lst Live Boat Drift Dive: Tips?

[jim T.]

I hadn't thought of that. (Kelp, overhangs.) Makes sense. Thanks, Jim

 

[Uncle Pug]

Jim... don't sweat the currents for the 12th... the exchange in Friday Harbor goes from a 8.5 to 6.3 to 6.6 .... that is about as good as it gets. I don't think you will be getting much of a drift in your drift dive. You most likely won't need to shoot a bag or safety sausage either... the boat will just hang back from the dive site and let you swim out away from the wall/rocks after surfacing to reboard the boat.

 

[Charlie99]

I was surprised when the folks at the LDS told me that it wasn't a float dive. Any particular reason why that method isn't used in the PNW as in the Caribbean or Cozumel?

The only place I've seen float dives common is in the SE Florida (Ft Lauderdale/Boynton/WPB) areas. From those boats there are usually several independent groups going in at the same time. They often take off in different directions, and the float balls give the Capt something to track. There is also a lot of boat traffic right over the reef line, so a continuous warning float&flag on the surface is a good thing. The downside to hauling a flag or float is that it can be a nuisance, particularly if the surface currents differ from those below. It is harder for divers to stay together if one is getting pulled away from the other.

Most Cozumel boat dives are drift dives done as a group dive with a guide. Just having 1 or 2 groups gives the Capt a lot easier bubble trail to track and I've never seen anybody haul a flag or float for the duration of the dive in Cozumel.

 

[jim T.]

Thank you Uncle Pug. I'd looked at a current chart online previously but the one you posted is clearer. Where is it from?

Well, I hope to get SOME drifting in anyway. It's probably good that it's minimal for my first time so I can just relax and enjoy!

Thanks again, Jim

 

[Uncle Pug]

It is a screen print of my monitor using Tides & Currents software.

 

[Captain Dave]

Hi Doc, Thanks once again. You've been very helpful with info. for me in several posts now and I very much appreciate it. Hope to meet you in person eventually.

Hi Walter,
I do own a safety sausage and dive alert horn so I'm equipped there. I intended asking if it was OK to inflate the sausage even if I wasn't in distress so I'll do that. (One of the "intelligent" questions) I was hoping to gather from board members to be able to ask the Capt./crew.

I was surprised when the folks at the LDS told me that it wasn't a float dive. Any particular reason why that method isn't used in the PNW as in the Caribbean or Cozumel?

The charter is out of the marina where I keep my own boat so I'm familiar with the vessel anyway. I'll see if I can catch the skipper on board one day this week. If not, I'll call him.
The weather reports are promising some sunny/calm weather at this point so he may be able to predict his site choice better than other times.

Any other advice is welcome.
Jim

Jim,
Glad to hear you will be joining us. Here is how a live boat in the Pacific Northwest works. We all (Puget Sound boat charter operations) use a live boat pick-up for the most part. Before the dive one of our divemasters will brief you on bottom contour, currents and sea life as well as emergency procedures (safety sausage, dive alerts covered). We will drop you off at the dive site (usually a wall) after checking the current direction and velocity. We will check you into the water on our diver down list. One thing to remember is not to fight the current. There is always some water movement in the islands. Go with the flow. We WILL NOT put you in if I don't like the way the water looks. Once off the boat swim to the exposed wall and make your decent. We will track your bubbles (unless you dive a rebreather) and follow you at a safe distance. Once you complete your safety surface and behold there we are. At this point we will be approx. 50 yards away. On thing to remember at this point is to swim directly away from the wall and not toward the boat, we will come to you. Climb the ladder (fins on or fins off what ever you like) and if your fins are still on the divemaster will take them off for you. We will check you back in on our diver down list. Eat, talk about the dive swap tanks or our divemaster will fill the tank up (we pump grade "E" or better hydrocarbon free air with our on-board compressor) and relax. Before we leave the dive site we will do an additional role call...then off to the next site and we do it all over again. We also give a general dive briefing before we depart the dock. We are going to have a great time...I love my job!

What day are you coming? Maybe I'll have on of my Captains come and drive the boat so I can take a dip.

If you have any questions give me a call at 1-360-661-6101 or Email me at captaindave@deepseacruise.com.

 

[jim T.]

Hi Capt. Dave. Cool! Thanks very much for posting to me! I'll be on the Anacortes Diving and Supply shop trip on Feb. 12th. Your info. here should be of great use to other newer divers who are considering or didn't previously know of your charters and how thing work.

If you have time, do you know what the most likely sites would be for that day and I'll peruse my charts.
Thanks again! Looking forward to meeting you and maybe diving with you,
Jim T.

 

[Captain Dave]

JimT,

You got me on this one. Our site destinations all depend on wind direction and speed. I would like to do Strawberry Islands East wall. This is a see it all site. We often see octos, wolfies, huge ling cod and hundreds of different species of inverts. We also have the Cone Islands, Cypress Head and Pelican Wall all less than 1 hour from the dock and all dependent on wind direction and speed. We may also head toward the inner islands (the inner sanctum) were winds are less of a concern but the diving is fantastic, live sites include Bell Island, Broken Point, Hankin Point and Cable Wall to name a few. Picking dive sites is on of the hardest parts of the charter...I love my job. We will be serving up all you can eat clam chowder and potato rolls with snacks including fresh fruit and cookies. We also have hot coffee, coco, spiced apple cider, a few different verities of tea and bottled water. Tom Jacobs or Steve Lock will be the dive master and are first rate as are all of our dive professionals. We are looking forward to showing you the best of the Pacific Northwest.

Captain Dave

 

[jim T.]

Thanks Capt.! I'll have fun looking over my nautical charts tonight. I know where some of those sites are but others yet to be discovered.
I'm really looking forward to this!
I appreciate your time and effort letting me know where we might go.
See you on Sunday, barring any surprises!
Sincerely, Jim T.

Uncle Pug, Thanks for the info. on your tide/current software. Looks like a nice program.

 

[jim T.]

Just got back from the Deep Sea Charter Drift Dive with Capt. Dave and about a dozen divers. Had a great time! On the second dive we did get a good drift of at least a half knot-maybe more. It was fun! The viz was good on the first dive at Rosario Wall but on the 2nd wall (don't know the name on Blakley, Is.) it was 5' or less.

It was good for me because the stuff I was a little nervous about occured and I dealt with it just fine. I had some air trapped in my drysuit so I got a little bouyant after our initial descent. I could see my buddies' bubbles below me so I descended towards them but by the time I got there they were already ahead of me and I lost sight of them and after the agreed upon minute of looking around 360 degrees,had to resurface momentarily to regroup. The rest of that dive went fine.

Thanks again everyone for giving me the above info. prior to the dives.

Capt. Dave runs a great boat and it even turned out that I taught his daughter's teacher (she's the first mate) when I taught at her old elementary school and we were very surprised to see each other!

Looking forward to my next drift dive now that I know how things work!