law stating that boaters have to stay 75 ft from a dive flag and that divers cannot dive in an area that would result in a channel or boat ramp being blocked by the 75 ft restriction. However two years ago, anglers in SD complained that they could often not fish in their favorite locations as divers were already there.

The irony here was that many fishermen determined prime locations by the presence of divers, and in particular divers who were spearfishing, in a particular area as it was normally a good indicator that fish were present. Consequently, it was not uncommon to enter the water as the only boat in the area and to come a half hour later in the middle of a small fleet of recreational fishing boats.

Given that people who boat and fish vastly outnumber people who dive it was inevitable that the law would be changed. So as of last year the law was modified to allow boats to operarte within 75' and in fact to virtually run over dive flags as long as the boat is operating only on electric trolling motors.

So now instead of at least being able to hear a boat running overhead under power, you now have to worry about boats stealthily lurking overhead on trolling motors designed to be silent. Surfacing into this new risk is not as large an issue in good visibility but is a real concern in low visibility. Also in deep water the potential now exists for a diver to be struck with heavy lead downrigger balls or snagged in downrigger cable by boaters legally trolling over your dive flag. A tragedy is inevitable and unfortuately it will probably take a tragedy to get the law changed.