Diver missing today? 03/28/12

[Firefyter]

Of course maybe I am spoiled? Anyone else think their Coz DM is just a tour guide?

It's not a matter of being spoiled or not, it's more a matter of preference. You prefer to be close to them, and I prefer to be left alone. No big deal, just different approaches. By not having to worry about me, it frees the DM to help those who need his help or those who are more comfortable having him close by. We all go home happy this way.

If divers went all over the place on their own, it would be extremely difficult for the boats to find them all, and there would be lost divers bobbing around all over the place.

The Cozumel DM really has to make sure the group stays together to the extent that they can be found at the end of the dive.

This, IMHO, is site dependant. In isolated sites where there are no other boats, we most definitely stick pretty close together. We may not all come up together, but we're within sight. At Barracuda, we all descend together and we all ascend together, for obvious reasons.

On other sites with heavier traffic, it's pretty common for us to come up fairly long distances apart. There have been lots of times where the first divers have come up after ~30-40 minutes, and some of us have stayed down an hour or more. We don't worry about this as much because the odds of being seen and picked up by someone are pretty heavy in our favor. So far, its always been our own boat, but there are others there if we need them, and they are always happy to help. We also carry 6' SMBs to help us be seen.

YMMV

 

[Jax]

Question for you Cozmelites . . .

Does anyone know what the currents were doing yesterday? The common South to North, or were there eddies and swirls?

 

[cvchief]

It's not a matter of being spoiled or not, it's more a matter of preference. You prefer to be close to them, and I prefer to be left alone. No big deal, just different approaches. By not having to worry about me, it frees the DM to help those who need his help or those who are more comfortable having him close by. We all go home happy this way.

Not at all, my red truck friend. I said I prefer a DM that watches their charges as they need to be watched or at least that is what I meant. When I was new, I was WATCHED. As I should have been. If I felt like I knew it all back then fresh outta class and wanted to be left alone, it would have been poor form, in my opinion, to let me go off and be dangerous. Now she watches me less as she doesn't need to. I don't stay that close. In fact I have been convicted of felony lollygagging with my camera behind the group more than once.

You don't let your little red hats go running willy nilly with the knob until you know they know what they are doing right? The white hats better be keeping a closer eye on them?

Your DM shouldn't stop worrying about you until they know they can stop worrying about you, I think. A C-card and bravado is not the same as knowing what you are doing. I have seen divers show up who acted experienced but sure didn't look that way underwater.

 

[suprane]

As someone who was intimately involved in that thread from the start, I will argue that there was a whole lot of misinformation thrown at us from the very beginning, and it took a long time to get the truth out.

You're absolutely right! And a lot of posters began to get VERY hot and rather obnoxious and vocal in their opinions!.... And, yes, the truth did eventually come out.

 

[Firefyter]

Not at all, my red truck friend. I said I prefer a DM that watches their charges as they need to be watched or at least that is what I meant. When I was new, I was WATCHED. As I should have been. If I felt like I knew it all back then fresh outta class and wanted to be left alone, it would have been poor form, in my opinion, to let me go off and be dangerous. Now she watches me less as she doesn't need to. I don't stay that close. In fact I have been convicted of felony lollygagging with my camera behind the group more than once.

You don't let your little red hats go running willy nilly with the knob until you know they know what they are doing right? The white hats better be keeping a closer eye on them?

Your DM shouldn't stop worrying about you until they know they can stop worrying about you, I think. A C-card and bravado is not the same as knowing what you are doing. I have seen divers show up who acted experienced but sure didn't look that way underwater.

We're in complete agreement here, we were just phrasing it differently. I've said pretty much what you said here earlier in another post (maybe even in another thread). Cross posting between threads is starting to get me lost. I'm on the back side of a 48 hour shift, and I aint as sharp as I usually am

 

[cvchief]

We're in complete agreement here, we were just phrasing it differently. I've said pretty much what you said here earlier in another post (maybe even in another thread). Cross posting between threads is starting to get me lost. I'm on the back side of a 48 hour shift, and I aint as sharp as I usually am

I should have taken the other test and got to sleep 1/3 of my career.....

 

[scurbswife]

Robin, were you here in cozumel during this time. I am sorry but reading what you have posted really makes me angry!! You have no idea what is going on here! I am a fairly new diver and was here in cozumel 2 months ago and was certified the waters here then were beautiful, dives were beautiful no trouble with the currants. My husband and I decided to come back and bring our son, we are here now and although we were not with the group of the missing, we were out in the same area. Things went bad in a matter of minutes for alot of divers, very experienced divers and the less experienced. My DM told me to go up when he realized there were 2 divers in trouble and he had to go to 165ft to rescue one, get him to the surface and go back down for another at 165ft. My son and my husband were taken down to 150ft, it was a down currant and before anyone realized it you were being taken down, all of our divers returned to the surface but my husband and son we a drift for about 10 minutes before another boat which was the boat from the missing diver that radioed and let our boat know of my husband and sons where abouts. It was a very hard day for all involved. Our boat did assist in looking for the missing diver, I hope she is found, and my heart is very heavy for her family, I have done nothing but think of them today.
I will apologize to anyone that I offend but it really is bugging me that all the assumptions going on on this thread, when you have no idea of the situation!!!

 

[pjhansman]

Question for you Cozmelites . . .

Does anyone know what the currents were doing yesterday? The common South to North, or were there eddies and swirls?

We did 2 dives yesterday morning (including Santa Rosa Wall) and the currents were slow and the "normal" South to North.

 

[mdax]

If you dive alone you may die alone. Either take that risk and deal with your decision, hire a private DM or ensure your buddy is solid.
In coz every diver needs to have an smb, in cocos/galapagos bring a raft and survival supplies. Individual responsibility is the name of the game once you enter the water, depending on a DM to "watch you" or corral an entire group is foolhardy.

 

[Tigerman]

...
I am surprised that an SMB is not required in Cozumel. If the government will not require it, I would think it would be easy for the dive operator to require it.
...

With the ammount of dive shops in areas like cozumel, its easy to require more from your guests... if you want to go bust.
People in general are lazy and cheap and go for the easiest, cheapest option rather than the best, more expensive one..

Also, if you supply the equipment, the guests still need to know how to use it. Its not like having your guests tangled in line is a good thing either.