My incident a while back but thought all should know

[lsudiver]

Hi all,
This happened a while back but after reading some recent posts I thought I should post this story. In summer 2007 2.5yrs after cert for me and first dive out of OW for buddy we went on a Carnival cruise and booked a dive through them (spare me the "don't book through cruise speeches I Know Now). Well i was excited about the dive in Costa Maya and didn't think much about it. We boarded the dive boat whichh was about a 32ft with dual 150 outboards. We went out approx 3 mi and did our first dive all was well asside from the fact that the whole group (10 divers) was devided into 2 groups following a DM with no talk about buddies. The first dive was great and we had no problems, but after our surface interval I told my buddy lets be the first ones in for the second so they aren't waiting on us. After we were both in the water with two others for dive 2 my buddy said why are they bailing and I said Holy S@&t.
Within 2min the boat went down. A few fishing boats came by to help and then another dive boat from the same op picked us all up. I lost a camera id clothes ect. Well I guess the reason I wanted to tell this story is that after learning more and reflecting I realized that: there was no safety briefing on the boat and when the boat went down, there was not 1 life jacket to be found(for those of us floating in the water without gear).
The scariest part of this story is that this was a PADI 5 star and still is today. Just thought you should know!!

 

[DandyDon]

No life jackets on the boat at all, or they didn't have time to get them out?

I like to wear one on any moving small boat, or while walking around even a large liveaboard, so I have taken to wearing my own snorkel vest to avoid having to request one. I get some looks and words, but I do it.

 

[divezonescuba]

The name of that dive operation wouldn't be Dreamtime would it?

There was a related incident in the winter of 2007 with a Princess excursion. Divers were told that if they did their first dive, the boat wouldn't be there when they came up because it was sinking. They opted to return to the dock for a second boat for their dives. They then had problems getting the engines started on the second boat. By the time, they did, the group only had time to do one of the two dives.

Around town, there's a thing called the Dreamtime wave. Supposedly, it's waving with one hand while holding your nose with the other while you sink.

A supporter of Dreamtime came on the board once as said if you don't like how the operation is run to become a National Geographic armchair diver.

 

[jridg]

Not that this has anything to do with your incident, but putting your valuables in a small drybag would have prevented your losses of camera and ID - I do that every time. Even on boats I trust. You never know......

 

[lsudiver]

As far as life jackets, don't know if they had them and didn,t have time to get them or if there were none at all. And my valuables, yeah a dry bag is a great thing that I have picked up since, but don't know if it would have helped because it was tucked away and went down with the ship.
And I guess i'll say it It was Dreamtime. I forgot to say also I lost ID, 20$ cash, shoes, shirt, camera, and a $90 dive light i didn't take on dive 2, and the best part was Carnival said (eventhough we paid them for the trip) they were not responsible and good luck???

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

There are more horror stories than one would ever want to know regarding dive outfits . Things are not always as they appear . Both at home and abroad .
It is up to the individual to check out safety procedures every time you step on a boat .
This is just another of the stories they (Mexican authorities) do not want us to know . Thanks for sharing

 

[bsee65]

I guess the assumption is that you were geared up for a dive and, unless the boat was over a bottom that you weren't planning to dive to anyway, you could have dropped down to the boat and made the recovery on the spot. You didn't mention the dive site, but I would assume you were over one of the deeper spots if this didn't occur to you. Heck, you might even have been able to claim salvage rights.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, the cruise lines push using their approved vendors so they can get the commissions, suggesting that they are safest - then take no responsibility.

There are more horror stories than one would ever want to know regarding dive outfits . Things are not always as they appear . Both at home and abroad .
It is up to the individual to check out safety procedures every time you step on a boat .
This is just another of the stories they (Mexican authorities) do not want us to know . Thanks for sharing

Nope, you won't often see such in news stories, or deaths. Not allowed in local news as it's bad for business. Or maybe they don't make it thru translation? So I'll let people poke fun at me and my snorkel vest.

I guess the assumption is that you were geared up for a dive and, unless the boat was over a bottom that you weren't planning to dive to anyway, you could have dropped down to the boat and made the recovery on the spot. You didn't mention the dive site, but I would assume you were over one of the deeper spots if this didn't occur to you. Heck, you might even have been able to claim salvage rights.

I know that you are joking, but there are safety problems with the idea - and Mexico would not allow a foreigner to claim rights.

 

[divezonescuba]

They probably wouldn't let you take your snorkeling vest on board. It would take up too much space.

There was a guy who wanted to take his plain collapsable mesh bag on board that he had his equipment in. They forced him to take it off the boat claiming it took up too much space. They told us the same thing. Nothing was allowed on the boat except our BCDs, fins, masks, snorkles, and cameras. I hid a bottle of water in my BC pocket.

We'd rather not dive in Costa Maya than use Dreamtime again. Fortunately, later this year Royal Caribbean has chosed to delete Costa Maya from their itineraries when they come back to TX.

 

[DandyDon]

They probably wouldn't let you take your snorkeling vest on board. It would take up too much space.

There was a guy who wanted to take his plain collapsable mesh bag on board that he had his equipment in. They forced him to take it off the boat claiming it took up too much space. They told us the same thing. Nothing was allowed on the boat except our BCDs, fins, masks, snorkles, and cameras. I hid a bottle of water in my BC pocket.

We'd rather not dive in Costa Maya than use Dreamtime again. Fortunately, later this year Royal Caribbean has chosed to delete Costa Maya from their itineraries when they come back to TX.

Sounds horrible. I'd wear the vest, but I have other things that go with me aboard, including my pony & kit. But I don't cruise, and if I did - I'd try to book my own boat. With the cruise line getting half of the price of the tour, you can't expect much really huh?

My daughter and grandson are doing a Galveston, Progresso, Cozumel cruise in a year. She invited me; I just told her I wish she'd let me price a better approach but will help her with details.