Closed ladder with fins on?

[MXGratefulDiver]

There's something wrong when the guy acts like he's still on the front lines and everyone around him has to follow his orders...and when he illegally discharges a firearm towards the open water with other boats around, he's a clear danger to the health and well being of others. A sense of honor for serving this great country is one thing, a sense of entitlement is something entirely different.

Sorry I'm still a little ticked off

Lots of the guys who went to 'Nam never quite made it all the way back home. I tend to give them a lot of margin, because ... well, frankly ... they got screwed. But that's a different issue.

The issue at hand is pretty obvious ... if you don't like the services provided, don't patronize the business.

Seems simple enough ... sounds to me like there's plenty of other boats out there to dive from ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[String]

WHY would going up a ladder with fins EVER be a good idea?

In any sort of rough sea with wind and/or current where its foolhardy to stay holding onto anything on the boat to take them off when the ladder is moving up or down 4-5ft every few seconds. Fully kitted is the only safe entry. If you want to risk a boat on the head, a ladder on the head, being dragged under the boat or being unable to swim back to it should you lose your grip by all means try to remove your fins but if you're sane keep them on and climb fully kitted. Remove the fins and the rest of the gear onboard.

Id ask when is holding onto a boat in anything but benign conditions to remove fins which also render you unable to swim a good idea?

If boats have proper christmas tree ladders designed for climbing with fins it makes no sense to remove them (and if it doesnt have such a ladder why is it pretending to be a dive boat if its not properly equipped?)

 

[dbulmer]

String,
I agree but then most of the boats I go on have diver lifts - problem solved
For those unfamiliar with diver lifts

http://www.divingweymouth.com/mainpages/boat.html - the lift is aft. The lift is lowered into the water, the diver steps into the lift and then the lift is raised and you step back into the boat.

Other boats have side lifts where a T ladder is raised/lowered. This is slightly harder for the diver but still easier than climbing up a ladder.

 

[knowone]

If I'm worthy, how much for a double dive including airfare?

 

[dbulmer]

You're not worthy

 

[knowone]

:depressed:

 

[cocoajoe]

The Eagles Nest is the only Northeast Dive boat I've been on that has this type of ladder, and you don't have a choice, you either do it the Captain's way which is "fins on to board" or you don't go on his vessel at all.

The thread referenced in the first post is HERE and it summarizes a harrowing experience where my girlfriend's first wreck dive didn't end as well as it started, when she experienced difficulty boarding the closed rung ladder with her fins and I was commanded to "STOP HELPING HER!" as I attempted to guide her fins into the rungs.

I will add that I have seen numerous divers experience difficulty with that ladder, including a diver ahead of us who took at least 5 minutes to get it sorted.

Hmm, I think I would have had a real problem with anyone 'commanding' me not to help someone, esp my gf. What was your response?

 

[idocsteve]

Lots of the guys who went to 'Nam never quite made it all the way back home. I tend to give them a lot of margin, because ... well, frankly ... they got screwed. But that's a different issue.

The issue at hand is pretty obvious ... if you don't like the services provided, don't patronize the business.

Seems simple enough ... sounds to me like there's plenty of other boats out there to dive from ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Yeah I know he saw some action and his boat is filled with medals...no doubt he's carrying the scars on the inside as well as on the outside. I'm also aware there are other dive boats, in fact I just booked a trip this weekend on a relatively new charter called the Jaimaine. It's a sixpack boat that probably has the speed to get to the wrecks fairly quickly and I bet the Captain doesn't suffer from PTSD.

As I had posted most of Howards trips are to the Iberia which to me is a shallow boring wreck, and his boat is slow and the round trip to the furthest wrecks such as the USS Sandiego (which was on the schedule for this weekend) is a 5 hour round trip which kills most of the day.

It's not about patronizing another dive boat, it was about..well me venting and telling everyone how unhappy I was with the situation, about how he held a grudge against me for over a year because I canceled a dive after I showed up at his boat and found out he changed the dive destination back to the Iberia, and about how I felt that assisting my girlfriend boarding the ladder was more important than following his boat rules.

 

[TSandM]

Please, let's not hijack this into a replica of the other thread. This was not to discuss any specific incident -- this thread was to ask if people in other places have been required to climb a closed ladder with fins on. It sounds very much as though they have not.

 

[Hank49]

In Belize, boats have people remove fins and climb up. Still, you have to make your way to your seat carrying your gear on your back, which in choppy conditions makes it a bit difficult.
In the Philippines, (Boracay anyway) the divers remove their bc while still in the water and hand it over to the boat crew, who pull it onboard. Then it's off with the fins and up the ladder.
I like the Philippine method. Climbing ladders and walking on decks with fins and the gear on is much harder and likely to cause some injuries.