Geting Paid to Dive in Cozumel

[ibj40]

Sounds like it had less to do with opportunity for women than it did with opportunity for jiggle.

Perhaps very few here are familiar with this epic: Dive Cozumel Scuba Buff

 

[DandyDon]

There was a group below us at Ibero when where there a while back that went to swim with the bull sharks on the mainland. Their boat started taking on water and turned back. It basically sank by the dock. I don't think they went in, but I know they were complaining of their BCD smelling of diesel as they did go down with the ship.

I did see a picture in Coz of a skilled capitan with a powerful boat raising another dive boat that caught a stern wave I think and sank in like 20-30 feet of water this year. I don't remember where the divers were at the time.

Hell, we heard at the top of this thread that some boats wouldn't pass inspection. I've been out on some doozies, from a Windjammer barque caught at night by a bad storm, to a poorly converted fishing boat in Belize crossing to the Atolls - one of those did break apart & sink later with divers onboard coming back from Blue Hole, and some others - and I finally thought about how dangerous some of these boats really are. To that you can add my possible screw ups if I stand up on a small one or zig when I should zag when a large one gets hit by a rogue wave in the dark. Losses may be uncommon but many boats run on the edge, and how often do you get a safety briefing that even tells you where the PFDs are hidden.

I get laughs, I guess I look funny (see my profile pic), but it's a safety tool that doesn't get in the way. I can't get my home bud to wear one on a boat nor my family when they play in murky lakes or go out on kayaks, but I try.

 

[islanddream]

DD:

I really appreciate what you take with you on dives. I think those of us who've been on this earth longer than the young'uns tend to be more cautious because of life experiences. Although I don't have many dives under my BCD, I find myself thinking about scenarios that could take place on a dive and I'm seeing that I have a heck of a lot more to learn.

In regards to more female DM's, I'm voting NO. More hunky male DM's please (but leave the speedos at home---love the boardshorts!)...it just makes diving so much more interesting....even for us old married ladies :blinking:.

 

[Mossman]

That Roatan boat that was going to take us across to Utila with none had transmission problems and turned back, then had another boat deliver a jug of fluid. As they got ready to pour, I asked if I could hold the fire extinguisher. Nope, they didn't have one of those either. I put on my PFD and watched from the edge of the boat. :shocked2:

It would have been even safer had you put out your cigarette

 

[ggunn]

That's an interesting question. Out of all the dive accidents reported in DAN's annals etc., divers lost behind, etc., we don't hear much about recreational divers lost in boat accidents. I've heard of a capsize or two in Cozumel and I know well the details of the Wave Dancer incident in Belize, but are there many other reports of divers drowning in dive boat incidents?

BTW, DandyDon, would you wear your flotation device full-time on a liveaboard boat, including at dinner?

I don't wear a flotation device on the boat on the way to the dive site, but I won't put on my weight belt until we get there.

 

[cruiser]

Speaking of boats sinking, if the caca hits the fan, everyone will be hunkering around the man with the plan (Don).

 

[DandyDon]

Speaking of boats sinking, if the caca hits the fan, everyone will be hunkering around the man with the plan (Don).

Haha, well when a dive boat sinks - which does happen, the passengers are generally capable swimmers and more or less dressed for going in. I may have my dive skin down to my waste, still in T-shirt, depending on how far we are, but it's best to be ready to swim at a moments notice. Wearing neoprene suits fully zipped helps, if you're not injured. Even if I break a bone in the boat flip, I hope I can inflate the collar.

On a different but related and sad note: Elderly woman dies, girl among 4 rescued after boat sinks off Florida Keys - CNN.com 20 hours in the water - wow! The news story is not clear of course, but sounds like 7 rescued by civilians and CG, one lost. The part I always hate: "Not all" of the boaters were wearing life jackets, according to the Coast Guard's initial report. Another story on the accident said that no one was wearing life vests. Their choice I guess except for the 4 yo. I'm pretty sure children are required by law to wear them.

 

[cruiser]

IMO, it's not my place as a customer to stick my nose into the financial or organizational operations of a dive shop. If I like the level and quality of service I get, I feel the diving is done safely, the boat is in decent shape and the captain and crew know what they're doing, then I'll keep diving with them. It's not my business how an owner pays his or her staff, or what benefits they get or don't get. That's between them.

To each his own, but I don't want to support a dive op that isn't doing right by their employees or cutting costs at the expense of customer safety, which is also why I don't want my investments to support apartheid in South Africa, or my clothes to be made by a 6-old who should be in school.

 

[cvchief]

IMO, it's not my place as a customer to stick my nose into the financial or organizational operations of a dive shop. If I like the level and quality of service I get, I feel the diving is done safely, the boat is in decent shape and the captain and crew know what they're doing, then I'll keep diving with them. It's not my business how an owner pays his or her staff, or what benefits they get or don't get. That's between them.

To each his own, but I don't want to support a dive op that isn't doing right by their employees or cutting costs at the expense of customer safety, which is also why I don't want my investments to support apartheid in South Africa, or my clothes to be made by a 6-old who should be in school.

On some level, I agree with you on the private nature of how a shop operates, but there becomes a point that isn't enough. If the shop is operating illegally, that would concern me. I wouldn't hire a contractor in the US if I knew his crew was not on the books and being paid under the table. I think there is a line between private business plan and operating illegally.

 

[firstdive2005]

To each his own, but I don't want to support a dive op that isn't doing right by their employees or cutting costs at the expense of customer safety, which is also why I don't want my investments to support apartheid in South Africa, or my clothes to be made by a 6-old who should be in school.

Lose your halo dude--nearly all goods manufactured enmasse are paid in sub or poverty wage rates. I have never met anyone that can survive on one wage in any restaurant in North America with the applome of the well off or doing well crowd. While auto workers and mail delivery persons and medical people seem to make wage that can pull off a good life, I talked to a fireman on Coz and was astounded at his pay. Why dont you get on your high horse and go talk to the captain there. It is not my place to chastize how people are paid if they freely walk into the place of there employ. At that point they are not victims if they arent at gun point.
Dive masters have the choice of how they will have their medical payed. Am I supposed to say to him or her-hey did you pay your medical because if you didnt your not getting my warbucks.