Near misses, some of what I have learned

[Gombessa]

Thanks for sharing, Matt. Hopefully we can all learn from each other's mistakes.

My only suggestions may have been mentioned before - instead of moving an obvious object like a beer can to serve as a navigation marker, if possible I'd probably just note its position and use it where it is. On the other hand, if I saw a solitary beer can sitting out on a reef, and it was obviously not an integrated feature of the site, I'd probably assume it's litter/garbage and pick it up.

Also, in regards to tying a reel off to an anchor, there are a couple of good threads here discussing whether it's a good idea, and where it would be best to tie off. My take-away from these threads is that it is a good idea, and because the anchor can move, it would be best to tie just off the anchor rather than on it - that way you eliminate the risk of either having your reel yanked away, or being dragged up in case you're somehow entangled.

 

[TSandM]

Well, what I usually do is run the line from the anchor line (there's almost NEVER anything to tie off to other than that, in Puget Sound) to the wreck, lock down the reel, and leave the reel hanging over a stable portion of the wreck. Since my reel is marked, I know which one it is when I come back (plus my reel has bright yellow line on it, which helps, as that's rather rare . . . )

 

[dpbishop]

Here is an alternate method for locating the anchor line. When I dive the pipeline I locate it with the depth sounder on my boat as I cross over it, and anchor a few dozen yards away. That gives me a bearing from the anchor to the pipe. After descending the anchor line, I swim along that bearing, counting kicks, until I strike the target, then I make the point of arrival with a piece of polypropylene line tied to one of the rocks. When its time to surface, I swim a reverse bearing from my marker the same number of kicks. If visibility is poor, and I miss the anchor due to current, a spiral search from that point will locate it in very little time.

 

[cos]

The OP is not asking a question and is not looking for other opinions. He has since vanished from the thread.

We are responding to an experienced diver's statement of what he does when diving wrecks and reefs. His statements that he puts beer cans on reefs, takes his equipment off when entangled, and uses Spare Air on wreck dives (which are generally deeper than 80') make this diver suspect. Sorry, but these are not acceptable things to do especially by an experienced diver with 200-499 dives.

If a new diver reads this post and are influenced by these solutions, more experienced divers need to stand up and say something. These solutions are ridiculous and are really bad ideas. Don't do these things.

Using a reel or a spool is something that requires practice and skill and its my opinion that this should not be undertaken unless one is fully proficient and practiced in their use. Personally, if running a reel to a wreck, I would lock down and clip back to the line rather than leave hanging over the wreck.

In my experience, the best way to find the wreck when boat/charter diving is to listen to the breifing before the dive and know how to use your compass. Any good Captain will know exactly where they are and where the wreck is.

While these forums can be usefull for divers to resolve issues about gear, procedure, etc, this does not seem to be the initial impetus of the OP.

Statements like "sometimes other divers seem to look at me funny as I may be festooned with equipment" really illustrate the trend towards divers purchasing/using gear to compensate for a lack of skill and awareness. In my opinion of course.

 

[PR_SMITH]

The OP is not asking a question and is not looking for other opinions. He has since vanished from the thread.

.

Vanished from the the thread?? How about giving the guy a chance? We all have different patterns to our lives. I, for instance, spend most of my working day in front of several computers. So I can post many times a day if I choose to. Others, perhaps, only have intermittent bits of computer time.

Patience...............

 

[IceBergSlim]

IcebergSlim, I prefer well written posts as well, but I think people who share their errors so that the rest of us can learn from them should be encouraged, and not sniped at because of their grammar.

Agreed. I was just in a bad mood.

 

[diebeste]

Leaving a beer can might be a bad idea if I am around - I tend to pick up trash whilst mentally scolding the polluter
Lesson: Anything not fixed to the bottom might not be there on the way back - make sure it is not your only navigational aid...

 

[Diver0001]

Here is an alternate method for locating the anchor line. When I dive the pipeline I locate it with the depth sounder on my boat as I cross over it, and anchor a few dozen yards away. That gives me a bearing from the anchor to the pipe. After descending the anchor line, I swim along that bearing, counting kicks, until I strike the target, then I make the point of arrival with a piece of polypropylene line tied to one of the rocks. When its time to surface, I swim a reverse bearing from my marker the same number of kicks. If visibility is poor, and I miss the anchor due to current, a spiral search from that point will locate it in very little time.

Yeah..... that would work provided the viz and current wasn't too bad and the wreck didn't have all too much iron in it. I've seen wrecks that completely "downed" my compass, so it's not always a sure thing.

Also, depending on conditions it might not be a disaster to make a free ascent if you really can't find the anchor but on some dives you'll need certainty. Around here if you make a free ascent, by the time the get all the other divers out of the water to come and get you, you may have drifted 1/2 way to England.

R..

 

[MATTKINZ]

1. I am a bad typist
2. I have made mistakes and the mentioned stories were to be of possible use to others as a thought provoking compilation. The stories have certainly provoked thought.
3. Not all diving is pristine coral reef, and beer cans are only an example of a marker available for use. Do I deposit beer cans. No, I can use them if available and remove them later. The bottom here is featureless sand, unless some wreck, artificial reef or limestone reef is the dive site. Often, there is nothing much to distinguish a particular area .I cannot reposition a 10 ton hunk of concrete and it may be difficult to remember one of a set of concrete columns lying on the bottom from others.
4. I do use landmarks and natural navigation and compass. Steel wrecks do affect the compass however, and cannot always be relied on. With such a featureless bottom, it is easy to get separated from an anchor line.
5. I am not a total and can learn. I do not appreciate the attacks. Thank you TS and M, for your commentary. ( BTW, I have seen others of your posts and appreciate your insight.)
6. I will read further posts but probably will not give more ammunition to those who denounce me for sharing. ( Actually, I expect more attacks for even writing this post.) mk
6.

 

[TSandM]

Matt, one of the things about being a BB participant is that you have to have a bit of a thick skin about what people do in response to your posts. Take a look back at some of my early threads -- I got the you-know-what kicked out of me on occasion!

A lot of us appreciate people who are willing to share their own errors, so that we don't have to make them ourselves, but you will always run into people who are just downright rude about the mistakes you have made, or the solutions you have come up with for them. Sometimes it's environmentally dependent -- We have tons of beer bottles in Puget Sound, and moving one is not a big deal; but putting a beer can on top of a reef in Cozumel would look like a whole different animal. What you do to orient when diving on wooden wrecks off a small boat may be different from what a project does when diving a large, deep, metal wreck in heavy current. But we can all learn from the discussions that spring from people bringing the issues to light.

Don't go away.