Lake Pleasant Dive Flag Issue

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Wow I'm reminded of the cry of anti gunners...
Want to be safe from gun violence give us your guns.
We live in AZ where they don't take your guns or your rights.

I'm so sorry many of you live in fear of losing your rights to use the lake.
The rest of us are more fearful you or we will lose a limb or life and are unwilling to wait until after that has happened to do something about it. We have seen to many near misses.

We have your best interests at heart and we will continue along the path we have chosen.
Whether you agree or not doesn't matter at this point. I'm sorry if this offends you Mike, John, Jeff, Steve and Bill and any others I may be missing it is not meant to be offensive. I have personally dived with most of you and hope we can continue to enjoy our sport together without any hard feelings. I think that is why so many have requested to stay anonymous in support of this position not wanting to upset others they may dive with.

If you feel you can effect a positive change by educating divers I suggest you also continue along that course. I find nothing in that idea to disagree with as an additional measure to what we intend to put forward.

There is no need to discuss whether or not this is a good idea it is one that is going forward and the only discussion that is necessary is to refine the idea.
 
Someone sent me a message with a very good arguement/explanation about ARS 5-347
So for one last time I'll try to calm some fears.

The basis of this persons thought was:
If you think of the sites we dive with regularity you'll realize that boats do come into those areas and many times will drop off people and then anchor just off shore while they have a BBQ, swim or some other activity.
Based on the law they could not legally anchor in those areas if those areas were considered High Traffic Channels or launching areas.
Have you ever seen someone who was told they couldn't anchor at one of the sites where we set up dive buoys?
I haven't.
I thought the logic was sound. I hope it helps.
 
I'm so sorry many of you live in fear of losing your rights to use the lake.
The rest of us are more fearful you or we will lose a limb or life and are unwilling to wait until after that has happened to do something about it. We have seen to many near misses.

We have your best interests at heart and we will continue along the path we have chosen.
Whether you agree or not doesn't matter at this point. I'm sorry if this offends you Mike, John, Jeff, Steve and Bill and any others I may be missing it is not meant to be offensive. I have personally dived with most of you and hope we can continue to enjoy our sport together without any hard feelings. I think that is why so many have requested to stay anonymous in support of this position not wanting to upset others they may dive with.

If you feel you can effect a positive change by educating divers I suggest you also continue along that course. I find nothing in that idea to disagree with as an additional measure to what we intend to put forward.

There is no need to discuss whether or not this is a good idea it is one that is going forward and the only discussion that is necessary is to refine the idea.

So now Rob you have essentially called a few of us out based on our public disagreements to your position and insinuate we are cowards and that we "live in fear". While all your supposed support remains anonymous. That is ironic. You further go on to suggest that you are so enlightened about this issue that you are doing this for our own good even against opposition-how heroic!

Maybe you should just start over and post a new thread with a poll to get real feedback from the local dive community so you can get a true indication of actual support. This thread became worthless in terms of meaningful and constructive discussion of the original OP’s title about 11 pages ago. It is better suited in Calle’s old "Off topic-Jabber and Bull" thread. Now all it is about is ego’s and worthless diatribe by those who are compelled to argue any point-no matter how ridiculous, far reaching, or absurd. in an effort to pass the day.

BTW-I have no doubt you will continue to move forward. If you believed the earth was flat I am confident you would be lobbying for the media and Sheriff Joe to keep us from getting too close to the edge.

mg
 
"Whether you agree or not doesn't matter at this point". "There is no need to discuss whether or not this is a good idea, it is going forward and the only duscussion which is necessary is to refine the idea".

Yikes ! Just a bit condescending ? Really think so ?

I would personally like to thank Rob for taking the feeble minded amoug us by the hand and leading us through the darkness and into the promised land (always nice being lectured to and scolded like a child). How could we all be so blind not to see that further discussion is unwarranted. Just another example of how careful and thoughtful consideration of any subject is a total waste of time.

Damn the facts, common sense, a measured approach, the opinions of others and above all tactfulness, full speed ahead !

BW (a proud member of the infamous "Lake Pleasant 5")
 
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Actually you have all posted your fears so I haven't called you out on anything. Otherswise I would have respected your privacy as I have the others. It is clear if you go back thought this thread there are others on both sides of the issue. I can see posts from ScabaDubado, AZdiver1279, AZatty, DeepdiverEd and ScubaholicEd that are in favor of requesting enforcement at the lake. I can tell you many are remaining anonymous it's their choice. You I and the others I've listed here have decided to post but I can respect the others and their wanting to stay anonymous some are your friends and others are affiliated with businesses you freqent.
I can tell you this much from the feedback that I have been getting you seem to be the vocal minority.
So yes we have the facts, are using common sense in a measured approach and have considererd the opinions of others. Sorry if you feel it is without tact this issue and it's legalities is one not everyone may grasp as easily as others here. Finally the issue has gone on long enough without any results.
I harbor no bad feelings towards others with opposing opinions on this subject but it seems that may not be the case with some of you for this I am very sorry.
 
Rudebob:
If you believed the earth was flat I am confident you would be lobbying for the media and Sheriff Joe to keep us from getting too close to the edge.
Please save the flat/round debate for another thread, I don't think I could take anymore! You do know the silent majority think the earth is flat, don't you? :D

Actually you have all posted your fears so I haven't called you out on anything.
I fear this thread will never die.

some are your friends and others are affiliated with businesses you freqent.
Businesses, who might actually have some pull with this effort, want to remain in the background? I'd love the hear some opinions from the shops on the issue, and it is disappointing to hear they don't want to speak up.

I can tell you this much from the feedback that I have been getting you seem to be the vocal minority.
Wow, what are the odds the folks who disagree with you are the minority?

So yes we have the facts, are using common sense in a measured approach and have considererd the opinions of others.
I'm not sure that is entirely accurate.

Sorry if you feel it is without tact this issue and it's legalities is one not everyone may grasp as easily as others here.
Luckily we have a reluctant leader to show us the way!

Finally the issue has gone on long enough without any results.
Results? Got any statistics on the number of diver related incidents at the lake, I'd be curious to see them and the better results you're hoping for. I'm still curious if you've ever called the MCSO about boaters over a float, and what happened.


PhxSki:
BW (a proud member of the infamous "Lake Pleasant 5")
Hey Bill, for your pain and suffering, I've got a SV Scuba shirt with your name on it, maybe I'll customize it with LP5 in your honor...
 
Got any statistics on the number of diver related incidents at the lake, I'd be curious to see them and the better results you're hoping for. I'm still curious if you've ever called the MCSO about boaters over a float, and what happened.
Kris,
I'd say if you read post #1 of this thread that it relates enough of an incident that you of all people should see the need for some action.
Other posts will also explain that we don't want to narrow this down to just divers and our flags vs boaters but want this to be of a broader approach calling for safe boating practices in general. This would include requiring boaters to go dead slow in approaching areas with any swimmers not just divers on the surface. Our claim is anything less is wreckless boating and is covered under the AZ law.We are also interested in other boater related enforcement issues that we can address in addition to boaters ignoring the suggestion made under the AZ diving flag law for boats to stay more than 100' from dive flags. We feel that boaters can be held accountable under the wreckless boating law.
You want this thread to die but you sure add to the post count.:D
 
RAWalker:
I'd say if you read post #1 of this thread that it relates enough of an incident that you of all people should see the need for some action.

I see the need to be safe while diving and do what I can to educate the few boaters at the lake who've run close to our floats. I've found most boaters friendly and willing to listen to information provided. I'd rather not


RAWalker:
You want this thread to die but you sure add to the post count.:D

I know... this thread is like one of those videos on you tube where some guy is doing something so serious in his own mind, but he looks ridiculous doing it. Sorta like this guy. The kind of thing you want everyone to see... only you really don't at the same.

Plus, it helps me get fans on Facebook. :D
 
Not only is there a need to be safe while diving but if those few boaters have gotten close enough for you to educate then they have also gotten close enough to cause a accident and should be considered a incident.
While I see nothing wrong in trying to educate the boaters in this way I personally don't feel that the lesson will be learned without the negative reinforcement of Law Enforcement getting involved and issuing tickets just as has been require to gain control of the DUI and BUI problems.
As for your comparison to you tube who cares what people do when it endangers their own life but when it can endanger other lives then intervention is required.
 
Rob:

None of us want to die or get injured by contact with a watercraft while diving. However, many of us accept the inherent danger with diving and proceed with the activity as a calculated risk. Diving with watercraft is one of the those risks, but the important thing to remember is we do it because we want to dive. If we have already accepted those risks now, many of us are unwilling to do anything that may potentially take away or restrict that activity. In other words your cause is not worth the calculated risk of jeopardizing our current lake access.

Ironically, your argument is somewhat flawed in that if you were truly concerned about the rest of us divers being injured or killed you would be lobbying for the elimination of diving all together in our lakes. After all, since there are documented scuba related accidents/injuries at the lake (none of which have related to dive flag violations), historically, the only way to prevent the accidents would be to eliminate it. Yet you are ready to push action that has no historical precedence. It does not seem consistent.

Your position (as it pertains to our local lakes) is based solely on a perceived risk with no prior substantiation or supporting evidence to indicate the probablitliy of a likely occurrence. Basically, your stepping up to the plate with a batting average of 0.000.

However, those who oppose your cause have history and precedence on their side:

Historically, every year there are multiple fatalities at our lakes that are boating and/or alcohol related. These are real-not some concern we have made up in our heads or on our computers. Law enforcement needs all the resources it has and then some to prevent and/or assists when these events happen. You apparently have not spent much time boating on our local waterways as some of us have. If you had you would of already recognized the legitimate dangers that occur every day and also realized how trivial of a cause you are rallying support for is.

I have only been diving for a few years and love it. However, I have been boating for more than 35 years (26 in AZ) which includes hundreds (probably closer to a 1000 ) times at Pleasant which used to include year round training back in the days when I was into tournament barefoot skiing and waterskiing. I have had numerous high speed close calls and seen many more (again a calculated risk for what I loved to do). There are some real problem boaters out there (especially when alcohol is in the mix). But these boaters pose a significantly more legitimate risk to others who spend all their time on the surface of water and in locations where higher speeds occur. Frankly, as one of these boaters, I resent the fact that you are bent on wasting the time of our law enforcement officers who are already understaffed trying to protect us from real threats on the lake so they can protect us from a psuedo problem that has never occurred.

Historically, access at Lake Pleasant has consistently decreased over the years. At one time after the completion of the new Waddell dam, access to the Agua Fria, Humbug, Coles & Goose Bay (to name a few) were all open with unlimited access. However, over they years each of these areas become limited to specific user groups. BTW some of these include "No Swimming" which by your definition, has already limited access for scuba diving. I digress, sorry. Anyway, historically, in every case when an apparent safety issue was recognized the response was not to add more enforcement but to restrict or eliminate access.

The only group that has successfully fought for increased access to Pleasant was the PWC crowd when in the mid 80's they were restricted to a single area for use. A costly lawsuit won them access-however, they have since been completely banned at many other lakes and receive one of the highest percentage of citations as users. They won a battle but lost the war.

Historically, the county does not care about you, your little group or us as scuba divers. I was part of a much larger group at one time fighting for access to recent cove closures we once used as training sites. We attended several board meetings, contacted politicians, etc., and got nowhere. At one time we even got one park ranger to admit that unless we were fisherman they did not care one bit about us, our cause, and wished we would just go to a different lake (should of taped that phone call).

So you see, based on this history, I am fully confident that even if you are slightly successful in putting additional pressure on the law enforcement community to enforce dive flag laws (which is asinine to begin with since the law is so vaguely written), you will impugn the dive community way more than you will protect it. Mosquitoes only get swatted when they call attention to themselves by bugging someone. Be careful who you bug with your cause.

I will wager the citation cost of a dive flag violation you see more tickets issued to divers from straying away from their flag than to boaters for approaching them.

I am confident you will eventually see restricted access for divers enforced near active waterways-especially around boat ramps. In other words I believe Vista Point, Biesemeyer Point & the spillway will become off limits to divers.

I would not be surprised to see shore diving restricted to a single area (not of our choosing) which is away from any boat traffic so to protect from this new found danger.

Frankly, it is not worth it. The other option is to MYOB, dive safe and enjoy the access we currently have that other lake users don't.

MG - Original member of the LP5 (but membership is growing)

Well I guess I did it again. Allowed myself to get sucked into participating into this worn out thread. I need therapy-better yet I am going diving (better make sure to pack my Dive Flag Regulations Strickly Enforced sign to go on my float).:shakehead:
 
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