Informal Poll- Boat nowhere near after dive

[chuck86]

Paul I agree that you should not have to wait that long but it does happen. I once had a problem with my BCD I actually pulled the inflator hose off of the connection in the back. Well there I was in the water weighted and no way to fill the BCD with air. Hell the hose came off in my hand. (Since this incident I have sovled this problem and it won't happen again) I was lucky that time the boat was right there.

If you are the Paul that I have dived with (along with your daughter) then you know who the dive op was and they are never very far away when we come up.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I agree with Catherine. I have another question, did the DM have his SMB deployed?

 

[ScubaPaul]

Catherine - Hopefully nobody (myself included) will flame you when you provide an opinion, which is what I asked for folks to do here...but, I don't agree with your assessment that if one isn't willing to wait 15 minutes or so, then one should drift dive. That statement seems abit too broad. It all depends on circumstances.

If' I am with a group who get separated...so be it. In this case I HAVE waited for 5 plus minutes to be picked up (maybe longer). When we are the only bubbles that need to be followed, I feel that it is an issue. Particularly when I know the captain isn't giving us his attention. Accidents can and do happen, and part of why we dive with operators is to have access to relatively quick assistance, in the event of an emergency. If I go to Bonaire, or some other destination, I expect to have to fend for myself and plan appropriately. If I solo dive, I plan and prepare accordingly, and accept the risks. When I hire someone to take us drift diving, I had expectations that the boat would be with us if at all possible. Apparently the owner did as well, as I did not in any way ask for the captain to be punished (if I had known he would have been I would have probably not made the call).

If I've learned anything in this thread it's that I will probably take the approach of talking directly with the captain first... and complain only if it becomes a repeat event.

Thanks for chiming in!

Paul

uh...the captains here fish while we drift. And not just one of them...several of the most popular.

I am not going to judge it. I see what I am dealing with and that is why I have my SMB. If they are not fishing...they could be dozing or on the phone.

I did not notice fishing in Coz, but in the South Pacific it happens a lot.

I understand both sides, please do not flame me. Some of these places, well...it ain't Disneyland and people need to face that. I have waited for 45 minutes more than ten times, in various locations, countries. It bugs me, but...5 minutes is nothing. he could be relieving himself, finishing his lunch, putting something away, having some boat issues. If you do not accept waiting up to fifteen minutes, you should probably not drift, IMO, because you are going to get upset on a regular basis.

Christy goes into this long explanation about rental car tourists having accidents and put in jail until they can pony up chunks of cash, even when it is not their fault. If this is so, then I think your infuriation about waiting a little bit on a safety stop, while somewhat justified, may not be realistic. Please don't scream at me...my goal is usually just to get people to realize how it IS, may not be how it SHOULD be...that is your best shot at surviving safely, coming to grips with that. Ultimately, Americans are not going to come in as tourists and change much about how a given culture does things by getting some captain in trouble for a few days. You would be better off, switching boats, or tipping early and telling the capatain "I get nervous if I have to float for long...so could you please watch closely for me?". As silly as it sounds, if I am worried, I go the direct request (plea) route.

Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, ...."professionalism" might be different than what we expect in the burbs, if you know what I mean.

 

[ScubaPaul]

By the way, I have received a few PM's asking me to identify the dive operator. I would like to avoid doing so at this time because I want to complete my trip and prepare my report, which if history is any indicator, will be a glowing review and huge success. THey deserve that.

My post/poll here was simply to understand if my expectations/concerns were warranted, especially given the impact to the captain.

Paul

 

[ItsBruce]

I, too, agree with Catherine. I'd be plenty unhappy, but I'd also recognize that that is how it often is.

 

[TheRedHead]

Paul, I've made over 100 dives in Cozumel and never had an incident with a missing boat or seen a captain fishing on my boat. No one on any of my boats has ever asked to dive Villablanca Wall nor have I dived it as it known as a shore dive. Your experience is not typical of the Cozumel operators I dive with.

 

[Cacia]

Scubapaul...thanks.

We agree more than you think.

I do not like to drift tooooooo far from shore for this reason. I always like to think, if all else fails MAYBE I could make it. You really are putting yourself in their hands on drifts and I have often "reminded" the captains....."hey, like , I am really expecting a round trip on this deal!

Laughing...ask ItsBruce....on our little sailing outing , it was quite gusty and my daughter had just had surgery and I interrogated him rather rigorously, which he took like a sport, I might add. I asked "well, Bruce how likely;y is it that we will end up overboard?!....give me a number 10%..more or less?

Sounds like you gave good feedback to the operator.
If the captain is an important player in your "good outcome" be sure and touch base with them, make them feel responsible...it cannot hurt. Many regard them like a golf caddy or a bellhop. I make sure they know I am counting on them.

Hmmm, on the other hand, maybe that is why I spend so much time floating out there! They don't WANT to pick me up.

 

[Charlie99]

"Nothing happened" does not equate to "Not in danger". What ifthere had been a diving accident at some point requiring CPR, O2, or other first aid? What if the captain returned to the expected spot but the group had drifted somewhere else?

Even when on the dropoff itself, the shore is still within reasonable swimming distance.

I didn't say "Not in danger". You are in danger anytime you dive. I said "Not the greatest customer service, but neither was it an outrageous safety violation." and "it doesn't appear to have put anyone in any signfiicant danger." As far as access to CPR, O2 and first aid, the divers didn't have the close in, instant support that is somtimes available on a drift dive, so they were in the same sort of situation they would be on most shore dives, most dives from an anchored boat, and from drift dives where the boat is off somewhere picking up another group.

Just trying to put the Captain's actions in some sort of perspective.

My post/poll here was simply to understand if my expectations/concerns were warranted, especially given the impact to the captain.

I think your expectations and concerns are valid and that it was inappropriate for the Captain to wander off without prior agreement. It sounds like the owner has made sure that the Captain respects that implicit expectation in the future.

 

[ggunn]

Even when on the dropoff itself, the shore is still within reasonable swimming distance.

Not to excuse the capt's actions, but I was going to say that as well; I have dove (diven?) Villablanca Wall from shore, and it's not that far out. That said, however, I never swim out to the wall or back on the surface, because there is a whole lot of boat traffic to contend with along there.

 

[divematt]

Dived?