Diver down under way?

[kirwoodd]

Just wondering....
I was haulin' tail (7 knots on my boat) out of Salem harbor today. I was in the channel just off of cocktail cove. Right smack dab in the middle of the channel is a ~25' power boat flying a big "diver down" flag. Cool, I will avoid. So I cut hard to port to let the guy know what I am doing. Thats when I notice, he's under way.

I just got my cert, but I tell you what, when my buddies have dived (dove?) off my boat in the past, I dont even fire up the engine until everyone is on board.

Anyway... Dood is doing big loops in the channel. Is that normal? And if so, whats the proper procedure when coming up on a boat under way flying the diver down? I went as far out of the channel as I could. Got as close as I dared to little bakers, then cut back in to the channel. Scared the crap out of me tho, I had my son up front looking for divers in the water, didnt see any.

wow, in retrospect, they may have been diving near little bakers, and I could have been heading towards them. Guess I could have hailed the boat on 16...

 

[Diesel298]

they probally forgot to take it down after the dive

 

[JohnW]

Or got it free with the purchase of the boat....

 

[JohnW]

BTW...Welcome to the board....great Avatar.

 

[kirwoodd]

good call, I must be having a stoopid day.
I should have hailed him on 16.

sometimes its the obvious answer.

thanks CC, I like it.

 

[jchaplain]

Just wondering....
I was haulin' tail (7 knots on my boat) out of Salem harbor today. I was in the channel just off of cocktail cove. Right smack dab in the middle of the channel is a ~25' power boat flying a big "diver down" flag. Cool, I will avoid. So I cut hard to port to let the guy know what I am doing. Thats when I notice, he's under way.

I just got my cert, but I tell you what, when my buddies have dived (dove?) off my boat in the past, I dont even fire up the engine until everyone is on board.

Anyway... Dood is doing big loops in the channel. Is that normal? And if so, whats the proper procedure when coming up on a boat under way flying the diver down? I went as far out of the channel as I could. Got as close as I dared to little bakers, then cut back in to the channel. Scared the crap out of me tho, I had my son up front looking for divers in the water, didnt see any.

wow, in retrospect, they may have been diving near little bakers, and I could have been heading towards them. Guess I could have hailed the boat on 16...

I'm guilty of driving my boat with a dive flag up. I know I shouldn't do it, but when I'm just taking a short jaunt over to the next dive site I usually don't bother to take it down. Hell, it seems like half of the other boaters out there ignore them anyways.
Maybe he was going to another dive site or just forgot to take it down? Maybe he was doing loops in the channel trying to find a spot with his depth finder?
I would not try to avoid another boat underway at speed with a dive flag up unless he was just hanging in an area at trolling speed. ( In which case I would assume he might be waiting to pick up a drifting diver.)
In the situation you saw, I think you did the right thing avoiding him, and maybe you could tried hailing him on 16 to see what was up.
And I'm with you too, I never fire up the engine with a diver in the water unless maybe he surfaces far from the boat and I have to pick him up.
John C