It's easier for the divers. The divers can step off the back of the boat and then simply pull themselves down the line to the wreck. If the boat ties in from the bow, the divers have to first pull themselves to the bow of the boat, and then down the line. Stern tie ins are quite common in S. Florida. Commonly, after a stern tie in, and the divers are down, they untie from the stern, swing the boat, and tie in on the bow. On most tie-in dives I've done, I've stepped off the stern, made the dive, and then come up the line to the bow of the boat. Looks like SFDH didn't swing the boat around in time on this particular day, when they had a shaft leak.
Dive Boat Sinks in Pompano Beach
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It's easier for the divers. The divers can step off the back of the boat and then simply pull themselves down the line to the wreck. If the boat ties in from the bow, the divers have to first pull themselves to the bow of the boat, and then down the line. Stern tie ins are quite common in S. Florida. Commonly, after a stern tie in, and the divers are down, they untie from the stern, swing the boat, and tie in on the bow. On most tie-in dives I've done, I've stepped off the stern, made the dive, and then come up the line to the bow of the boat. Looks like SFDH didn't swing the boat around in time on this particular day, when they had a shaft leak.
elgringoperdido
Registered
I was on this boat. I was planning to make a detailed report when I got home. I made one thread a few years ago regarding Guadeloupe and was going to do a Pompano Beach/SFDH report for this trip, but since the thread is already here, I'll just post in it.
We're at a hotel in SC en route back home to PA. The drive could be done in one day, but we like to stretch it out. My son turned 16 a few months ago. For many years I have been trying to get my wife--not a diver--to let him get certified to dive. The thought of it terrifies her, but my son and I enjoy the sea, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. Finally, I was able to convince her that diving would be okay. Safe. Normal.
I didn't want to scare him off by taking him to the cold quarries or rivers of PA, or off the Jersey shore. That's all cold and black and dry-suit weather. I lobbied for the Caribbean but the whole coronavirus pandemic thing put her off of that, so we agreed on FL as a suitable location. Mild currents, decent visibility, warm water, not out of the US, etc.
After reading several reviews, we decided on SFDH. To be fair, I will give the instructor, Alex, two thumbs up. Very thorough. I'm a bit of a helicopter parent myself and hung around for much of the training. She was very thorough. Much more thorough than my first instructor, about 13 certifications ago. No complaints there.
I did notice that the shop was somewhat disorganized. On my first trip there a guy backed into my car. Well, my wife's car. I have a Mazda and she has a Volvo so we usually take her car on long trips. No apologies. Not even an "oops! I didn't see you there." Just a "WTF? Well, here's my info. We can let our insurance companies duke it out." But that's an aside, as he was not associated with the shop. Just a warning for anyone planning on a trip to Pompano: parking is tight, and a major hassle.
Back to the disorganized shop. After his first two days, his third and final day of training involved a two-tank dive on the Copenhagen wreck and a nearby reef. I had booked a two-tank dive for myself aboard the vessel. When I arrived I was greeted and told what boat to get on. (No one had at that point asked me to see any certification.) I got on the boat with my son, took my two steel 100s and set one of them up adjacent to him and his instructor. When the captain boarded and started the "roll call". (Not really a roll call, but a glance at the manifest.) He said, wait, I see two more people than are on the list. (No names were actually called.) So I walked over and glanced at the manifest and saw that neither my nor my son's name were on the list. (That was on Thursday.) We went inside the shop and got it straightened out.
My son had two wonderful dives on thursday. Nothing spectacular, but for him I'm sure it was thrilling. Best of all his buoyancy and comfort level was good. Alex said he was totally ready. He finished the course and they had a debriefing and filled out his logbook and at that point I figured I had a permanent dive buddy. (Well, not for tech diving, but for recreational stuff anyway.)
I inquired about a future dive. They started to tell me about some upcoming serious dives--I have TDI certs up through advanced trimix--but I explained that I was interested in something easy and shallow because I wanted to dive with my son, a newly-minted open water diver. They looked at the calendar and suggested the Okinawa on Sunday.
Sunday rolled around and we showed up at 12:45 for a 1:30 dive. I asked if we could board the vessel and set up. They said, "yes, you're on the Safari". My son and I were the first on the boat. We were told that there would be 35 people on the boat. Clearly that boat would not hold 35 so we went back to the shop and asked about it. They said, "change of plans, now you're on the Safari". Okay. That's better anyway. No shade, but I prefer the smaller vessel to the big cattle boat we were on last Thursday.
Eventually people started boarding. At one point a young man and his girlfried boarded. He was the captain, apparently. The shop owner came out and said, "your girlfriend can't come. No passengers. We're maxed out." Then the captain did a roll call. This time it was an actual roll call. Again, I was not on the list. Again, I had to go inside the shop and straighten it out. This time they realized that they had 14 people on a boat made for 13. After some checking and rechecking, they decided to tell a guy named Antonio that he was out of luck. I'm sure it was embarassing for them. They came out and say, "Sorry, man, we overbooked. You can't dive today. We'll give you a voucher." Antonio was clearly bummed out, but he politely collected his gear and exited the boat. As it turned out, Antonio was the luckiest man in the shop that day.
The boat got underway. Once we cleared the jetty, it was a very short ride to the divesite. The captain came out and said, "ten minute warning." I told my son that we would get in first. I didn't want to get stuck waiting in my gear waiting for others. We did a buddy check and were eager to get wet. The Captain and the first mate/divemaster/deckhandwhatever were the only two employees. The other 11 of us consisted of 10 divers and an instructor who was with a group of two teenage students.
The mate was instructed to tie off. She went down and secured a line to the wreck, with a big ball-shaped buoy on the surface. Also attached to the buoy was a line that she was meant to attach to the boat. She had trouble with that. She had the hook and kept fishing for the line, but dropped her hook in the water. Twice. She said, "I dropped it" and the captain said, "I know, I'll swing around" and she said, "no, I mean I dropped the hook" and he said, "You dropped the hook?" luckily it is a long wooden handle and only a little metal hook, so it floats, As I said, she managed to drop it in the ocean a second time. Eventually she hooked the line and attached it to the stern of the boat, which struck me as odd, but I didn't give it much thought at the time.
She proceeded to give a briefing. At some point I noticed that there were a few inches of water at the stern of the vessel. I didn't think much of it at that moment. It was a very low boat, anyway. But by the time the water was at my mid-shin I started to think it was strange. All the while she is continuing with the briefing.
When the water started lapping my knees I noticed that the boat was listing about 20 degrees to port. I looked at my son and said, "see that water?" Yes. "see the angle?" Yes. "This isn't right" No, Daddy, I don't think it is. "Fill your BC to the max. Put your regulator in your mouth and your mask on your face and get ready for anything"
to be continued
We're at a hotel in SC en route back home to PA. The drive could be done in one day, but we like to stretch it out. My son turned 16 a few months ago. For many years I have been trying to get my wife--not a diver--to let him get certified to dive. The thought of it terrifies her, but my son and I enjoy the sea, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. Finally, I was able to convince her that diving would be okay. Safe. Normal.
I didn't want to scare him off by taking him to the cold quarries or rivers of PA, or off the Jersey shore. That's all cold and black and dry-suit weather. I lobbied for the Caribbean but the whole coronavirus pandemic thing put her off of that, so we agreed on FL as a suitable location. Mild currents, decent visibility, warm water, not out of the US, etc.
After reading several reviews, we decided on SFDH. To be fair, I will give the instructor, Alex, two thumbs up. Very thorough. I'm a bit of a helicopter parent myself and hung around for much of the training. She was very thorough. Much more thorough than my first instructor, about 13 certifications ago. No complaints there.
I did notice that the shop was somewhat disorganized. On my first trip there a guy backed into my car. Well, my wife's car. I have a Mazda and she has a Volvo so we usually take her car on long trips. No apologies. Not even an "oops! I didn't see you there." Just a "WTF? Well, here's my info. We can let our insurance companies duke it out." But that's an aside, as he was not associated with the shop. Just a warning for anyone planning on a trip to Pompano: parking is tight, and a major hassle.
Back to the disorganized shop. After his first two days, his third and final day of training involved a two-tank dive on the Copenhagen wreck and a nearby reef. I had booked a two-tank dive for myself aboard the vessel. When I arrived I was greeted and told what boat to get on. (No one had at that point asked me to see any certification.) I got on the boat with my son, took my two steel 100s and set one of them up adjacent to him and his instructor. When the captain boarded and started the "roll call". (Not really a roll call, but a glance at the manifest.) He said, wait, I see two more people than are on the list. (No names were actually called.) So I walked over and glanced at the manifest and saw that neither my nor my son's name were on the list. (That was on Thursday.) We went inside the shop and got it straightened out.
My son had two wonderful dives on thursday. Nothing spectacular, but for him I'm sure it was thrilling. Best of all his buoyancy and comfort level was good. Alex said he was totally ready. He finished the course and they had a debriefing and filled out his logbook and at that point I figured I had a permanent dive buddy. (Well, not for tech diving, but for recreational stuff anyway.)
I inquired about a future dive. They started to tell me about some upcoming serious dives--I have TDI certs up through advanced trimix--but I explained that I was interested in something easy and shallow because I wanted to dive with my son, a newly-minted open water diver. They looked at the calendar and suggested the Okinawa on Sunday.
Sunday rolled around and we showed up at 12:45 for a 1:30 dive. I asked if we could board the vessel and set up. They said, "yes, you're on the Safari". My son and I were the first on the boat. We were told that there would be 35 people on the boat. Clearly that boat would not hold 35 so we went back to the shop and asked about it. They said, "change of plans, now you're on the Safari". Okay. That's better anyway. No shade, but I prefer the smaller vessel to the big cattle boat we were on last Thursday.
Eventually people started boarding. At one point a young man and his girlfried boarded. He was the captain, apparently. The shop owner came out and said, "your girlfriend can't come. No passengers. We're maxed out." Then the captain did a roll call. This time it was an actual roll call. Again, I was not on the list. Again, I had to go inside the shop and straighten it out. This time they realized that they had 14 people on a boat made for 13. After some checking and rechecking, they decided to tell a guy named Antonio that he was out of luck. I'm sure it was embarassing for them. They came out and say, "Sorry, man, we overbooked. You can't dive today. We'll give you a voucher." Antonio was clearly bummed out, but he politely collected his gear and exited the boat. As it turned out, Antonio was the luckiest man in the shop that day.
The boat got underway. Once we cleared the jetty, it was a very short ride to the divesite. The captain came out and said, "ten minute warning." I told my son that we would get in first. I didn't want to get stuck waiting in my gear waiting for others. We did a buddy check and were eager to get wet. The Captain and the first mate/divemaster/deckhandwhatever were the only two employees. The other 11 of us consisted of 10 divers and an instructor who was with a group of two teenage students.
The mate was instructed to tie off. She went down and secured a line to the wreck, with a big ball-shaped buoy on the surface. Also attached to the buoy was a line that she was meant to attach to the boat. She had trouble with that. She had the hook and kept fishing for the line, but dropped her hook in the water. Twice. She said, "I dropped it" and the captain said, "I know, I'll swing around" and she said, "no, I mean I dropped the hook" and he said, "You dropped the hook?" luckily it is a long wooden handle and only a little metal hook, so it floats, As I said, she managed to drop it in the ocean a second time. Eventually she hooked the line and attached it to the stern of the boat, which struck me as odd, but I didn't give it much thought at the time.
She proceeded to give a briefing. At some point I noticed that there were a few inches of water at the stern of the vessel. I didn't think much of it at that moment. It was a very low boat, anyway. But by the time the water was at my mid-shin I started to think it was strange. All the while she is continuing with the briefing.
When the water started lapping my knees I noticed that the boat was listing about 20 degrees to port. I looked at my son and said, "see that water?" Yes. "see the angle?" Yes. "This isn't right" No, Daddy, I don't think it is. "Fill your BC to the max. Put your regulator in your mouth and your mask on your face and get ready for anything"
to be continued
elgringoperdido
Registered
(Moderator has copied this post over from an existing thread under Florida subforum)
I was on this boat. I was planning to make a detailed report when I got home. I made one thread a few years ago regarding Guadeloupe and was going to do a Pompano Beach/SFDH report for this trip, but since the thread is already here, I'll just post in it.
We're at a hotel in SC en route back home to PA. The drive could be done in one day, but we like to stretch it out. My son turned 16 a few months ago. For many years I have been trying to get my wife--not a diver--to let him get certified to dive. The thought of it terrifies her, but my son and I enjoy the sea, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. Finally, I was able to convince her that diving would be okay. Safe. Normal.
I didn't want to scare him off by taking him to the cold quarries or rivers of PA, or off the Jersey shore. That's all cold and black and dry-suit weather. I lobbied for the Caribbean but the whole coronavirus pandemic thing put her off of that, so we agreed on FL as a suitable location. Mild currents, decent visibility, warm water, not out of the US, etc.
After reading several reviews, we decided on SFDH. To be fair, I will give the instructor, Alex, two thumbs up. Very thorough. I'm a bit of a helicopter parent myself and hung around for much of the training. She was very thorough. Much more thorough than my first instructor, about 13 certifications ago. No complaints there.
I did notice that the shop was somewhat disorganized. On my first trip there a guy backed into my car. Well, my wife's car. I have a Mazda and she has a Volvo so we usually take her car on long trips. No apologies. Not even an "oops! I didn't see you there." Just a "WTF? Well, here's my info. We can let our insurance companies duke it out." But that's an aside, as he was not associated with the shop. Just a warning for anyone planning on a trip to Pompano: parking is tight, and a major hassle.
Back to the disorganized shop. After his first two days, his third and final day of training involved a two-tank dive on the Copenhagen wreck and a nearby reef. I had booked a two-tank dive for myself aboard the vessel. When I arrived I was greeted and told what boat to get on. (No one had at that point asked me to see any certification.) I got on the boat with my son, took my two steel 100s and set one of them up adjacent to him and his instructor. When the captain boarded and started the "roll call". (Not really a roll call, but a glance at the manifest.) He said, wait, I see two more people than are on the list. (No names were actually called.) So I walked over and glanced at the manifest and saw that neither my nor my son's name were on the list. (That was on Thursday.) We went inside the shop and got it straightened out.
My son had two wonderful dives on thursday. Nothing spectacular, but for him I'm sure it was thrilling. Best of all his buoyancy and comfort level was good. Alex said he was totally ready. He finished the course and they had a debriefing and filled out his logbook and at that point I figured I had a permanent dive buddy. (Well, not for tech diving, but for recreational stuff anyway.)
I inquired about a future dive. They started to tell me about some upcoming serious dives--I have TDI certs up through advanced trimix--but I explained that I was interested in something easy and shallow because I wanted to dive with my son, a newly-minted open water diver. They looked at the calendar and suggested the Okinawa on Sunday.
Sunday rolled around and we showed up at 12:45 for a 1:30 dive. I asked if we could board the vessel and set up. They said, "yes, you're on the Safari". My son and I were the first on the boat. We were told that there would be 35 people on the boat. Clearly that boat would not hold 35 so we went back to the shop and asked about it. They said, "change of plans, now you're on the Safari". Okay. That's better anyway. No shade, but I prefer the smaller vessel to the big cattle boat we were on last Thursday.
Eventually people started boarding. At one point a young man and his girlfried boarded. He was the captain, apparently. The shop owner came out and said, "your girlfriend can't come. No passengers. We're maxed out." Then the captain did a roll call. This time it was an actual roll call. Again, I was not on the list. Again, I had to go inside the shop and straighten it out. This time they realized that they had 14 people on a boat made for 13. After some checking and rechecking, they decided to tell a guy named Antonio that he was out of luck. I'm sure it was embarassing for them. They came out and say, "Sorry, man, we overbooked. You can't dive today. We'll give you a voucher." Antonio was clearly bummed out, but he politely collected his gear and exited the boat. As it turned out, Antonio was the luckiest man in the shop that day.
The boat got underway. Once we cleared the jetty, it was a very short ride to the divesite. The captain came out and said, "ten minute warning." I told my son that we would get in first. I didn't want to get stuck waiting in my gear waiting for others. We did a buddy check and were eager to get wet. The Captain and the first mate/divemaster/deckhandwhatever were the only two employees. The other 11 of us consisted of 10 divers and an instructor who was with a group of two teenage students.
The mate was instructed to tie off. She went down and secured a line to the wreck, with a big ball-shaped buoy on the surface. Also attached to the buoy was a line that she was meant to attach to the boat. She had trouble with that. She had the hook and kept fishing for the line, but dropped her hook in the water. Twice. She said, "I dropped it" and the captain said, "I know, I'll swing around" and she said, "no, I mean I dropped the hook" and he said, "You dropped the hook?" luckily it is a long wooden handle and only a little metal hook, so it floats, As I said, she managed to drop it in the ocean a second time. Eventually she hooked the line and attached it to the stern of the boat, which struck me as odd, but I didn't give it much thought at the time.
She proceeded to give a briefing. At some point I noticed that there were a few inches of water at the stern of the vessel. I didn't think much of it at that moment. It was a very low boat, anyway. But by the time the water was at my mid-shin I started to think it was strange. All the while she is continuing with the briefing.
When the water started lapping my knees I noticed that the boat was listing about 20 degrees to port. I looked at my son and said, "see that water?" Yes. "see the angle?" Yes. "This isn't right" No, Daddy, I don't think it is. "Fill your BC to the max. Put your regulator in your mouth and your mask on your face and get ready for anything"
to be continued
I was on this boat. I was planning to make a detailed report when I got home. I made one thread a few years ago regarding Guadeloupe and was going to do a Pompano Beach/SFDH report for this trip, but since the thread is already here, I'll just post in it.
We're at a hotel in SC en route back home to PA. The drive could be done in one day, but we like to stretch it out. My son turned 16 a few months ago. For many years I have been trying to get my wife--not a diver--to let him get certified to dive. The thought of it terrifies her, but my son and I enjoy the sea, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. Finally, I was able to convince her that diving would be okay. Safe. Normal.
I didn't want to scare him off by taking him to the cold quarries or rivers of PA, or off the Jersey shore. That's all cold and black and dry-suit weather. I lobbied for the Caribbean but the whole coronavirus pandemic thing put her off of that, so we agreed on FL as a suitable location. Mild currents, decent visibility, warm water, not out of the US, etc.
After reading several reviews, we decided on SFDH. To be fair, I will give the instructor, Alex, two thumbs up. Very thorough. I'm a bit of a helicopter parent myself and hung around for much of the training. She was very thorough. Much more thorough than my first instructor, about 13 certifications ago. No complaints there.
I did notice that the shop was somewhat disorganized. On my first trip there a guy backed into my car. Well, my wife's car. I have a Mazda and she has a Volvo so we usually take her car on long trips. No apologies. Not even an "oops! I didn't see you there." Just a "WTF? Well, here's my info. We can let our insurance companies duke it out." But that's an aside, as he was not associated with the shop. Just a warning for anyone planning on a trip to Pompano: parking is tight, and a major hassle.
Back to the disorganized shop. After his first two days, his third and final day of training involved a two-tank dive on the Copenhagen wreck and a nearby reef. I had booked a two-tank dive for myself aboard the vessel. When I arrived I was greeted and told what boat to get on. (No one had at that point asked me to see any certification.) I got on the boat with my son, took my two steel 100s and set one of them up adjacent to him and his instructor. When the captain boarded and started the "roll call". (Not really a roll call, but a glance at the manifest.) He said, wait, I see two more people than are on the list. (No names were actually called.) So I walked over and glanced at the manifest and saw that neither my nor my son's name were on the list. (That was on Thursday.) We went inside the shop and got it straightened out.
My son had two wonderful dives on thursday. Nothing spectacular, but for him I'm sure it was thrilling. Best of all his buoyancy and comfort level was good. Alex said he was totally ready. He finished the course and they had a debriefing and filled out his logbook and at that point I figured I had a permanent dive buddy. (Well, not for tech diving, but for recreational stuff anyway.)
I inquired about a future dive. They started to tell me about some upcoming serious dives--I have TDI certs up through advanced trimix--but I explained that I was interested in something easy and shallow because I wanted to dive with my son, a newly-minted open water diver. They looked at the calendar and suggested the Okinawa on Sunday.
Sunday rolled around and we showed up at 12:45 for a 1:30 dive. I asked if we could board the vessel and set up. They said, "yes, you're on the Safari". My son and I were the first on the boat. We were told that there would be 35 people on the boat. Clearly that boat would not hold 35 so we went back to the shop and asked about it. They said, "change of plans, now you're on the Safari". Okay. That's better anyway. No shade, but I prefer the smaller vessel to the big cattle boat we were on last Thursday.
Eventually people started boarding. At one point a young man and his girlfried boarded. He was the captain, apparently. The shop owner came out and said, "your girlfriend can't come. No passengers. We're maxed out." Then the captain did a roll call. This time it was an actual roll call. Again, I was not on the list. Again, I had to go inside the shop and straighten it out. This time they realized that they had 14 people on a boat made for 13. After some checking and rechecking, they decided to tell a guy named Antonio that he was out of luck. I'm sure it was embarassing for them. They came out and say, "Sorry, man, we overbooked. You can't dive today. We'll give you a voucher." Antonio was clearly bummed out, but he politely collected his gear and exited the boat. As it turned out, Antonio was the luckiest man in the shop that day.
The boat got underway. Once we cleared the jetty, it was a very short ride to the divesite. The captain came out and said, "ten minute warning." I told my son that we would get in first. I didn't want to get stuck waiting in my gear waiting for others. We did a buddy check and were eager to get wet. The Captain and the first mate/divemaster/deckhandwhatever were the only two employees. The other 11 of us consisted of 10 divers and an instructor who was with a group of two teenage students.
The mate was instructed to tie off. She went down and secured a line to the wreck, with a big ball-shaped buoy on the surface. Also attached to the buoy was a line that she was meant to attach to the boat. She had trouble with that. She had the hook and kept fishing for the line, but dropped her hook in the water. Twice. She said, "I dropped it" and the captain said, "I know, I'll swing around" and she said, "no, I mean I dropped the hook" and he said, "You dropped the hook?" luckily it is a long wooden handle and only a little metal hook, so it floats, As I said, she managed to drop it in the ocean a second time. Eventually she hooked the line and attached it to the stern of the boat, which struck me as odd, but I didn't give it much thought at the time.
She proceeded to give a briefing. At some point I noticed that there were a few inches of water at the stern of the vessel. I didn't think much of it at that moment. It was a very low boat, anyway. But by the time the water was at my mid-shin I started to think it was strange. All the while she is continuing with the briefing.
When the water started lapping my knees I noticed that the boat was listing about 20 degrees to port. I looked at my son and said, "see that water?" Yes. "see the angle?" Yes. "This isn't right" No, Daddy, I don't think it is. "Fill your BC to the max. Put your regulator in your mouth and your mask on your face and get ready for anything"
to be continued
coldwaterglutton
Contributor
In for the next chapter!
elgringoperdido
Registered
Within about 30 seconds of me telling him to get ready I heard a loud voice say "Abandon Ship! Abandon the Fuçking ship now!" I assumed it was the captain but later I found out it was a paying customer who had the wherewithal to say something. I didn't hesitate. I said to my son, "Go now, stay on the surface and swim as far away from this boat as you can." Then I saw one of the most interesting entries I have ever seen. I've done the giant stride, the back roll, a shore entry, and even a ladder climb down, but he just bent over and swam forward off the stern. The way you would if you were sitting on the step of a shallow hotel pool with water up to your waist and then just bent forward and swam out. I followed his lead. Quickly others followed our lead.
Two other divers joined us and we made a group of four on the surface and bobbed a bit and watched the boat. My son and I held each other's BCs in turn and stayed close together. It occurred to me that I had a camera and I unclipped it and started taking photos. We'll see if anything is worth posting. (Long story short: my backpack with my wallet, car keys, mobile phone, cert cards, dive log, pens, pencils, and, of course, all cables that connect electronics to computers and chargers sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean so it may be some time before I can let my camera talk to my computer.)
A few minutes later a Broward County Sherrif boat pulls up driven by my hero, Deputy Sherrif Alex Beer, and rescues us. The deputy allowed my son to use his net to rescue things from the water. We managed to find a bunch of gear, including much of our own, floating. (I had taught him some boat etiquette so we both had things well stowed in our bags. And since we both had our mask boxes closed, our bags managed to float. Lucky that.) Of course my backpack, in the "dry" area in the bow, along with my other 100 CF steel faber cylinder, went to the bottom pretty quickly.
Eventually there were many boats in the area. coast guard and county sherrif boats mostly. We did make it on the evening news. Here's one that played that evening.
Over a Dozen People Rescued From Sinking Pompano Beach Boat
(Note the many inaccuracies. For the record, there were 13 people total on that boat. No injuries. And the only people who "saved" us were the United States Coast Guard and the Broward County Sherrif's office.
We had to spend a couple of hours filling out paperwork. Everyone pretty much agreed that some bad decisions were made by the mate, and by the captain as well, who did not radio sooner, or think to cut the line.
Eventually the authorities--the 13 of us were on different boats; some county, and some USCG--brought us back to the marina. The owner of the shop came out to meet us. He was very gracious and apologetic. He told us to go to the restaurant upstairs from the shop and he would buy us "a drink". We all looked at each other with that "you'll buy us more than that" look. I told the bartender "an IPA for me and a rum and coke for him." The bartender looked at me incredulously and said, "how old is he?" I said, "He just turned 21 today." The bartender was somewhat sympathetic and said, "well, just don't get me in trouble." He ended up pounding down three of them before my wife showed up. (Yes, I also got grief from her about that as well.) Suffice it to say that it may be a long time before I get to take him diving again.
I no longer have a cell phone and I think I'll have to stay on the phone with them for a looooong time to get them to get their insurance company to reimburse me for some things, but I'm just glad that no one is hurt. Things can be replaced. People cannot.
Stay safe.
Two other divers joined us and we made a group of four on the surface and bobbed a bit and watched the boat. My son and I held each other's BCs in turn and stayed close together. It occurred to me that I had a camera and I unclipped it and started taking photos. We'll see if anything is worth posting. (Long story short: my backpack with my wallet, car keys, mobile phone, cert cards, dive log, pens, pencils, and, of course, all cables that connect electronics to computers and chargers sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean so it may be some time before I can let my camera talk to my computer.)
A few minutes later a Broward County Sherrif boat pulls up driven by my hero, Deputy Sherrif Alex Beer, and rescues us. The deputy allowed my son to use his net to rescue things from the water. We managed to find a bunch of gear, including much of our own, floating. (I had taught him some boat etiquette so we both had things well stowed in our bags. And since we both had our mask boxes closed, our bags managed to float. Lucky that.) Of course my backpack, in the "dry" area in the bow, along with my other 100 CF steel faber cylinder, went to the bottom pretty quickly.
Eventually there were many boats in the area. coast guard and county sherrif boats mostly. We did make it on the evening news. Here's one that played that evening.
Over a Dozen People Rescued From Sinking Pompano Beach Boat
(Note the many inaccuracies. For the record, there were 13 people total on that boat. No injuries. And the only people who "saved" us were the United States Coast Guard and the Broward County Sherrif's office.
We had to spend a couple of hours filling out paperwork. Everyone pretty much agreed that some bad decisions were made by the mate, and by the captain as well, who did not radio sooner, or think to cut the line.
Eventually the authorities--the 13 of us were on different boats; some county, and some USCG--brought us back to the marina. The owner of the shop came out to meet us. He was very gracious and apologetic. He told us to go to the restaurant upstairs from the shop and he would buy us "a drink". We all looked at each other with that "you'll buy us more than that" look. I told the bartender "an IPA for me and a rum and coke for him." The bartender looked at me incredulously and said, "how old is he?" I said, "He just turned 21 today." The bartender was somewhat sympathetic and said, "well, just don't get me in trouble." He ended up pounding down three of them before my wife showed up. (Yes, I also got grief from her about that as well.) Suffice it to say that it may be a long time before I get to take him diving again.
I no longer have a cell phone and I think I'll have to stay on the phone with them for a looooong time to get them to get their insurance company to reimburse me for some things, but I'm just glad that no one is hurt. Things can be replaced. People cannot.
Stay safe.
elgringoperdido
Registered
Within about 30 seconds of me telling him to get ready I heard a loud voice say "Abandon Ship! Abandon the Fuçking ship now!" I assumed it was the captain but later I found out it was a paying customer who had the wherewithal to say something. I didn't hesitate. I said to my son, "Go now, stay on the surface and swim as far away from this boat as you can." Then I saw one of the most interesting entries I have ever seen. I've done the giant stride, the back roll, a shore entry, and even a ladder climb down, but he just bent over and swam forward off the stern. The way you would if you were sitting on the step of a shallow hotel pool with water up to your waist and then just bent forward and swam out. I followed his lead. Quickly others followed our lead.
Two other divers joined us and we made a group of four on the surface and bobbed a bit and watched the boat. My son and I held each other's BCs in turn and stayed close together. It occurred to me that I had a camera and I unclipped it and started taking photos. We'll see if anything is worth posting. (Long story short: my backpack with my wallet, car keys, mobile phone, cert cards, dive log, pens, pencils, and, of course, all cables that connect electronics to computers and chargers sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean so it may be some time before I can let my camera talk to my computer.)
A few minutes later a Broward County Sherrif boat pulls up driven by my hero, Deputy Sherrif Alex Beer, and rescues us. The deputy allowed my son to use his net to rescue things from the water. We managed to find a bunch of gear, including much of our own, floating. (I had taught him some boat etiquette so we both had things well stowed in our bags. And since we both had our mask boxes closed, our bags managed to float. Lucky that.) Of course my backpack, in the "dry" area in the bow, along with my other 100 CF steel faber cylinder, went to the bottom pretty quickly.
Eventually there were many boats in the area. coast guard and county sherrif boats mostly. We did make it on the evening news. Here's one that played that evening.
Over a Dozen People Rescued From Sinking Pompano Beach Boat
(Note the many inaccuracies. For the record, there were 13 people total on that boat. No injuries. And the only people who "saved" us were the United States Coast Guard and the Broward County Sherrif's office.
We had to spend a couple of hours filling out paperwork. Everyone pretty much agreed that some bad decisions were made by the mate, and by the captain as well, who did not radio sooner, or think to cut the line.
Eventually the authorities--the 13 of us were on different boats; some county, and some USCG--brought us back to the marina. The owner of the shop came out to meet us. He was very gracious and apologetic. He told us to go to the restaurant upstairs from the shop and he would buy us "a drink". We all looked at each other with that "you'll buy us more than that" look. I told the bartender "an IPA for me and a rum and coke for him." The bartender looked at me incredulously and said, "how old is he?" I said, "He just turned 21 today." The bartender was somewhat sympathetic and said, "well, just don't get me in trouble." He ended up pounding down three of them before my wife showed up. (Yes, I also got grief from her about that as well.) Suffice it to say that it may be a long time before I get to take him diving again.
I no longer have a cell phone and I think I'll have to stay on the phone with them for a looooong time to get them to get their insurance company to reimburse me for some things, but I'm just glad that no one is hurt. Things can be replaced. People cannot.
Stay safe.
Two other divers joined us and we made a group of four on the surface and bobbed a bit and watched the boat. My son and I held each other's BCs in turn and stayed close together. It occurred to me that I had a camera and I unclipped it and started taking photos. We'll see if anything is worth posting. (Long story short: my backpack with my wallet, car keys, mobile phone, cert cards, dive log, pens, pencils, and, of course, all cables that connect electronics to computers and chargers sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean so it may be some time before I can let my camera talk to my computer.)
A few minutes later a Broward County Sherrif boat pulls up driven by my hero, Deputy Sherrif Alex Beer, and rescues us. The deputy allowed my son to use his net to rescue things from the water. We managed to find a bunch of gear, including much of our own, floating. (I had taught him some boat etiquette so we both had things well stowed in our bags. And since we both had our mask boxes closed, our bags managed to float. Lucky that.) Of course my backpack, in the "dry" area in the bow, along with my other 100 CF steel faber cylinder, went to the bottom pretty quickly.
Eventually there were many boats in the area. coast guard and county sherrif boats mostly. We did make it on the evening news. Here's one that played that evening.
Over a Dozen People Rescued From Sinking Pompano Beach Boat
(Note the many inaccuracies. For the record, there were 13 people total on that boat. No injuries. And the only people who "saved" us were the United States Coast Guard and the Broward County Sherrif's office.
We had to spend a couple of hours filling out paperwork. Everyone pretty much agreed that some bad decisions were made by the mate, and by the captain as well, who did not radio sooner, or think to cut the line.
Eventually the authorities--the 13 of us were on different boats; some county, and some USCG--brought us back to the marina. The owner of the shop came out to meet us. He was very gracious and apologetic. He told us to go to the restaurant upstairs from the shop and he would buy us "a drink". We all looked at each other with that "you'll buy us more than that" look. I told the bartender "an IPA for me and a rum and coke for him." The bartender looked at me incredulously and said, "how old is he?" I said, "He just turned 21 today." The bartender was somewhat sympathetic and said, "well, just don't get me in trouble." He ended up pounding down three of them before my wife showed up. (Yes, I also got grief from her about that as well.) Suffice it to say that it may be a long time before I get to take him diving again.
I no longer have a cell phone and I think I'll have to stay on the phone with them for a looooong time to get them to get their insurance company to reimburse me for some things, but I'm just glad that no one is hurt. Things can be replaced. People cannot.
Stay safe.
Wow! My first thought was, how did you have car keys to drive home, but I forgot your wife was with you!
Well, your son will have an interesting "what I did on my summer vacation" story when he goes back to school...
Well, your son will have an interesting "what I did on my summer vacation" story when he goes back to school...
Not only did your son get certified to dive, he got certified to tell a bad a$$ story when school starts.
“…and then my Dad and I went to the bar and I threw back some Cuba Libres.”
“…and then my Dad and I went to the bar and I threw back some Cuba Libres.”
Nitrox_DiverNY
Contributor
johndiver999
Contributor
Wow that was an excellent story. I guess stern anchoring was a big part of the incident.
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