"Drifting Dan" Carlock wins $1.68 million after being left at sea

[willabonger]

"Lawyers for the companies had contended that by participating in the dive, Carlock had assumed certain risks, thereby waiving his right to hold operators responsible. But a judge refused to dismiss the case, saying that being abandoned at sea is not a risk inherent in the sport."

hahah good one judge

 

[MrCultureJammer]

I'm a DM. I've been a DM on many dive boats here in CA and also in FL.

And let me say, I am one PITA SOB when it comes to me counting heads when the dive is over. We do not turn the key until I get a loud and clear "present" and I look at your face and you hold up your hand.

Then, we pull up anchor.

And we do it again.

If there's any f'ing chatter at all, I generally blow a gasket, and we start it again. LOUDER this time. And there had better damn well be complete f'ing silence this time around.

After 2 full loud and verbal counts and me laying eyes on you 2x, the Captain gets my loud and hearty thanks for his patience, and I tell him to take us home, Sir, the vessel is yours again.

I completely know I am a SOB during those 10 minutes. NO doubt. And when those 10 minutes are over, you are welcome to call me every name in the book, and talk profanely about my mom and dad. No hard feelings at all.

But since my name and PADI number are going on the log sheet, I'm running the show and I make damn f'ing sure we have everyone we left with, or we don't move.

And I haven't misplaced a single diver yet.

Sadly, I have been on many a dive boat where the DM is...let's just say "not as committed" as I am. When this happens (and you can usually tell as soon as you get on and get underway), although I am not DM on the boat, I usually have done my own silent head count when everyone gets back after the dives. If it disagrees with his, I quietly whisper in his ear that maybe, at his discretion, he should do it again, just to be sure.

I was taught the DM "owns" that boat while he's on it. I sure as hell work that way.

And if you're ever on one of my boats, you can certainly call me a bastard. (Heck, even to my face. I won't bat an eye or lift a finger or mention it again. We may even go out for drinks when we get back on the dock, my treat.)

But you'll be calling me a bastard safe and dry on the boat when you do it, I promise you that.

 

[ItsBruce]

Sadly, I have been on many a dive boat where the DM is...let's just say "not as committed" as I am. When this happens (and you can usually tell as soon as you get on and get underway), although I am not DM on the boat, I usually have done my own silent head count when everyone gets back after the dives. If it disagrees with his, I quietly whisper in his ear that maybe, at his discretion, he should do it again, just to be sure.

This implies that you and the DM have come up with different counts on at least one occasion. It also implies that the DM would have left someone behind but for you. That is very disconcerting. You should report any such DM to the skipper and PADI.

Incidentally, while I commend you on your dedication, that does not mean that doing something less is negligent.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

Yep. There have been head-counts made while I was a DM on the boat as a regular diving passenger, that were off by one person. I knew b/c I try to make it a point to silently count heads to myself while folks are all lined up about to get wet (and even write it on my slate if I can) and compare it to the verbal head count (done by the actual working DM) when we are ready to go.

Both times this has happened, I just watched the DM to see if he was A-OK with it, or noticed a problem. I watched him/her kinda go thru his list again. Some DM handwriting it so bad even they can't read it apparently. Some let folks sign in and go by (or try to go by) passenger's own handwriting.

I always re-copy the names myself once we are stowed and underway so I can read it. If a name is hard to pronounce, I take notes to the side on the pro•nun•c•a•tion, like this. Much easier for folks to respond when they hear their name right instead of mangled.

Like I said, I kinda gave a pleasant "That's not what I got EITHER" (so I'm saying up front that I agree with you, not trying to step on your toes here), and he settled everyone and did it again and came up right.

I guess what I'm really saying is I blame the DM in this missing-diver instance 100%. Yeah, perhaps he didn't come up close to the boat. Very few do. Yeah, you can say maybe "he didn't swim hard enough to be seen" or "his buddy is to blame".

In my book, all of that is moot. The boat moved...twice(!) without everyone on board. And that part is 100% preventable.

 

[ItsBruce]

I won't go so far as to say that it is unforgivable to miss getting everyone back on board. But, it comes close. (I'm the one who does a role call even when it is only my dive buddy and me on my boat.)

So, now the question: When you first discover that not all the divers who went into the water are back on the boat, what then? (Be specific. E.g., Do you give the diver more time to return? Do you immediately call the Coast Guard? Do you put divers in the water to look for the diver who has not checked in? When do you declare the diver "missing" as compared with just "overdue"?)

 

[boulderjohn]

So, now the question: When you first discover that not all the divers who went into the water are back on the boat, what then? (Be specific. E.g., Do you give the diver more time to return? Do you immediately call the Coast Guard? Do you put divers in the water to look for the diver who has not checked in? When do you declare the diver "missing" as compared with just "overdue"?)

I have only seen this happen one time. I can tell you what happened, but it is not a thing to inspire confidence, not because I think the crew did anything particularly wrong but because I don't know what they could have done better.

It happened on a shallow reef in Key Largo. It was the second dive of an afternoon trip in an area with a lot of boats from different dive operators. The pre-dive briefing told us we were to be back on the boat in 50 minutes. About an hour later, as everyone was packing their gear up after the dive, a roll call was taken, and a buddy team (husband and wife) was missing. The DM made absolutely certain that they were missing, and we just waited. Because it was a shallow area, we knew that even with AL80s someone with a good SAC rate could still be diving. They could have gotten lost, but where would that be? They could have gone any direction. All eyes scanned the water for bubbles as we finished packing, but if they had made a navigational error early in the dive they could have been far, far out of sight.

All the other dive boats in the area had left and everyone on our boat was done packing gear about 20 minutes later when bubbles were spotted. The DM donned fins and snorkel and sprinted out to them. When he reached the bubbles he raised his head to give the OK sign and then free dived down to tell the couple to get back to the boat. When the couple got back on the boat, the captain asked them (with surprising politeness) if they had understood the concept of getting back to the boat in 50 minutes. (They were German tourists.) They blithely said that, yes, they had understood the orders, but since they did not carry either dive watches or computers, they had no way of obeying. They were totally undisturbed, as if the captain was a fool for expecting them to come back at a specific time when they had no way of telling time. Neither did they seem disturbed by an entire boat full of divers who were already totally packed staring at them in disbelief.

During their absence there was a total feeling of helplessness on everyone's part. I don't know what they would have done if things had gone further. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that they could have contacted the other boats in the area and asked them to have a look for bubbles before they left.

 

[englishpeter]

I'd rathewr not go through that, even with the comp at the end.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I have only seen this happen one time. I can tell you what happened, but it is not a thing to inspire confidence, not because I think the crew did anything particularly wrong but because I don't know what they could have done better.

It happened on a shallow reef in Key Largo. It was the second dive of an afternoon trip in an area with a lot of boats from different dive operators. The pre-dive briefing told us we were to be back on the boat in 50 minutes. About an hour later, as everyone was packing their gear up after the dive, a roll call was taken, and a buddy team (husband and wife) was missing. The DM made absolutely certain that they were missing, and we just waited. Because it was a shallow area, we knew that even with AL80s someone with a good SAC rate could still be diving. They could have gotten lost, but where would that be? They could have gone any direction. All eyes scanned the water for bubbles as we finished packing, but if they had made a navigational error early in the dive they could have been far, far out of sight.

All the other dive boats in the area had left and everyone on our boat was done packing gear about 20 minutes later when bubbles were spotted. The DM donned fins and snorkel and sprinted out to them. When he reached the bubbles he raised his head to give the OK sign and then free dived down to tell the couple to get back to the boat. When the couple got back on the boat, the captain asked them (with surprising politeness) if they had understood the concept of getting back to the boat in 50 minutes. (They were German tourists.) They blithely said that, yes, they had understood the orders, but since they did not carry either dive watches or computers, they had no way of obeying. They were totally undisturbed, as if the captain was a fool for expecting them to come back at a specific time when they had no way of telling time. Neither did they seem disturbed by an entire boat full of divers who were already totally packed staring at them in disbelief.

During their absence there was a total feeling of helplessness on everyone's part. I don't know what they would have done if things had gone further. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that they could have contacted the other boats in the area and asked them to have a look for bubbles before they left.

Astounding and inexcusable! Nothing the dive operator could do nor the other divers HOWEVER the couple :doh:man it is a wonder no-one threw them overboard!:shocked2: Astounding the lack of consideration of some people!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I have only seen this happen one time. I can tell you what happened, but it is not a thing to inspire confidence, not because I think the crew did anything particularly wrong but because I don't know what they could have done better.........

For arguments sake....

1) Although it is NOT the boat crew's responsibility to check divers gear, I would think a pair of divers splashing with neither a bottom times or DC between either of them might attract the attention of an observant crew.

2) Why was the dive limited to 50 minutes? This seems short for a shallow dive and I would be tempted to stretch it a bit if the only reason was to get the crew back in time for happy hour.

 

[boulderjohn]

2) Why was the dive limited to 50 minutes? This seems short for a shallow dive and I would be tempted to stretch it a bit if the only reason was to get the crew back in time for happy hour.

You are right--it is solely to keep the boats on schedule. In that area of Key Largo, all the dives are shallow. The boats go for 4 dives a day, returning to base for lunch and new divers in between the morning and the afternoon dives. If people all did whatever they could, that schedule could not be maintained. If people did whatever they wanted starting in the morning, you would have a lot of very unhappy scheduled passengers in the afternoon. It's not perfect, but it is pretty typical for that kind of diving.