Hit By a Boat in Cozumel

[cvchief]

They released the info now that was the Papa Hogs boat which she was diving off of. From the article and what I heard it was some tragic mistakes on the part of the diver. Sounds like Papa Hogs moved rapidly to provide first aid with the help of DP. That kind of injury could easily have killed her.

 

[jd950]

I know the Cozumel forum can be hostile at times and that any criticism of a favorite operator or hotel is cause for a public lynching, but I am going to risk it and ask this:

Considering this current incident and in light of this

Justice For Kirsty:

and this

Won't dive again with Papa Hogs - Review of Papa Hog's Scuba Emporium, Cozumel, Mexico - TripAdvisor

and this

French Tourist Injured by Motor Propellers

is Papa Hogs ridiculously dangerous or are there far more people injured by Cozumel dive boats than I ever imagined?

By the way, why don't they require prop guards?

To be clear and fair...I have used several operators on Cozumel but have never used Papa Hogs and other than seeing their boats around and seeing their name here, I know nothing about them and have no information about these incidents beyond what is reported. I am just repeating publicly available information and based on that information asking what I think is a fair question.

 

[mstevens]

is Papa Hogs ridiculously dangerous

I don't really know about Papa Hogs. It could just be that they've been in operation for a while. It could be bad luck. It could be something else.

The 6 year-old negative review to which you link reported a forgotten BCD and bumpy boat rides, and a diver who slipped in the boat.

The French tourist hit by a boat a few years back was hit by a boat recklessly operated at Villablanca. Papa Hogs' only connection with that is that their shop is located nearby and people sometimes refer to area using their name.

In the case of Kirsty MacColl, she was struck by a boat almost certainly piloted by the spoiled heir to a grocery fortune who was improperly operating in the dive area, although someone else took the fall for it. I don't see how any dive operator could be implicated in that.

are there far more people injured by Cozumel dive boats than I ever imagined?

Probably not. My sense is that it's very unusual for anyone actually to be injured by a boat and that when it happens it's pretty well-publicized. The incident that started this thread, for example, was reported on Facebook on a page followed by 13,741 people.

By the way, why don't they require prop guards?

Dunno. Is this a common thing for marine boats?

 

[diverokc]

I have no opinion of papa hogs. I have freinds that have dove with them and had no problem. THe above review is from 2008 (just thought i wold point that out. ). So they have been around awhile and only had a few bad reviews. I would have no problems diving with them.

 

[jd950]

I may have misread the translation. I thought the gist of the Villablanca incident was that it was a PapaHogs boat. On the other thing I didn't care much about the BCD and other stuff, but considering the other two things I thought the comments about excessive speed/reckless operation of the boat might mean something. It can be very hard to evaluate this kind of stuff sometimes.

I have heard of and have seen propeller guards and would think they could be a valuable safety device for any boat that will operate near swimmers/divers, but I don't know how common they are.

 

[loudives]

Rumors around the Caleta today,
She was standing on the side of the boat, fell in, prop hit her leg, they had to amputate.

Heard same story from 3 different dive boat crews. Don't know for sure.

Seems like Any accident in Coz seems to reflect on the entire dive operation whether or not it is operator error or individual incompetence. If everyone would stop using an Operator who allows unsafe behaviour by divemaster, boat captain, or customer We would cut down on accidents. Today after 2nd Am dive, returning to the Caleta, I saw 2 boats with people standing on the side rails. The captains of those boats should have stopped and not proceed until people sat down on seats. I know the captains must have known about the Accident because the Caleta was all abuzz this morning.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved from the Cozumel forum to the A&I forum

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[Zman96]

Since this thread was moved can you add In Cozumel to the title.

 

[ZombieZombie]

I have dived with Papa Hogs before and the operation is as safe as any. Their dive masters are attentive and experienced. They carry all the right great on board.
The boats are small and obviously bounce about a bit more than larger boats, but many people choose operators precisely because they have small fast boats.

Tragic that this woman has been injured and I wish her the best recovery possible. In the end boating and diving have a certain element of risk. Boat captains should be safety conscious but also do not want to be like prison guards stamping out their customers' fun for seemingly petty things. In the end, no one should be more aware of our safety than ourselves and we put ourselves and others at risk if we believe that a boat captain will stop us doing anything dangerous.

This awful accident sounds as is if it could have happened on any boating trip anywhere.

On one very rough day out with Papa Hogs the dive master was laughing because I was clearly uncomfortable with the movement of the boat on the waves- and I got into fins, mask and snorkel just in case I went in. I didn't care who was amused. It was my job to be prepared for what could happen.
In the end, we had beautiful dives once we got under.


As an aside, I didn't realize that Kirsty McColl had been on a Papa Hogs boat. As above- the operator had nothing to do with causing that accident, but I was a fan of her music and always think of her when diving Chakanaab- and I am just curious if I understood the posts above correctly.

 

[Crass3000]

Dunno. Is this a common thing for marine boats?

Any of the boats I have been on in Bonaire, the Keys, Pompano and Ft. Lauderdale area, and in Lake Superior have never had prop guards that I have ever saw. Granted I have probably been on less boat dives than most here so I am no expert.