Learn from my mistakes - minor, but could have been bad

[grey2112]

True - not going to repeat that mistake again, even though I know many people do it all the time. Like you said, it only takes one time.

In the past few days I've created a fast-release buoy for my anchor so that someone on the boat can release it but we'd still be able to come back to it after pick up.

 

[Dsix36]

I don't see anything wrong with leaving the boat unattended. Myself and friends have been doing it this way for years without incident.

Years ago when I was solo diving off my own boat, I managed to loose track of where the anchor line was and surfaced a looooooong way from my boat. I was picked up by another boat and given a ride to my boat. After this little episode, I purchased a sonar tracking system ( called Scout) to guarantee my return to the anchor line. This worked a charm and saved my butt more than once.

I am not saying that this is the best method to dive, but if you are going to leave the boat unattended it would be a wise investment in terms of your safety.

 

[phoenix31tt]

Leaving the boat unattended is a common practice around my parts to. When doing these dives the boat is usually in a bay or relatively sheltered area though... i don't know if that mitigates the potential issues

 

[bada3003]

The lesson should be to NOT dive from an unattended boat. Period. Better to dive solo than to leave a boat and dive in a place where it has to be there when you come back up. if it is 0.5 miles from shore, the boat can drift away and you will probably be fine. Diving way out in the gulf, the boat HAS TO BE THERE, when you get back.

Couldn't agree more. Dove Lake Michigan the other day (shallower wrecks), but couldn't fathom leaving boat unattended with currents and all. Especially in poor viz it wouldn't take much to surface from a significant distance from boat. Good SMB is a must.

The other thing that OP noted ("feeling confident in my abilities") caught my eye. 37 dives is about what I have, so still consider myself a newbie (lots of ocean snorkeling, swimming experience but scuba newbie nonetheless). I've been reading the accidents/incidents reports over the past couple of months and noticed that a number of them involved "experienced" divers (incl. DMs and instructors). Not sure if DAN has stats on that, but it may be that newbies (those that practice defensive diving by the book, perhaps annoyingly so) are the best dive buddies to have.

 

[FinnMom]

I don't see anything wrong with leaving the boat unattended. Myself and friends have been doing it this way for years without incident.

Leaving the boat unattended is a common practice around my parts to.

Cutting corners on safety is exactly like that: you get can away with it just fine. Until the time you don't.