For All of Us "Northernerns"

[NudeDiver]

Well as I was told, It came from the days of wooden ships. Something to do with when bananas rot, they weaken the wood, but anyway they're back luck.

ooooooooh, BANANA!!!!! I misread that as "BANDANNA" and I was thinking, "what on earth is wrong with having a bandanna on a ship??

I was on a charter boat in North Carolina, I was asked if I had bananas in my snack box. When I said yes, they told me to eat it before I boarded, or throw it away. Thats when they told me about bananas being bad luck. Went on to say last peron who boarded the boat with a banana broke his arm.

That's interesting. I thought they were supposed to contain lots of potassium and help prevent cramps. This being the case, you'd think they would be passing them out on board.

I don't think I would want to dive on a boat where possession of a banana was a big concern - and I don't even like bananas.

Bananas bad luck on ships - OK, learned something new today. Thanks

 

[potato cod]

Once you're in the water, if you have to adjust your gear (mask, etc.), make sure you get some distance away from the boat first, especially if it is pitching around in the waves. I once *almost* took a blow to the head with a propellor as a boat pitched back towards me. Would have ruined my trip, to say the least!

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Unbungee your tank before you hook up your reg, then bungee it back up.

 

[Squishy]

I learned a few things on my first boat dive (and in salt water).

First, pay attention to what the bottom of your boat looks like on the way down. We were the only boat there when we went down, but there were others when we came up. Thankfully, I came up on the right boat, but it could have been really embarrassing had I surfaced at the wrong one.

Second, when descending and ascending along a mooring line attached to a shipwreck, you should probably be wearing gloves if you are holding onto it. It was heavily coated with algae and I was told later that it could have had sea lice on it (I don't know what they are... but they don't sound like a good thing.)

Finally, I was surprisingly more buoyant at the end of the dive than I expected. I came up slowly along the line, then swam over to the stainless steel bar hanging at 15 feet. I misjudged it and actually bounced my tank off the bottom of the boat before I kicked back down to the safety stop bar. That would have been embarrassing but nobody saw it and, thankfully, nobody on the boat mentioned hearing it (although I know they must have).

-Mike-

 

[DIVERHERB]

Every boat and every crew is different. My suggestion to new boat divers is to just remeber one thing. Pay close attention to the crew and Capt. when they give their dive briefing. And dont be afraid to ask any questions about the dive/area. They have more than likely dove the sites many time and can answer all your questions. And dont worry about asking "stupid" questions. Usually the boat crew is more than willing to help and answer your questions from when to gear up to how to conduct your dive. If you heed their advice you cant go wrong.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Well as I was told, It came from the days of wooden ships. Something to do with when bananas rot, they weaken the wood, but anyway they're back luck. I was on a charter boat in North Carolina, I was asked if I had bananas in my snack box. When I said yes, they told me to eat it before I boarded, or throw it away. Thats when they told me about bananas being bad luck. Went on to say last peron who boarded the boat with a banana broke his arm. So that's the best to explaination I got. Now back to the show.

I was told that the bananas are bad luck thing got started on banana boats where spiders in the bananas would bite the crew who would get sick, die, etc.

On a more practical note, bananas seem to be associated with sea sickness. Maybe not a big deal in the Carribean, but it can be in NC.

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Stuff I see new boat divers do that they should not:

1. Jump in with BC fully inflated in current where they need to get down to the granny line as soon as possible.

2. Ascend without looking up, and almost getting beaned in the head by the rudder or prop.

3. Spread their gear all over the boat. Stuff your gear in the bag in the reverse order that you assemble it. If possible set up your tank, regs and BC before the boat ever leaves the dock. Keep everything else in the bag until you need to assemble it. Keep the bag stowed under your spot on the bench. Leave the big roller bag in your car, carry your stuff aboard in a smaller frameless bag that will stow in a smaller space.

4. Have a new computer with no real clue how to use it or set it for the nitrox mix they are really using.

Good stuff to know:

1. Keep your mask where it will not get stepped on. Putting your mask in a fin foot pocket and putting the fins under the bench usually works well. Bring a back up mask anyway.

2. In rough seas, keep head movement to a minimum, lots of bending over etc. can cause nausea in rough seas.

3. Even if you have never gotten motion sickness, take something anyway (Triptone, Bonine, etc) Do a test run at home before the trip to see if it makes you sleepy, etc. Take it the night before then about an hour before the boat leaves the dock.

4. Nothing goes in the average marine head that did not pass through you. Everything else goes in the trash can. Everything else.

 

[John_B]

This shouldn't be restricted to northerners, there are a lot of people everywhere that aren't boat savvy. Its not a geographical thing.

Well as I was told, It came from the days of wooden ships. Something to do with when bananas rot, they weaken the wood, but anyway they're back luck. I was on a charter boat in North Carolina, I was asked if I had bananas in my snack box. When I said yes, they told me to eat it before I boarded, or throw it away. Thats when they told me about bananas being bad luck. Went on to say last peron who boarded the boat with a banana broke his arm. So that's the best to explaination I got. Now back to the show.

The original deal was that a particularly nasty spider lived inside the banana bunches. Also in the days of tall ships if you would get monkeys onboard (looking for the bananas) you couldn't get them off.

It amazes me that any captain would still hold this superstition.

If there was any reason to be concerned about bananas on a dive boat it would be because, like grapes, banana peels are slippery. But nobody forbids grapes on a boat. The heckuvit is that bananas are the perfect predive and between dive food, esp. if it may come back for an encore.

 

[8thElementDiver]

2. Ascend without looking up, and almost getting beaned in the head by the rudder or prop.

4. Nothing goes in the average marine head that did not pass through you. Everything else goes in the trash can. Everything else.

Regarding #2, I was on a dive boat when a diver surfaced under the boat--twice. She got uncomfortable, decided to end the dive early and bonked her head by coming up under the boat. On the next dive she did it again! Once is pretty inexcusable, but twice? So not only look up, but shine your light up if it's a night dive or really bad viz, and put at least one hand over your head to act as a cushion if needed.

Regarding #4, ask beforehand whether they use a holding tank. Lots of boats do not (even if it's required by law to use one). If they don't use a holding tank, you should wait until everyone is back on the boat during a surface interval before using the head, regarding #2. It's just not polite to plop on top of your dive buddies.

 

[teddyg04]

It helps to bring your own water bottle. Most boats have lots of water available; it's more environmentally friendly to avoid using a bunch of cups.

If it's a day trip (rather than a liveaboard), bring snacks: granola bars, fruit, etc. Something durable and easy to pack. Even though most of them provide food, not all have snacks available for the trip back (or out).

Don't over pack, but try to remember important things: o rings, zip ties, etc. And don't forget the bug spray, even if you don't think it will be a problem (that's when you need it most!). **insert product plug** Cactus Juice (look it up on the web) is a great, deet-free, environmentally friendly insect repellant that actually works.

Tip the boat crew.

 

[John_B]

Regarding #4, ask beforehand whether they use a holding tank. Lots of boats do not (even if it's required by law to use one). If they don't use a holding tank, you should wait until everyone is back on the boat during a surface interval before using the head...

Note Z on NOAA charts for the Florida Keys specifically spells out that any boat with a head has to disable the discharge by having the discharge valve in a locked position while in any no discharge zone, which is basically anywhere in the FKNMS. Hopefully the captain or crew would be familiar with pumpout stations. Hopefully those same people could explain to passengers where the discharge actually discharges to.