Father and son run over by dive charter

[cudachaser]

What scares me in West Palm esp in the winter are those huge yachts passing nearby while I'm waiting to be picked up. I know they are on auto-pilot, possibly no one on the bridge

 

[RedCash02]

Couple quick points:
- Interesting maybe only to me: I've been out with a lot of Keys operators over the last near-four decades (first Pennekamp dive, Nov. 1972). Number of drift dives I've done in the Keys: 0. Kind of surprised to hear anyone's doing them here

I've done them a handful of times on deeper reefs (30-70ft). Mostly with Divers City in Tavernier before they closed up shop in 2007. If you request it I bet some other shops would accommodate you.

I always thought of them as the perfect Key Largo dive for inexperienced divers. Many people aren't ready to navigate on their own and can just float along with the group. We had to be ready to get off the boat, but it never involved unsafe practices like having people out on the swim platform while the boat was underway.

 

[DennisS]

The part I find amazing is the high likelyhood of a boat coming over your little spot you wish to surface, so that you actually have to listen for a boat coming before you surface in the vast ocean. While that can happen anywhere, it's usually nowhere near the certainty it seems to be here. Now that's a lot of people in one place.

Boats passing overhead are a pretty common occurence, powerboats make noise. One of the closest calls I ever had was surfacing and looking at the bow of a sailboat, heeled over, coming right at me.

This is very unfortunate... I hope they fully recover.........

No matter what the circumstances (jumped in by mistake, fell in accidentally, etc...).... I would tend to place at least some blame with the boat operator.

The best drift diving operations I have dove with all have one thing in common.... the divemaster(s) are first in line and NOONE gets in the water before them. If someone wants to jump in or fall in prematurely, they have to go through the divemaster who is physically blocking the exit(s) by being there....... Prior to the DM staging him/herself at the exits, the exits are blocked by the folded ladders, closed transom doors, safety lines, whatever...... Never should the back of the boat be wide open for anyone to jump in on purpose or by accident while the engine is running. Following these simple procedures, if anyone gets chewed up in the props... it would be a divemaster and not a client.

Whatever litigation comes next, this point surely will be addressed.

I haven't done a lot of diving from commercial boats but most of the ones I've seen put the ladder down before they put the divers in.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Is it correct that the only source of this being a drift dive is the initial news report? The same initial news report that had the names of the divers switched? If so, given the media's track record with facts, is it possible this was NOT a drift dive, and the boat was in reverse while anchoring or securing to a buoy?

 

[Splitlip]

Couple quick points:
- Interesting maybe only to me: I've been out with a lot of Keys operators over the last near-four decades (first Pennekamp dive, Nov. 1972). Number of drift dives I've done in the Keys: 0. Kind of surprised to hear anyone's doing them here. I've advocated with some friendly operators for doing a drift drop onto wrecks when the currents were running but have not convinced anyone. Too much liability, apparently. I get that.
- In the few situations where I've been standing in full gear on a platform on a running boat, backing down or maneuvering ahead, it is not a situation entirely free of anxiety. Frankly, can't imagine doing it as an 11-yr-old.
Not criticizing, just sayin'.
- Shasta apparently has not been to Molasses or Looe on a warm weekend. Yeah, watch for props.

Crap! I was at Looe Key for the first time in 25 years a couple weeks ago! Did I say holy crap!

 

[Splitlip]

What scares me in West Palm esp in the winter are those huge yachts passing nearby while I'm waiting to be picked up. I know they are on auto-pilot, possibly no one on the bridge

Agree. Season. The guy that took Robb Murphy's legs was supposedly on auto-pilot. They should not be on auto that close for sure, but that is why we have lawyers. Only the fear of litigation will make these guys pay attention.

I always shoot a marker, but I always listen. (hit by a boat once, and may have been dead if I did not hear it) I also keep a coulple extra pounds so I can crash dive.

 

[KeysCuda]

Is it correct that the only source of this being a drift dive is the initial news report? The same initial news report that had the names of the divers switched? If so, given the media's track record with facts, is it possible this was NOT a drift dive, and the boat was in reverse while anchoring or securing to a buoy?

See reference drift dive" Post 18, this thread.
FWC = Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the investigating agency.
Good 'nuff?
Combined with the fact that this has been going on for a week now, and no one has contested the statement here or anywhere else that it was a drift dive.

 

[DoNotDstrb]

See reference drift dive" Post 18, this thread.
FWC = Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the investigating agency.
Good 'nuff?
Combined with the fact that this has been going on for a week now, and no one has contested the statement here or anywhere else that it was a drift dive.

I was on the water that day and heard most of the traffic on the VHF. It was obvious it was a drift dive... this was being openly discussed between USCG, FWC, boat crew, etc...

 

[openmindOW]

I was on the water that day and heard most of the traffic on the VHF. It was obvious it was a drift dive... this was being openly discussed between USCG, FWC, boat crew, etc...

Are you 100% certain that the boat in question was conducting a drift dive?

 

[ccxx]

I dive with Florida Keys Dive Center at least once a month and they are one of the best run operations in the Keys and their boat captains have more experience than most other dive operations put together. This is an unfortunate accident but I won't say the boat captain was to blame...if it was a drift dive, my guess is the divers were at the wrong place at the wrong time. You can't see below the platform on the Big Dipper from the upper deck. I feel for everyone involved....again a tragic accident....don't blame anyone, just call it human error. We can't all have a perfect dive record all the time. Diving involves risk above and below the surface. My personal feeling is, children (16 and under) really should not be diving (and I am an instructor). Of course I also feel that there are plenty of adults who should not be diving or at least need some more instruction in the water but that's my opinion.