Dragging Line West Palm Beach

[Iknee]

I had a great time drift diving in West Palm Beach this past Saturday (April 2). The Captain and crew did an exceptional job, and were very alert despite all the idiots (I cant think of a more PC term right now) out on the water. We abandoned the first dive site because of boats fishing in or near the drift trajectory. I know that the captain put the safety of the divers first. All divers have to have a safety sausage to dive. I know that it was a requirement of my dive charter.

I found some wrecks at 85 feet and began to dive. I got separated from the group and couldnt find them, but having listened to the dive briefing, did not panic and followed procedure.

I began to surface to be picked up by the dive boat. The ascent was going fine, and I was at 40 feet when I heard a loud noise that sounded like a boat going very fast. I looked up and saw a boat go over my head. It appeared to be going at least 15 knots, and I watched it pass. I noticed that it was dragging a rope which was taunt and angled behind the boat. As I followed the rope I saw that it was coming toward me. I could not see the end of the rope, it disappeared to a depth lower than I was.

Although the rope missed me, in a sudden rush of fear, I thought that it was pulling a net, and I feared I would get caught. I did not panic, and the event passed without incident. I got out my safety sausage, but remembered I had left my reel on the boat. I tried to inflate it the best I could without being positively buoyant. At the safety stop, I kept looking around to make sure there were no more crazy boaters.

When I surfaced, the dive boat was there within a minute. The boat captain had to blow his horn a few times due to boaters coming too close to other dive flags/markers. I sometimes wonder if people who rent boats (or other watercraft) know what the rules are regarding a dive flag (or even know what one is)!

After analyzing what I saw, I think that it was a boat that forgot to pull up its anchor.
I had not thought about the danger boats have when dragging things underwater.



The biggest lessons I learned were:

1- Always take my reel
2- Inflate my safety sausage from depth on the reel before ascent
3- There will always be something you don't plan for
4- Arm dive boats with water cannons
5- Drift diving at WPB is awesome!

I would like to know if anyone has had an experience with a dragging net, or anchor and know what they did.

 

[Scott L]

An alarming situation to be sure. There is very little commercial fishing accomplised with drag nets in PBC. The incident you encountered was a freak occurence IMO. What a knuckle-headed boat driver...

 

[HowardE]

Questions for the OP.

Were you in fact pulling a dive flag, or just an SMB? When the boat passed over your head, while you were separated from the group.. did you have a surface marker at all?

 

[jhayes75]

I agree, I didn't get the impression that you were towing a flag. Although that still wouldn't have made a difference there anyway. Our flag was run clean over on our last trip there.

 

[Iknee]

Questions for the OP.

Were you in fact pulling a dive flag, or just an SMB? When the boat passed over your head, while you were separated from the group.. did you have a surface marker at all?

The group lead had a dive flag, I did not. My safety sausage could have been my surface marker if I hadn't forgotten my reel (hence lesson learned always bring my reel so I can deploy my safety sausage at depth). In this situation I do not know if that would have made a difference. When I surfaced, the dive boat appeared to be about 200 feet away. My main concern wasn't the boat going directly over my head, it was what it was dragging.

 

[openmindOW]

Did you have a buddy?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

It is not that unusual for a commercial boat to drag an anchor from one spot to another. Once it is free from the bottom, the anchor will sail up in the water column when the boat is underway.
Who wants to pull a heavy anchor in if you are running only a couple miles?

I've been on a boat while we dragged anchor like that hundreds of times.

It could be deadly to a diver. I've never had that happen to me in WPB.

Also FYI, if you were away from the group pulling a float and the dive boat is following the float, it is quite likely that YOU, (rather than the anchor dragger) were entirely at fault in this very dangerous situation. It sounds like you may well have been diving in the open ocean more than 100 yards from a dive flag and as such, you can not expect any consideration from boat operators.

 

[Iknee]

Dumpster Diver,

Thank you for informing me of this practice. I never knew that boats did this. I would not expect any consideration from boat operators if I was 100 yards out, because they would have no clue I was there. In this situation, I was about 200 feet from the dive boat. The Captain was pissed because boats were not keeping their distance from the dive flag. After what happened to JHayes, it makes me wonder how serious boaters consider dive flags, and SMB's. Especially people who rent boats for the day, and are not sure what the laws are. But, divers and boaters are human and will make mistakes.

After having my eyes opened to dragging anchors, it makes me wonder about the other hazards out there... subs, floating nets, etc. You don't know, what you don't know. I know after this experience I will always have that in the back of my mind. It will not stop me from diving, dangers exist everywhere. For me, it is like driving. Every time I see or hear of a freakish accident, it has opened my eyes a bit wider, and prepared me a bit more. I do not drive around thinking the world is going to end, but at least I will have some pre-planned options. That is one of the reasons I find Scuba Board so valuable... So many things that other people have learned the hard way (some with their lives), so I dont have to.

I always wondered why divers needed a dive flag while 30+ feet underwater. It always made sense to have/deploy one when above 30 feet due to getting hit by a boat, now it makes more sense. Dragging anchors.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

lknee: Scary. Glad you kept your cool and that it all turned out okay for you.

This is a little bit off topic, but not entirely, as it also involves an anchor: Last summer I was diving with a buddy in the Florida Keys, at one of the reefs off Marathon (I think it was Horseshoe, but would have to check my log to be sure). As we began the dive there were a couple of other boats nearby, but they were other commercial dive boats.

We were near the eastern end of the reef, and probably at about 25', when we heard a boat nearby. Next thing we knew a grapnel anchor was flying through the water. It was probably 20' away from us, but there's no reason it couldn't have clonked us upside the head (I guess some people actually do "throw" the anchor). We then watched as the grapnel bounced along the coral (presumably they were trying to set the anchor) and then disappeared from sight. As you can imagine, we hastened our way to much shallower water.

Judging by the size of the anchor (maybe 10#), the style (folding grapnel) and the method of (trying to) anchor, we figured it was a private boat and not a commercial one. We were fine, but it's not something I hope to experience again any time soon, that's for sure.

 

[HowardE]

Dumpster Diver,

Thank you for informing me of this practice. I never knew that boats did this. I would not expect any consideration from boat operators if I was 100 yards out, because they would have no clue I was there. In this situation, I was about 200 feet from the dive boat. The Captain was pissed because boats were not keeping their distance from the dive flag.

I find that people completely underestimate distances topside, and overestimate distances under water (like visibility)

Not to harsh on you, but what Dumpster Diver is saying is on point. You were at fault for not complying with your part of the dive flag law. Also FWIW... An SMB is not a legal dive flag according to the state of Florida. The minimum size for a dive flag to legally comply is 12" x 12".

Chalk it up to lessons learned. Glad you made it out safely