Diver dies on French Reef (Keys)

[String]

Yeah, 30 boats dropping 6-20 divers per boat all on the same stretch of reef and then each boat trying to keep track of their divers while trying to avoid the other 29 boats. No thanks.

No problems in Egypt and other places with 30+ liveaboards and 50+ zodiacs in a small area. Divers come up under SMBs, zodiacs cover the divers.

The rest of the world has worked out how to do it so would seem odd the keys can't work that out.

 

[DandyDon]

Ok you do know the reef; I stand corrected. I doubt that you ever change your mind or stand on anything String, but other posters have offered better explanations than I since I posted.

 

[Doubles]

Taking into account the last post mentioning sun glare its even more ludicrous that a boat would moor and therefore have glare preventing its view. Any sane cox would position the boat at a better angle so as to see the likely place the divers would be. With calm conditions like described there is no excuse for "having no idea" where they are.

I agree that any vessel that is u/w would be able to respond to a detected problem quicker than any vessel which is moored or at anchor. However even when u/w there will still be blind spots and directions of limited visibility. And you have to detect the problem.

Search and Rescue teams onboard vessels and helicopters still have difficulty locating distressed swimmers/divers in the water. I am quite certain those folks are more than sane.

and (ii) the boat captain obviously bought his license and has no idea how to safely crew and handle a dive boat in a way that best protects his divers.

Are you basing this opinion on the sole fact that the vessel was anchored?

 

[always learning]

I have dove many times in Key Largo and on one particular trip while diving at the City of Washington I observed a diver get hit in the back(tank) with an anchor because the Capt. of another dive operation wanted to dive that particular spot. The dive boat in which I was on was secured to the mooring ball when another dive operation came along and actually wanted that mooring line. Instead of the Capt. moving to the next mooring ball or going to another spot(reef) he decided to chunk the anchor overboard and hit the diver who was diving with his teenage son . This was the teenagers first dive after being certified the day before. If that anchor would have landed 2 inches higher it would have hit him (the dad) in the back of the head and the outcome might not be a good one. I think it is too dangerous with divers below!

 

[Walter]

Mooring or anchoring a dive boat is in my view stupid and dangerous - its bad dive boat practice no matter where in the world.

Ten or twelve commercial live dive boats dropping off and picking up divers all at the same time, running over divers, not knowing which divers came off which boat....sounds like a real cluster with the potential for a dramatic increase in deaths.

 

[svs]

No problems in Egypt and other places with 30+ liveaboards and 50+ zodiacs in a small area. Divers come up under SMBs, zodiacs cover the divers.

The rest of the world has worked out how to do it so would seem odd the keys can't work that out.

I donÃÕ know about the rest of the world but there are significant differences between Red sea and Fl keys conditions. In Red sea most reefs drops sharply from the surface. It gives opportunity to organize dives (which are all guided by the way) such that divers accent very close to the reef while all boats wait on some distance from the reef. On most Florida keys reef such reference does not exist. In additions most divers spread as groups of 2-3, sometimes in different directions. So I can easily understand why different places use different approach.

 

[widget]

Wow, an anchor on the head wouldnt be a terrific way to end the day.

In the end, I think we must just be carefull and as far as we can, take responsibility for our own safety wherever we dive, obviously not all things are within our control (anchor on the back) but as far as possible we need to be able to look after ourselves.

 

[DandyDon]

Dropping anchor close to another boats dive flag. Damn! I had harsh words with a sailboat pilot as he sailed between dive boats near this reef once only because I couldn't catch him for a personal exchange. Surviving the incident would be the primary focus but it would have been so tempting to board that anchored boat for a close call with the skipper.

 

[diver 85]

Ten or twelve commercial live dive boats dropping off and picking up divers all at the same time, running over divers, not knowing which divers came off which boat....sounds like a real cluster with the potential for a dramatic increase in deaths.

could end up being a bloody mess.......

 

[ScubaSteve]

could end up being a bloody mess.......

Wouldn't it be considered chumming the water?