Cap't Dan

[C_C]

That is right on track.

deepstops once bubbled...


We had about 5'/second (2.5 knots) on the Duane yesterday. I got to see a Gavin in reverse

2.5 knots is approximately 2.88 mph or 4.23 feet per second. Now that is kickin!

I have been on too many boats where the DM/Mate would come up from jumping a wreck and give an estimated current of 2 knots and divers on the boat act like that is a run of the mill current.

2 knots will exhaust a typical swimmer in a matter of seconds and unfortunately, surface currents are not always indicative of currents at depth in South Florida.

I too have a heavy current experience on the Capt. Dan that caused me to abort the dive.

Chris

 

[O-ring]

How were you guys diving it? We were live boating and just dropping to the wreck. A good captain can get you where you need to be to do a quick descent (with no reference) and land on the wreck. We stayed inside to avoid blowing all over the place, and when the dive was over just let go and drifted in the breeze and popped a bag. The boat was right there topside when we surfaced after deco.

 

[Walter]

"A good captain can get you where you need to be to do a quick descent (with no reference) and land on the wreck."

True, but most divers can't descend quickly enough to make it work.

 

[O-ring]

Walter once bubbled...
"A good captain can get you where you need to be to do a quick descent (with no reference) and land on the wreck."

True, but most divers can't descend quickly enough to make it work.

I hadn't thought of that. We just waited for the captain to give us the "dive dive dive" and backrolled off in teams of 2 right after each other.

I gotta tell you though, the way you guys do it beats the heck out of the way we do it up here. I love the way the boats work (at least the one we were on anyway).

 

[Spectre]

FLL Diver once bubbled...
You were here and didn't let us know?

Ehh... sorry... sorta a quick jaunt in for the weekend when I was in atlanta for business and o-ring was down there the next week.

Actually it was the RSB-1 that was the one I was thinking of. The current on the captain dan wasn't nearly as bad as the RSB-1.

And yes... ascents with a live-boating captain was the most peaceful thing I could have ever imagined!

 

[zeN||]

Showboat, how easy was it to locate your boat when you surfaced, that is, how large was the boat in your view at this distance, and was your signaling device still easy for the boat crew to hear? Seems like you could have drifted away entirely from reading your post-woe! zeN||

 

[O-ring]

Spectre once bubbled...


Ehh... sorry... sorta a quick jaunt in for the weekend when I was in atlanta for business and o-ring was down there the next week.

Actually it was the RSB-1 that was the one I was thinking of. The current on the captain dan wasn't nearly as bad as the RSB-1.

And yes... ascents with a live-boating captain was the most peaceful thing I could have ever imagined!

No matter, same basic dive anyway . I had never done drift deco in the ocean before (except Bonaire, but that doesn't count) and it was totally the best way to dive, IMHO. I would think that the people living down there would practice up and dive that way all the time and kiss the upline/downline/shotline/anchorline/whatever goodbye forever. Why would you want to use a line when you can accomplish the dive soooo much easier using this method? No jerking on the line, no worry about finding the upline when the dive is over (just let go and ascend!), no CF when you get around the 20' mark... I am having trouble finding a drawback to doing it this way..

 

[Spectre]

O-ring once bubbled...
I am having trouble finding a drawback to doing it this way..

There is a few drawbacks I can picture. Newer divers might have trouble with the whole dive bombing method of finding the wreck... if they need to be in the water to get all their gear situated and can't do it on the boat. However that can probably be solved with a moring line placed on the first dive for a descent line [like what we did on the rodeo-25]. You can have a more experienced diver pull that and use it as a marker for the drifting.

The only other complication I see is with larger boats. We never had more than two groups for Conrad to track and pick up... if you've got a big boat with a dozen teams for the captain to keep track of, yea... you're going to have a problem there as well.

However with six packs and experienced divers, there is no beating the drift... Even when we were using a flag on a reel it wasn't that bad [well, Chickdiver might disagree... but that's a whole different story!]

 

[O-ring]

Spectre once bubbled...


There is a few drawbacks I can picture. Newer divers might have trouble with the whole dive bombing method of finding the wreck... if they need to be in the water to get all their gear situated and can't do it on the boat. However that can probably be solved with a moring line placed on the first dive for a descent line [like what we did on the rodeo-25]. You can have a more experienced diver pull that and use it as a marker for the drifting.

The only other complication I see is with larger boats. We never had more than two groups for Conrad to track and pick up... if you've got a big boat with a dozen teams for the captain to keep track of, yea... you're going to have a problem there as well.

However with six packs and experienced divers, there is no beating the drift... Even when we were using a flag on a reel it wasn't that bad [well, Chickdiver might disagree... but that's a whole different story!]

I guess the way I was looking at it was that someone diving these wrecks (all deeper than 100' if I remember correctly and, obviously, prone to fast currents) should have their skills and gear pretty squared away or they, IMHO, should stick to shallower stuff or the springs until they are experienced enough to do it right. It seems to me with all the CFs that were related in this thread that diving these using fixed lines is an accident waiting to happen as long as the captains are putting people in the water with significant currents. Either do it right or call the dive...there are other days to dive.

I agree with you 100% on the larger boats...we don't live boat up here at all due (mostly) to the size of the boats and the mixed experience levels on board.

I definitely think Chickdiver would have a difference of opinion on the reel issue . Conrad should have let her have the reel to take home and burn after her ordeal!

 

[deepstops]

Bombing the wreck and drifting off is the best way to do it. As mentioned, it's not always easy when there's a mixed bag of diving levels and add to that a lot of divers from up north come down and think this way of doing it is just crazy..... until they try it see how well it works.

BTW, the other dive boats said the current 4 knots (not!). The mooring balls were still above water (but throwing a nice wake).