Dive Boat Sinks in Pompano Beach

[kensuf]

LOL.. 2 captains.. It ain't that hard! You just have to have divers that can enter the water on command and immediately descend vertically in an expeditious manner. Normally not that big of a deal for the boat driver or divers.

There's some skill involved. I nearly missed the Hydro on a dive last summer in a stiff current. It's a pretty good sized boat, 350' long, heading north to south (stern to bow) in the gulf stream. We we given a 400' lead, dropped at about 100' a minute, and still barely caught the stern. If he had given us a shorter lead we would have never made it on the wreck.

 

[johndiver999]

That's not a very quick descent rate, but yes you need a good lead when the current is fast, I would have dropped further south than 400 ft, if it was ripping. It's a skill - it takes a while to figure it out (always better to be dropped early rather than late).

BTW, Im not sure your math works with the lead, the descent rate and the length of the ship.

 

[kensuf]

Well I was at 150' in 90 seconds, so I know the descent rate is correct and I know the boat is 350' long from having been on it a few times. The lead is what the captain told us he was giving us.

 

[kensuf]

Correction, 80 seconds we were at 150'. We still barely got on the wreck.

 

[elgringoperdido]

Who was the Captain of the vessel that sank?

Wish I knew. That was something else unusual. Normally, when I have been on boats the captain gets everyone's attention and says, "My name is Jim and I'm the captain. That skinny fellow is Alberto and he's the first mate. He can help you with anything you need. He earns less in a week than you probably earn in an hour, so feel free to be generous with him." Stuff like that. But there were no introductions on this voyage.

I did learn that they do plan to try to float the vessel and tow it in. I learned that when I called the shop this morning. The guy I spoke with said that the manager was not yet in but he would take my number and be sure to have him call me in about an hour when he gets in. That was seven hours ago. No one has called yet. I'll try again tomorrow.

I suppose that they're still dealing with the coast guard, the insurance company, the county authorities, many annoyed passengers, etc. I'm trying to be patient.

 

[100days-a-year]

Near as possible 1kt of current is 100 fpm. Makes it pretty simple to figure drift drops unless you have wind which can complicate it.

 

[Belzelbub]

Aside from foolishly anchoring from the stern, in likely heavy current, not cutting the anchor line is even more boneheaded.

No kidding. Stern anchoring is just not a good idea. A bow anchor that gets hung will spin the boat around, but generally not a huge problem. Not so with stern anchoring. Really, the only reason to stern anchor is to hold a boat in a fixed position at a sandbar. That’s in conjunction with a bow anchor.

A hung stern anchor is very likely to flood the boat. Trying to power out of it just pulls the ster under.

 

[CuzzA]

Yep. I think stern anchoring with no current is acceptable, but every boat I've owned there are a couple boat knives on board. They serve many purposes, but one is to cut an anchor line. That is really what I can't comprehend why it wasn't cut loose. I'd also be curious if their bilge pumps were even working. High water bilge alarm? These things are simply cheap insurance for a boat.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Regarding the salvage (or lack thereof) I would think there would be liability from an environmental standpoint. The boat is going to be leaking fuel, oil, and sewage (if the holding tank wasn't empty).

I am surprised that FLDEP won't require the salvage of the boat for this reason.

 

[kensuf]

Unless the current changes somewhere between the surface and the sand