Looking for the boat

[Web Monkey]

Dr. Deco:

Just before a dive in the keys, the DM told us there was a fair amount of current, and that we should come to the surface about half way through the dive to make sure we were still near the boat, then we could descend again and finish our dive.

I thought this sounded a bit bizarre, but couldn't come up with a tactful way of asking if he was on drugs, so I chose to keep an eye on boat anchor instead, to make sure I didn't wander off.

Is surfacing to look for the boat a common practice, and if so, does it normally include a safety stop, or does the very short surface interval (a few seconds to check for the boat) mean that no safety stop is required?

Thanks!

 

[BIGJC]

Sounds like you were getting info from a inexperienced divemaster to me.

In my opinion there are several factors in this questions but I'll deal with the one you are interested in. Surfacing to look for the boat is NOT a common practice and can potentially be very dangerous. Keeping and eye on the anchor is the correct thing to do, the water is so clear in the keys it should not be a problem but if the visibility is low you may want to run a reel or a "cross wreck line" as we call it here in the tarheel state. also a safety stop will never hurt you but not taking one could hurt you.... you do the math..

go to the following link and read about bounce diving....
www.wkpp.org/articles/Decompression/why_we_do_not_bounce_dive_after_diving.htm

 

[chrpai]

Ahh the infamous boat check. Sounds like a pretty poor substitute for proper navigational skills to me.

Combine that with the 12 cattle boats out on the same reef at the same time and we wonder why you hear stories of people getting on the wrong boat.

Keep up the good work of ignoring your coffeemaster.

 

[Web Monkey]

chrpai once bubbled...
Ahh the infamous boat check. Sounds like a pretty poor substitute for proper navigational skills to me.

Combine that with the 12 cattle boats out on the same reef at the same time and we wonder why you hear stories of people getting on the wrong boat.

Keep up the good work of ignoring your coffeemaster.

It's nice to know my BS detector is still working.

I've only been diving for a couple of years, and it's still a little hard to tell the difference between "something new" and "complete bull****"

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear "Web":

There is probably no physiological reason to perform a safety stop half way to the NDL.

Dr Deco:doctor:

 

[Web Monkey]

Dr Deco once bubbled...
Dear "Web":

There is probably no physiological reason to perform a safety stop half way to the NDL.

Dr Deco:doctor:

So assuming that I used a normal (30'/m) ascent, it would have been OK to surface from about 50 ft, look for the boat, then descend again, without a stop?

 

[Dr Deco]

That is correct.

A safety stop would not be needed. If you were planning to return to depth within a couple of minutes, most likely any gas bubbles that began to slowly grow would stop growing and return to their “native” condition.

Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[SueMermaid]

I have had this directive, too, but only in Key Largo and on dives that were about 20-25'. How deep was the dive, Monkey?

 

[BIGJC]

Maybe if we refused to tip for bad advice they would stop giving it out!

:mean:

 

[Web Monkey]

SueMermaid once bubbled...
I have had this directive, too, but only in Key Largo and on dives that were about 20-25'. How deep was the dive, Monkey?

It was at John Pennecamp, and was around 40'-50' (don't have my logbook handy)