The full report of this incident focuses on the perceived need to make it safer for heavily encumbered divers to get to the exit point on the deck. It also recognizes that divers so encumbered cannot easily put their fins on after they have become fully equipped. We also had a person post on this thread about the need for safety divers on technical dives. These solutions all sound good, but they all have problems when you try to put them into effect. I am going to address this issue generically, speaking of those needs in general decompression diving more than about the specifics of this incident.
I have done most of my decompression diving in south Florida. I am open circuit, and I have done dives carrying double steel tanks, two Al 40s, an AL 80, and an argon bottle. (Some people carry more than that, but I haven't been there yet.) With all the rest of the gear, I am carrying well over 200 pounds of equipment. It is really hard just to stand up, let alone walk to the exit point. There is no way I can put my fins on without help if I have to do that last. If I were to fall while dressed like that, I can easily see how I could be seriously injured. As I try to work my way to the exit point on a boat that is pitching and rolling in the waves (as the boat in this incident was), falling is a serious danger. It would be great if each diver had someone assist in both walking and putting on the fins.
The first problem with the idea of having assistance as you walk is the common need to get in the water quickly. I have had a number of dives in which a surface current made it important for everyone to get in the water in very rapid succession. If we are "dive bombing" a wreck, we need to get in the water quickly and drop rapidly, with no time for playing around on the surface. Having a mate walk each diver to the entry point and assist in putting on the fins there would be a real challenge in the amount of time it would take. There are many occasions when you can indeed take that much time, and on those occasions, I agree that it is very valuable. If you have the time for a leisurely entrance With enough time, one crew member is all it takes, but if you have to get people in the water quickly, you need more people. These people need to be paid. Having more paid crew on a dive for the sole purpose of helping people get on and off the boat is a luxury that would greatly increase the cost of the trip.
On a typical one-day tech dive in Florida, it can be hard to get enough divers together to make the trip economically feasible for the dive operator. A skipper and mate/DM is usually all you get, and in many cases, I can't see how the operator is making any money on the trip with the small number of divers paying their way. They could charge more, sure, but it is already hard to get enough people for the trip because of the expense. For those who don't do this kind of diving and don't realize it, helium typically costs about $0.80 per cubic foot, and with everything put together, your gas bill alone for a single dive might be around $150. Divers are paying a considerable chunk of change for a single dive before they shell out for the boat fees and tips. Consequently, you can expect the dive operator to try to control costs by having the smallest crew possible. I have done dives with nothing but the skipper on board.
So that brings us to the idea of safety divers. Sounds great, but, again, not many of us can afford to pay people to be in the water at different depths just in case something bad happens.
In the dives I typically do, before we gear up, the DM asks for our dive profile. When the dive time comes, I struggle to my feet, sometimes getting help standing up. My fins are already on, and I waddle to the back of the boat, trying to keep my balance on the rocking boat. There I join the queue waiting to splash in rapid order. There is usually a DM to help at the entry point. Before we suit up, the DM asks for our dive plan. During our ascent, the DM will occasionally drop down to check on us, timing the descent according to the profile we gave him. He will make sure we don't have gas needs, and he will confirm when we expect to be done. He is our "safety diver," but he isonly in the water near the end of our ascent. When we reach the surface, we have to get back on the boat. That is the hardest part of the dive for me--handing up tanks, pulling off fins, and climbing up that ladder with steel doubles while it is slamming up and down in the waves.
In summary, for me, the hardest and most dangerous parts of a deep decompression dive are getting on and off the boat--no question about it. It could be made much better with the addition of more crew to assist us, but I already have trouble affording the dives, and the additional expense might make make it too expensive. I am willing to struggle to get on and off the boat as I do now, at least until some rich uncle I did not know existed dies and leaves me a fortune.
