Diver hit by boat in Algonac

[Rick Murchison]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Hijack removed. Once again, this is the A&I forum and not the pub. You repeat offenders know who you are. Knock it off.

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[ZenDiver.3D]

Yes their was an operator on the boat. As my post states, they where diving a wreck that was maybe less that 6 foot of vis. As any one that has dove black water before knows that it is hard to find the up line, and he more or less got disorientated and surfaced. Onespeed I see from your posts that you are a warm water diver and just dive on vacations, you do not list where you live and how many dives you have under your belt. Point is cold water diving here in Michigan we were hoods and with hoods on you can not hear very well, that is may be why he did not hear the boat. I have been under a ship before and did not know one went over until I surfaced and seen it motoring away from me.

Okay, I dive black water, and 6 foot vis is definitely not black water. Where I come from, that's a clear day. And it is not hard to find the up line if you can navigate. This diver was not in cold water. I dove those waters last weekend, no hood needed. Please.

Hearing any sound on ascent should trigger a drop and look reaction. We don't know if he was on ascent or already on the surface. We need to wait for more information.

 

[letterboy]

Maybe his smb got caught on his drings while he was shooting it and he had a run away ascent.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Splash-X]

Sounds like we also may need Mandatory Diver Safety classes because surfacing that far from your flag in unacceptable in any situation and if it was an emergency then you are already in trouble so likely willing to risk it.

Perhaps this is an accurate account, perhaps not. Bottom line is, there is no reason to blame the boat operator if the diver was in fact 450'-500' from his flag. And, if it is an emergency and one is that far from their flag, then shooting an SMB would be a wise move.....maybe even just having an SS would have made the difference.

I do however hope they recover. Terrible news no matter what.

I'm not placing the blame on the boater. I'm stating my observation and opinion from having lived in Michigan. There are far too many boat operators who don't know the first thing about SAFE boating because they have never taken a boater safter class prior to operating their boat.

At one point boater saftey class was taught to children as part of gym class beleive it or not! Some point in the mid 90s this was removed.


The diver shares equal responsibility in my opinion. Like I said, I personally think divers should be carrying a flag themself along with flying a flag in any water where other boats are visibly present or will be present.

 

[ocala diver]

I own a small 17' bass boat with a '01 Mercury 75hp motor. Even at idle, going through a no wake zone, it's pretty loud. I've been under the boat while brother started it up and moved it and it was quite loud. I can only imagine a 26' Searay would be even louder.

 

[james croft]

I can usually hear most boats that are underway. I can usually discern a high pitched whine from an outboard as opposed to the thump, thump, thump from a ship. Electric trolling motors can be sneaky. The big thumpers make me hug a sunken tree or boulder to keep from being swept away from the bottom. I don't like to surface until I no longer hear a prop.
One needs to stay clear of the prop on a dive boat when boarding as they have been known to injure or kill divers when started or put into gear by an innattentive skipper.

 

[brykcity]

Ya guys I should have updated you sooner. The diver did recover quickly. His arm was lacerated pretty good, but otherwise turned out to be ok. Believe it or not, but I found this out because he turned up at the bar across the channel from the accident that very evening with his arm bandaged of course. It appeared as he was in good spirits as he had the presence of a rock star, showcasing his war wound.

I didn't go out and measure the exact distance, but he definitely was 450-500' down current from his flag.

 

[DandyDon]

Glad to hear he's doing well. Invite him to join us here if you would. We'd love to hear from him...!

 

[Splash-X]

Now that he's ok, I can jokingly say we should make him a shirt that says "Sea Cow" or "Caution, Manatee Below" as an inside joke.

On a serious note, I'm glad he is ok and I hope that this incident may cause people to think about towing a flag in addition to flying the flag on the boat.

 

[ScubaSteve]

.......and I hope that this incident may cause people to think about towing a flag in addition to flying the flag on the boat.

AND staying closer to your flag whether it is towed or on a boat. Surfacing too far from your flag is just inviting injury IMO. If it is an emegency, then it is likely worth the risk.....otherwise, I somehow doubt it is. I too am glad he is OK.....hopefully he will retain full use of his arm.