Don't Go Boat Diving...

[dumpsterDiver]

39 degrees, green water, bad visibility and hardly anything alive on the wreck....No wonder I never dove in Virginia.


Don't you put a stern line out with a float on it wehn anchor diving? I didn't notice that.

Also, why would you want to anchor a small boat and dive a wreck like that with what appeared to be near zero current? If you just swam down 100 feet to the wreck, left someone on board to pick you up, you could ditch the reel and would seem to be able to explore much easier?

 

[H2O 70]

How about the guy in the Isotherm? Balls as big a church bells! Got to commend him for diving 'wet' in 39 degree water with guys who are dry.

 

[UntamedSpirit]

Great vid..thanks

 

[Wil]

Andy,

Truly EXCELLENT video! The best thing from of the day certainly, besides the good company and safe diving. We must do it again when the weather permits.

Andy's right about a Float Plan; I usually drop one in the Marina office drop box if they're not open when we depart. Internet search USCG Float Plan and you'll have a perfect example to use. A couple of other thoughts to consider, though not shown on Andy's great video, when heading off shore. Check the weather! The boat also has an emergency checklist and action plan to cover most onboard emergencies, including a lost diver. There's an emergency grab bag, a Cat 1 EPRIB, and we always put out a stern tag line no matter the sea state. You can see in in the video. If you head off shore, the best thing you can use is your brain. Take the time to consider what can go wrong, then be prepared to deal with it, practice your diving skills, and never be hesitant to ask for assistance.

Since Joe asked about the ladder; it's custom made of 2 inch diameter Stainless Steel with 4 open rungs (fin ladder). I've had some big guys with doubles on it and, though not officially load tested, I know it'll take more than 500 lbs. Where most dive ladders which fit into a bracket fail is the mount. My ladder has a flat SS plate that slides into a receiver bolted to the stern. Then secures with a pin. Most off-the-shelf dive ladders have two posts that slide into a U shaped bracket. They work okay but will deform over time, especially with a heavily equiped diver.

Again, GREAT JOB Andy!

Safe Diving,
Wil

 

[Drewski]

39 degrees, green water, bad visibility and hardly anything alive on the wreck....No wonder I never dove in Virginia.

Don't you put a stern line out with a float on it wehn anchor diving? I didn't notice that.

Also, why would you want to anchor a small boat and dive a wreck like that with what appeared to be near zero current? If you just swam down 100 feet to the wreck, left someone on board to pick you up, you could ditch the reel and would seem to be able to explore much easier?

Dumpster! How the heck are ya man? How's that kid of yours doing at diving, BTW? That video you made of you and him flying into that wreck still impresses the heck out of me.

First, yep we had a trail line out although on that day we didn't really need it. It's in the video if you look carefully.

There is something to be said about the way you guys dive wrecks off Lauderdale. Having the boat come and get you is an easy way to do it and I've experienced that off West Palm Beach before and I must say I was impressed.

I'd probably say we hook the wreck and anchor because most of the dives are 100 FT+ and you can't see the wreck on the way down. Most of us dive drysuits as well, so swimming is more difficult and gets hot fast. Heck, I've had divers lose the wreck on the way down because they came off the anchor line, let alone trying to hit it flying. Alternatively, we could shot line it then float and I've been giving some thought about trying that lately. Most of all our dives are deco as well, so there is some comfort about having a secure way to the boat and emergency gas if needed...

Thanks for your comments!

Andy

 

[Drewski]

That was really good, alway enjoy your videos! Have you ever done one that breaks out your diving configuration, tanks, hoses, tips/tricks? The video looks and sounds real professional, same as the other one you did at Lake Rawling a few weeks ago. Kudos!

Hey skistowe, THANKS for the nice comments!

Actually, that sounds like a great idea. I really think there's a market for stuff like this. I'll work on that for the next project.

THANKS...

Andy

 

[Drewski]

Andy,

Truly EXCELLENT video! The best thing from of the day certainly, besides the good company and safe diving. We must do it again when the weather permits. Wil

Hey Wil! It was a GREAT time, and THANKS for the nice compliment. Anytime, brother, anytime! I really wanted to drop on the Eureka and probably should have but DANG I was cold after that first one, lol...

I long for the hot Hatteras days, 80 degree water and 100+ of viz... SIGH.

 

[Wil]

How about the guy in the Isotherm? Balls as big a church bells! Got to commend him for diving 'wet' in 39 degree water with guys who are dry.

Yep, that's me. Although I had my dry suit on the boat, I decided to take in the cool and refreshing waters of Virginia Beach. Wasn't cold except for the hands and feet (my gloves have holes). The water temp was actually a bit warmer than 39deg, it was 42deg. Just got to keep moving, the worse of it is having to stop for deco and the safety stop. You get cold just hanging out.

Safe Diving,
Wil

 

[Wil]

Andy,

I got another wreck to dive. North of the Triangle in 90fsw. I promise it's NOT the Ice Barge but a wreck that went down about ten years ago...

I went out in the fog on Saturday, applied my Navy taught navigation skills (an assist from sidescan technology and GPS), and started searching the area I thought it was located. After a few hours running a search pattern I found it. Can't wait to dive on it.

Wil

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Dumpster! How the heck are ya man? How's that kid of yours doing at diving, BTW? That video you made of you and him flying into that wreck still impresses the heck out of me.

First, yep we had a trail line out although on that day we didn't really need it. It's in the video if you look carefully.

There is something to be said about the way you guys dive wrecks off Lauderdale. Having the boat come and get you is an easy way to do it and I've experienced that off West Palm Beach before and I must say I was impressed.

I'd probably say we hook the wreck and anchor because most of the dives are 100 FT+ and you can't see the wreck on the way down. Most of us dive drysuits as well, so swimming is more difficult and gets hot fast. Heck, I've had divers lose the wreck on the way down because they came off the anchor line, let alone trying to hit it flying. Alternatively, we could shot line it then float and I've been giving some thought about trying that lately. Most of all our dives are deco as well, so there is some comfort about having a secure way to the boat and emergency gas if needed...

Thanks for your comments!

Andy

For a small boat with a FEW decent divers, it just seems easier to not anchor if the visibility is decent. The last thing you want is to be drifting into a wreck in terrible visbility and get impailed or thrown into a net.

We do drifting deco all the time. it is actually SAFER, because you carry your own oxygen and the boat carries an extra bottle on a float an 20 ft of line that they can lower to a drifting deco diver. This way, a guy won't get blown off the wreck and be in need of deco gas and the boat is tied into the wreck with people hanging on the anchor line.

I dove NJ wrecks a long time ago and we always just anchored, but we often had strong currents, bad viibility