Captain leaving the vessel... no crew?

[CaptEsteban]

Yep, I am out in Crystal River, sometimes. Some, but not all, of the dive shops down there require that the captain [ only crew member ] go into the water first, then snorkelers join him. He leads the group thru the swim pointing out manatees & supervising the snorkelers in their interaction with the manatees. He, or she, may also be required to video everything. Most are in a pontoon & the wind can carry the boat all over the place, even into the manatee sanctuaries.
I was offered work down there during the winter season, but I won't leave the boat unattended. The shop offered me $55 per trip, which includes being in the water filming, loading & unloading the boat, cleaning up, helping out in the shop , etc. for 4 hours.

 

[SkipperJohn]

Well, I've been diving off of my boat and anchoring up on reefs. I've been anchoring well up-current of the pieces and letting the boat settle back. With the anchor line now not practical for ascents and decents, I lower a second yellow polly line weighted with a few window sash weights right off of my transome. I've also spliced in a small clip a foot up from the bottom of this line to allow the divers to clip off anything they dont with to carry themselves to the surface & tie in a knot approx 15 feet from the top for any decompression stops. This has been working out great.

 

[Tortuga James]

That sounds like it works well, I would just be concerned that no one was check the hook to make sure it wasn't going any where. Does your stern line move around on the bottom as the boat swings to wind or current changes? How is the visibility where you are diving?

Here is an explanation of the system we use post on my website.

tortugacharters.net Carolina Anchor Line Rig

 

[NEWENGLANDCHARTERS]

If you dive the wreak with a Charter more than a couple times a year. Just set up a Mooring line 1/2 in should do it with a 55 gal poly barrel filled with expandable foam as your float. Set it about 10 ft below Low tide and just jump on it with a large carabiner connected to your boats painter or run your painter double thru it so you can drop the bitter end when you depart.

Tie it off to the wreak or to a Big Mushroom, Engine Block or RailRoad Truck

Easy and quick

 

[billvi]

When asked our local US Coast Guard stated that we (the operators and/or Captain) must maintain a 'lookout' at all times when paying passengers are onboard or in the water. It does not have to be a licensed crewmember. So when I am both Captain and divemaster, we pay someone to sit on the boat while I am in the water. Person knows hoe to operate the radio and other safety equipment. Of course, in an emergency all bets are off and you do what it takes to effect the rescue.

Now how other USCG stations view this situation I have no idea. But the idea of not having someone on the boat if there is a problem in the water gives me the "willies". I cannot see how you could defend your actions in court if it came to that.

Best response I have heard was "Do you want to see what you did on the front page of the paper?" If not, don't do it.

 

[NEWENGLANDCHARTERS]

Capt MUST Stay with the boat while Paying Passengers are onboard.

 

[CaptEsteban]

Capt MUST Stay with the boat while Paying Passengers are onboard.

I DEFINTELY agree !!

 

[DiveBee]

I run a scuba/freedive 6-pack and always stay on board. Most of our diving is drift, so I have never used an anchor....current is very strong. Even when diving wrecks, I drop divers with surface marker some 300ft in front of the wreck, they descend letting the current carry them onto the structure, and clip off the floatline to the wreck. At the end of the dive, they unclip the floatline, and drift back off the wreck while ascending / safety stop. They ultimately surface near the flag, and i pick them up. Regardless, I have EZ Anchor Puller winch on the bow, and Delta Fast-Set anchor with replaceable breakaway pin in case it's stuck. I dont think you should leave the boat under any circumstances.

 

[boydski]

The Certificate of Inspection (COI) on our 41' boat actually states that the captain can not leave the boat nor may he get in the water to act as a DiveMaster. (not the exact wording, but similar)

Of course when both captains happen to be on the boat, someone is going to get wet!

 

[cap10]

If I am the only Captain on board my vessel then I will remain on board the whole time. If I have a second Captain then one of us can get in the water as long as the second Captain is up and on duty watching the passengers whether they are all on board the boat or in the water.