Diving off small fishing boat

[Chuck Tribolet]

I am surprised you leave your boat unattended when diving. Up until a year ago I did the same, following similar procedures to ensure the anchor was secure, etc. I have since realized it is not a worthwhile risk. If you're diving sites where you could survive a swim to shore that is one thing. If you are 15 miles out that is just insanity in my opinion. I would definitenly not suggest others do it. Find another buddy who enjoys solo diving and you are good to go. I added laminated step by step instructions to the helm for starting the engine, how to pick up a diver, hailing the CG, reading printed GPS coordinates, etc. I also train the guests using these procedures.

--Matt

I like diving with a GOOD buddy, and I have a regular GOOD
buddy (my GF). In Monterey, you can swim to shore from any
of the boat dive sites. It may take a while, but it's doable. For
the Farallones, where you can't swim to shore, we take two boats,
anchor one and live boat the other.

And instructions on how to start the boat and run the radio are
printed on waterproof laser printer paper and taped inside the lid
of the dry box. New guests get shown these.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Hooking to a rock is not good, especially if you're solo. How do you get it off? In strong winds it's hard to manage.

Sometimes there's nothing but rock. So you carefully pick a rock
that doesn't look like it will want to keep the anchor.

Unsticking an anchor is an art. Backing the boat around and pulling
the other direction usually works. Also, position the boat directly
over the anchor and jiggle the line.

And I'm rarely alone on my boat. I've had to send a diver down
to send up the anchor on a bag maybe four times in 500 days on
the water.