Captain Lost Our Group

[cvchief]

A historical marker 150 years old is a bit different then a gang's name spray painted on somebodies garage.

Go to Europe and you'll find graffiti bullsh*t elevated on a pedestal. I'm pretty sure here in the states we toyed with the idea that graffiti was 'art' in the 70s and then thankfully we quickly got over it.

Actually after years of Latin, I would really like to see the graffiti at Pompeii. That is an incredible historical treasure!

 

[DandyDon]

Actually after years of Latin, I would really like to see the graffiti at Pompeii. That is an incredible historical treasure!

I think that anything that pre-dates spray cans is grandfathered, but other means still prohibited now. Just moving rocks on parks is. Rerouting or damning rivers is up to the Army Corps.

 

[beaverdivers]

It was an afternoon dive at Punta Tunich and yes strange, but Pedro and Miguel both said no boats passed! Because it was getting late, Miguel made the decision to start swimming towards shore so that they would not end up floating in the dark with no lights, which would have made it very difficult - a good decision planning for the worst case scenario IMO.

Billiken and his dive partner were with Miguel as a private DM. They surfaced before Pedro and his 3 divers, but Pedro and his divers also floated for 35 minutes - totally unacceptable! Currents were not really unusual for Tunich, but according to the captain, they surfaced earlier than he expected and further north than he expected, still no excuse - he should have been following them the entire time.

Were the DM together with their divers or were they separate groups U/W ?

It would be nice to hear the DM's perspective.

I have always had a question about having more than one group underwater on drift dives.

How does a boat captain follow more than one group?

Please note I am not pointing a finger at you, because I have been in this situation many times.

I would strongly recommend that a divemaster ( and divers ) carry a strobe or marker light, so that when it does get dark when you didn't plan on doing a night dive a boat ( any boat will suffice when your lost at sea ) can find you. My guess is the DM's had lights, stobes or marker lights.

In Feb., I was on the Rocio del Mar in Soccoro. I had brought my new Nautilus Lifeline ( NL ). I was pleasantly surprised to see that they provided all 20 divers with one as well as the divemasters ( DM ).
BTW, I got to use my NL! The zodiac driver found me instantly.

Doing afternoon dives in Cozumel this spring, I carried my NL. Fortunately, I did not have to use it.

Christi, what do you think about having your DM's carry a NL or similar device?

Are any DM in Cozumel using the NL?

Where did the lost divers reach shore?

Years ago in Cozumel, we had two divers that swam to shore because they got tired of waiting to be picked up and found a bar. They didn't bother to let the dive operation know where they were. Meanwhile our poor boat captain is frantically searching for them. My boat captain, Gato, was one of the best, unfortunately now he is sailing a boat high in the sky.

As a solo diver, I have been in the water for up to 45 minutes waiting to be picked up. It was in the Galapagos, the silky sharks were checking me out. One came so close, I hit it with my video camera. Great footage!
BTW, the zodiac found me because he heard my Dive Alert!
I had had my SMB up 15 minutes before sufacing; I heard the zodiac close by. I assumed the driver saw it. I surfaced behind Darwin's Arch, beautiful. The zodiac's were on the outside picking up other divers. I had fully infated my SS and SMB.
We did not have NL or EPIRB, this happened in the 90's.

As many people posted, if you are doing drift ( live boat ) diving, then you better be prepared for the worst. You end up by yourself, no boat.

There have been many posts on how to handle this situation.

I would add, doing the last part your dive heading towards shore. The benefit is you are doing your safety stops in shallow water as opposed to in the blue.
You can find all kinds of different marine life in the sand and eel grass. Make sure your boat captain knows your plan. If the boat is not there, you are much closer to shore.

We require our divers to have Safety Sausages ( SS only work on the surface ). Should using one of these SS be part of Open water training?
We train our more experienced divers on Suface Marker Buoys ( SMB ).
Should using a SMB be part of Advanced Open Water training?

Many live-aboards require that divers carry: SS, dive alerts, marker lights.

Perhaps these items should be required in Cozumel.

 

[DiverG]

....Are any DM in Cozumel using the NL?.....

If I remember correctly, Dave from Aldora Divers said his operation is now using the Nautilus Lifeline.

 

[Pelagicsal]

If I remember correctly, Dave from Aldora Divers said his operation is now using the Nautilus Lifeline.

Yep. Have seen them this week. Not certain if they are NL, since I have not checked them closely, but they are definitely that tech...

 

[ggunn]

Actually after years of Latin, I would really like to see the graffiti at Pompeii. That is an incredible historical treasure!

Life of Brian Script - Scene 9: Brian Learns to Conjugate

 

[Christi]

If I remember correctly, Dave from Aldora Divers said his operation is now using the Nautilus Lifeline.

I just ordered two - so each DM will carry one! I plan to have more aat a later time - I would ultimately like to be able to provide each buddy team with one.

 

[beaverdivers]

Good to hear. I think it will put (or keep) you ahead of the game.

As far as my other questions....

 

[Basscat]

I'll be glad if they are along when I am there next month, but I was already pretty comfortable with with Pedro and Miguel Good thing to equip your team with, Thanks!

 

[beaverdivers]

As far as my other questions....

Were the DM together with their divers or were they separate groups U/W ?

How does a boat captain follow more than one group?

Where did the lost divers reach shore?