Was recently out diving on an "out of state" charter and was able to see a series of events that thankfully did not end in anything more than a handful of bruised egos. And an addition to my "that's a shop I'll never dive with again" list, as I think I can lay the vast majority of the problems at the feet of the dive shop that chartered the boat.
After my first dive I'm up on the deck hanging out, when I see two divers surface well away from the boat. And I mean WELL away from the boat. Far enough that it was hard to tell if they were divers or birds on the surface. (The current was pretty good - my buddy and I had a couple hundred yard swim into it after we surfaced.)
I hear one of the shop's DMs say "divers up" so I figure they've got things in hand and will dispatch the chase boat to get them. But I keep on eye on the divers, as I was the person on the boat with the highest/best vantage point. (Seems telling that I'm an unknown to anyone on the boat, out of town diver, but the only person on board truly in position to observe what was going on.) The DM who yelled "divers up" was on the stern helping people in/out of water, which she went right back to.
I shout down to the DM "Hey, those guys out there are signalling for help. And they're drifting at a pretty good clip."
She takes a look out and says "I think they're giving the OK signal - we got it. Thanks."
They were so far away she probably couldn't tell whether they were signalling OK or HELP. But the fact that they were that far away - and still moving - would tell my 8-yr old that they are probably in need of help.
I keep an eye on them, telling the DM again "I really think they are signalling for help." One DM tells another person from the shop about the situation, and she finally comes up top to take a look to see whether it's OK or HELP.
"Gee, it really IS hard to tell."
NO SH|T!
At about the same time I notice there are now actually two other groups of divers surfaced in the same general vicinity. Both of those groups have inflated safety sausages and are waving them frantically.
Another DM/instructor from the shop says "Bet that's probably my Dry Suit students."
"EXCUSE ME?" I'm thinking "If they are YOUR students, what are you doing here on the boat?"
The next several minutes was spent looking out to see if they could tell how many people there were (binoculars on the boat would have been helpful), who they were, how far they were, were they drifting further, if so how fast. Apparently these folks needed to have ALL the details in hand before putting the chase boat in the water to go after three groups of divers who are now more than 1,000yds away and drifting beyond/around the point of the island.
They put the chase boat in the water - which takes a few minutes - and also have four DMs jump in to start swimming out towards the three groups to aid in the "rescue."
Can't say exactly how long it was from "divers up" until this point when they were doing something about it, but whether it was 10min or 2min it was WAY too long. (Shouldn't chase boat have been in the water in the first place anyway?)
So they've got a small zodiac with the shop's instructor and the boat's mate heading out, plus four skin-diving DM/DM-Cs to assist at least 6 divers who are now seperated pretty well. I'm thinking "How on earth are they gonna bring back TWELVE people plus gear in that little boat?"
I didn't spend much time thinking about it, because my attention was shifted to the four DMs in the water. Guess they didn't get a bearing on where they were swimming because once they hit the water they weren't sure where they were going. I'm trying to direct them but they're not looking back at the boat.
The zodiac gets out to the furthest group, the DMs get to the closer two groups. After a few minutes the zodiac is on the way back with just the shop guy and the mate. Huh?
They arrive back at the boat with a zodiac full of gear and tanks and no other divers. Then they send the mate back by himself to get the divers.
He gets about halfway back to where they WERE and stops. He stands up and starts looking around. Obviously he can't see the group of divers from where he is. I am trying to direct him but he's not looking back at the boat for any help. There's no way to signal him (Dunno, maybe a handheld radio from the dive boat to the zodiac would be a good idea?)
About this time the DM's are arriving back to the boat with two of the other divers. They are having a bit of trouble and not making much headway in the current. At which point I notice that the divers being towed are bicycle kicking with the worst finning technique I've ever seen. And sure enough, one of them is one of the "dry suit students."
"No wonder she drifted away" I think "not only is she diving dry the first time, in a ripping current, she's also just flat out not capable of finning properly." If this was how she kicks, she should not have even passed OW, much less been put in the water without qualified supervision, certainly not with the task loading associated with an open ocean dive in a dry suit for the first time.
Will spare some details, but we get the divers that hadn't drifted off back on the dive boat, pull the anchor, and go get the ones who had drifted off. Everybody is back on board finally; it's about a half an hour from "divers up."
For the next dive we move to a more sheltered location to avoid the current. Dive briefing (such as it was) advised to stay around the little reef we were on and to come back up the anchor line.
Well about an hour later I'm up on deck after my dive, when what to my wondering eyes should appear? Several groups of divers have surfaced down current from the boat.
Third verse, same as the first.
Seems these groups of divers didn't know - or weren't told - do start their dive INTO the current and then come back with it. They headed out with the current and couldn't make it back.
They're not that terribly far away (you could tell they were divers and not birds) so a DM is dispatched with a floatation aid on a rescue rope. He hits the water and starts swimming, but never vented his drysuit so is struggling to swim the rope out to them while half out of the water like a black trilam Michelin Tire man. The poor DMs troubles are further compounded by the fact that as he's swimming out, every diver on the surface between him and the dive boat grabs the rescue line he's pulling. So now these other divers are being towed OUT by the DM. (Note to self, if there had been a drift line this whole second scenario would probably not have happened.)
Eventually they get the down current divers back near the boat and I see them bicycle kicking like crazy - same hubby and wife in their brand new dry suits! Again, no WONDER they couldn't make it back to the boat; these guys have no idea how to kick properly.
Beyond that I notice that hubby is not only dealing with his first dry suit dives, but he's also got a camera in one hand and tray/strobe in the other. (Guess they came apart on the dive. He also has a big ol' wreck reel, a few knives, a safety sausage, a lift bag, and a few other accessories clipped all over himself. Must have been doing a "Discover Task Loading" dive.
Get everyone back on the boat finally and the guy from the shop and the captain decide we need to call the rest of the day and start heading back given all the festivities of the day, as well as the wind and current we'll need fight on the way back.
Now, at this point I'm really conflicted because I was hoping to get four dives in that day but all the time "wasted" has cost me two more dives. However, I was also trying to decide whether/how I should tell the captain and/or shop guy that half the people on the boat had no business in the water in the first place, much less on subsequent dives.
I was able to console myself with the knowledge that by calling the rest of the day we prevented undertrained, overgeared, poorly supervised divers from getting back in the water again for what would have surely become the third rescue/assist scenario of the day.
Ugh.
After my first dive I'm up on the deck hanging out, when I see two divers surface well away from the boat. And I mean WELL away from the boat. Far enough that it was hard to tell if they were divers or birds on the surface. (The current was pretty good - my buddy and I had a couple hundred yard swim into it after we surfaced.)
I hear one of the shop's DMs say "divers up" so I figure they've got things in hand and will dispatch the chase boat to get them. But I keep on eye on the divers, as I was the person on the boat with the highest/best vantage point. (Seems telling that I'm an unknown to anyone on the boat, out of town diver, but the only person on board truly in position to observe what was going on.) The DM who yelled "divers up" was on the stern helping people in/out of water, which she went right back to.
I shout down to the DM "Hey, those guys out there are signalling for help. And they're drifting at a pretty good clip."
She takes a look out and says "I think they're giving the OK signal - we got it. Thanks."
They were so far away she probably couldn't tell whether they were signalling OK or HELP. But the fact that they were that far away - and still moving - would tell my 8-yr old that they are probably in need of help.
I keep an eye on them, telling the DM again "I really think they are signalling for help." One DM tells another person from the shop about the situation, and she finally comes up top to take a look to see whether it's OK or HELP.
"Gee, it really IS hard to tell."
NO SH|T!
At about the same time I notice there are now actually two other groups of divers surfaced in the same general vicinity. Both of those groups have inflated safety sausages and are waving them frantically.
Another DM/instructor from the shop says "Bet that's probably my Dry Suit students."
"EXCUSE ME?" I'm thinking "If they are YOUR students, what are you doing here on the boat?"
The next several minutes was spent looking out to see if they could tell how many people there were (binoculars on the boat would have been helpful), who they were, how far they were, were they drifting further, if so how fast. Apparently these folks needed to have ALL the details in hand before putting the chase boat in the water to go after three groups of divers who are now more than 1,000yds away and drifting beyond/around the point of the island.
They put the chase boat in the water - which takes a few minutes - and also have four DMs jump in to start swimming out towards the three groups to aid in the "rescue."
Can't say exactly how long it was from "divers up" until this point when they were doing something about it, but whether it was 10min or 2min it was WAY too long. (Shouldn't chase boat have been in the water in the first place anyway?)
So they've got a small zodiac with the shop's instructor and the boat's mate heading out, plus four skin-diving DM/DM-Cs to assist at least 6 divers who are now seperated pretty well. I'm thinking "How on earth are they gonna bring back TWELVE people plus gear in that little boat?"
I didn't spend much time thinking about it, because my attention was shifted to the four DMs in the water. Guess they didn't get a bearing on where they were swimming because once they hit the water they weren't sure where they were going. I'm trying to direct them but they're not looking back at the boat.
The zodiac gets out to the furthest group, the DMs get to the closer two groups. After a few minutes the zodiac is on the way back with just the shop guy and the mate. Huh?
They arrive back at the boat with a zodiac full of gear and tanks and no other divers. Then they send the mate back by himself to get the divers.
He gets about halfway back to where they WERE and stops. He stands up and starts looking around. Obviously he can't see the group of divers from where he is. I am trying to direct him but he's not looking back at the boat for any help. There's no way to signal him (Dunno, maybe a handheld radio from the dive boat to the zodiac would be a good idea?)
About this time the DM's are arriving back to the boat with two of the other divers. They are having a bit of trouble and not making much headway in the current. At which point I notice that the divers being towed are bicycle kicking with the worst finning technique I've ever seen. And sure enough, one of them is one of the "dry suit students."
"No wonder she drifted away" I think "not only is she diving dry the first time, in a ripping current, she's also just flat out not capable of finning properly." If this was how she kicks, she should not have even passed OW, much less been put in the water without qualified supervision, certainly not with the task loading associated with an open ocean dive in a dry suit for the first time.
Will spare some details, but we get the divers that hadn't drifted off back on the dive boat, pull the anchor, and go get the ones who had drifted off. Everybody is back on board finally; it's about a half an hour from "divers up."
For the next dive we move to a more sheltered location to avoid the current. Dive briefing (such as it was) advised to stay around the little reef we were on and to come back up the anchor line.
Well about an hour later I'm up on deck after my dive, when what to my wondering eyes should appear? Several groups of divers have surfaced down current from the boat.
Third verse, same as the first.
Seems these groups of divers didn't know - or weren't told - do start their dive INTO the current and then come back with it. They headed out with the current and couldn't make it back.
They're not that terribly far away (you could tell they were divers and not birds) so a DM is dispatched with a floatation aid on a rescue rope. He hits the water and starts swimming, but never vented his drysuit so is struggling to swim the rope out to them while half out of the water like a black trilam Michelin Tire man. The poor DMs troubles are further compounded by the fact that as he's swimming out, every diver on the surface between him and the dive boat grabs the rescue line he's pulling. So now these other divers are being towed OUT by the DM. (Note to self, if there had been a drift line this whole second scenario would probably not have happened.)
Eventually they get the down current divers back near the boat and I see them bicycle kicking like crazy - same hubby and wife in their brand new dry suits! Again, no WONDER they couldn't make it back to the boat; these guys have no idea how to kick properly.
Beyond that I notice that hubby is not only dealing with his first dry suit dives, but he's also got a camera in one hand and tray/strobe in the other. (Guess they came apart on the dive. He also has a big ol' wreck reel, a few knives, a safety sausage, a lift bag, and a few other accessories clipped all over himself. Must have been doing a "Discover Task Loading" dive.
Get everyone back on the boat finally and the guy from the shop and the captain decide we need to call the rest of the day and start heading back given all the festivities of the day, as well as the wind and current we'll need fight on the way back.
Now, at this point I'm really conflicted because I was hoping to get four dives in that day but all the time "wasted" has cost me two more dives. However, I was also trying to decide whether/how I should tell the captain and/or shop guy that half the people on the boat had no business in the water in the first place, much less on subsequent dives.
I was able to console myself with the knowledge that by calling the rest of the day we prevented undertrained, overgeared, poorly supervised divers from getting back in the water again for what would have surely become the third rescue/assist scenario of the day.
Ugh.
That's fabulous and I'm likely to steal it.
