How Long Have You Waited on The Surface?

[vladimir]

they keep yanking the outboard motor string (I am sure there is a proper word for it, but its that string with a T-handle you use to start small petrol motors).
I guess the small motor broke down

The same thing happened to me off Kakaban in the Celebes Sea. I was bobbing there alone for an hour in a pretty decent current, and I didn't have the comfort of knowing the boat had seen me. I remember wishing I'd worn my Scubapro vest so I could kick back a little more easily. Luckily I had (have) a full head of hair.

 

[diver 85]

30 minutes after a drift dive in Paradise Island, Bahamas in '90 or so...dive company was Dive,Dive,Dive....we got split into 3 small groups during the dive....will never forget that outfit......haha........

 

[ItsBruce]

I've never waited particularly long on a drift dive. However, I can sure empathize with Meng-Tze. I was on a boat when the engine would not start. Since Catherine will appreciate this, I will relate the story: My crew and I were racing my sailboat from Marina Del Rey to San Diego for thhe 4th of July holiday. I count on finishing in about 27 hours and when I do, we generally win. At 27 hours we were still 40 miles away foing 0.10 knots, with no sign of wind. We decided to drop out of the race and motor in. The engine would not start. We finished a day later and won simply because everyone with operable motors had already dropped out. Sorry for the hijack.

 

[cgvmer]

Long time ago when I was 16, I went overboard in the Hudson River with rope attached to a ring buoy to rescue another teen that fell overboard fully clothed. I caught up to him 1/2 mile south of the boat and we hung onto a navigation buoy. We waited about an hour for the boat to reach us because it was anchored and only the person who went over, myself and the skipper (who had a broken hand) were on board. The skipper reached a group that were on shore to return to the launch to pick us up.
After I finished yelling at the other guy for not dropping his boots (steel toed) we calmed down then we started making jokes and relaxing in the fast moving current.

I have only spent 5 min or so waiting for a drift boat, but I jump back to that day 30 years ago when I was in stuck in the hudson river off hook mountain state park.
I guess the "Be Prepared" takes on an expanded meaning to me.

 

[IceIce]

So far, I've been lucky. Whenever I surface, boat is on my sight. Sometimes I swim closer to the boat before surfacing, far enough from the propeller. Eventhough there are times when I wait, that's because the boat is picking up another divers, so it's a relaxing waiting.

Worst for me i think about an hour. Was a horrible experience for no other reason than all through the dive i needed the toilet, surfaced then had to wait another hour before being able to go.

Divers need a toilet? Ah, you men the BIG one.

 

[stephhhhh]

15 minutes the most!

 

[bvmjethead]

Oh the power of a 6' orange SMB...

I was just thinking the exact same thing. How much room does one of these things take up in a BC pocket anyway?

 

[miketsp]

No doubt a big SMB is a tremendous tranquilizer in these situations.

 

[HowardE]

After reading here at scubaboard, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that a SMB should be minimum equipment for a boat dive, got mine before I ever stepped off of one

I carry my 6' safety sausage on EVERY dive. I also have it pre-rigged to my finger spool (which has 30' of line on it) for easy deployment.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

First dive trip (Cozumel, Oct 2005) after OW, I hogged through my air, being a new diver, and I felt bad about ending someone else's dive, so I did a solo safety stop and then surfaced. No boat! I bobbed around for a while, not having an SMB. I held up my octopus, since it was bright yellow. After about fifteen minutes, I began to feel a little nervous and quickly took stock of my situation: The current was carrying me towards an anchored buoy. Failing that, it was carrying me towards the dock where the cruise ships were moored. If worse came to worse, it was only a half-mile to shore and I could easily make the swim.

Just as I was preparing to make the swim for shore, another boat came along and asked who I was diving with. I gave them the name of the dive op/boat, and they radioed them.

Finally, after I'd been bobbing on the surface for a total of approximately a half hour, they showed up and picked me up.

Apparently, the dive guide for the second team, got to depth and realized he had to crap, so he surfaced, they boogied for land, he dropped a log, and they returned. He was razzed unmercifully for it... LOL

(I now keep an SMB clipped to my BC all the time.)