Non-trip report in Pompano Beach FL

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

While I don't know the local players. I did see in the news clip that the Dive Boat Aqua Life out of Pompano responded to the sinking dive vessel Safari Diver. The Aqua Life vessel seemed in good shape and their crew alert to respond to their own or other boaters emergencies.

Aqua Life will be who I call first to go diving.
 
Your available charters for technical diving in Pompano are quite limited with the closure of Pompano Dive Center. If you aren't going to dive with SFDHQ, your only other options are ScubaTyme or Aqua Life.
Well, you certainly weren't kidding around. Now that Mergolhador informed us that ScubaTyme was bought out by SFDHQ, that means the only option for me will be Aqua Life. I'm ok with that.
Talk about limited options. :banghead:
 
Hello all,

It's been a while since I last posted. Today, I want to post about an experience this past weekend with a certain dive charter off of Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach which made me feel uneasy about the operation. My buddy and I had booked an afternoon dive this past Saturday and arrived early to check-in. I have done many dives with them in the pre-covid past so it was a bit of a shock that they were charging for rental of the cylinders and the weights, with the overall cost having increased 20% since I last dived with them (is this in-line with the rest of the industry?).

After paying, my buddy and I headed towards the dock and boarded their smaller 34 foot boat. I was rather happy to feel that we were going to have a new dive experience with them on a different boat. My buddy and I setup our gear, but my buddy appeared to have problems with his octo as it started venting air, but he quickly fixed it. As we waited to depart, we could see their larger dive boat was docked next to us boarding divers and looked near-capacity after everyone had boarded. After roll call, the crew was preparing the boat to leave by releasing the ropes. Another crewmember was raising the gangway with a rope, and from one moment to the next, the young man nearly dropped the heavy gangway on his head, only to save himself with his quick reaction to hold it up with the help of several divers who were horrified to see the young man come inches near death. He later told us that one of the crewmembers had given him an order to grab an object before he had secured the gangway.

After the initial scare, we were expecting to leave any minute but realized there was a problem with the boat when they opened up the engine compartment just underneath our feet.

As we baked in the sun watching the crew try to breathe life into the engine, the staff debated amongst themselves if we should all move on over to the bigger vessel. Approximately 13 divers would be added to 26 divers and crew of the other boat. The mechanic did not endorse this idea, even after a few of the crewmembers of the other vessel said they would make room for the rest of us. The mechanic insisted on bringing the dead boat to life and made a few phone calls to try to get some ideas on how to start the engine.

However, it was not meant to be as the boat lay dead on the water. The mechanic finally agreed that the divers transfer over to the other boat after he discovered some cables had badly corroded. One of the dive shop employees came on the boat and offered a refund to anyone who did not want to go as the waters had been extremely rough all day ( 2 out of 14 divers that morning felt fit enough to dive both dives in rough seas).

I had a bad feeling about diving on the other boat, especially when I heard the mechanic resist the transferring us over. When the rest of the divers transferred to the other moved over, I turned to my buddy and asked him if he was still down for it and he said no because there were too many bad signs that day and to him they were:
1. His octo malfunctioning
2. The young man nearly losing his head
3. The dead engine

As for myself, I was just recovering from a cold (I had taken Afrin that morning) but still had lingering tightness in my ear. In the morning, I thought I had to expel everything I needed to expel throughout the day to feel ready for the dive, but this did not happen. Most importantly was the concern about overcrowding on the larger boat.

As we drove off, my buddy told me that he had recalled not ever wanting to dive with this company again because the dive shop employee had been rude to us and made us carry our cylinders to the boat. I remember having to carry the cylinders but not the former.

I want to hear your opinion about this. What would you do if you ever encountered a situation like this? Would you dive with them again? Not sure that I will.

Mau
So your "complaint" is that a boat had a mechanical problem (but you were offered a spot on another boat) or that you had to carry your own tanks to the boat?

'Cuz in my world, we call that a normal dive day.
 
If you aren't going to dive with SFDHQ, your only other options are ScubaTyme or Aqua Life.
Actually there is Misconduct charters and DH Scuba. With DH scuba, you have to charter the whole 6-pack boat, but still a good option for a small group.

https://dhscuba.com

 
Gangways, 45ft and a 34ft boat sounds like SFDHQ.

Corroded wiring on the 34ft boat, I wonder how that happened? :stirpot:
:gas:

I will take a pass on SFDHQ corroded wiring at sea. If they have that issue, I wonder how many other issues their boats have?
Alex, I will have corroded wiring starts raging fire at sea please for $300. :rofl3:

I'll bet Capt. Wookie would not have any of that on his boat. :cheers:
 
Actually there is Misconduct charters and DH Scuba. With DH scuba, you have to charter the whole 6-pack boat, but still a good option for a small group.

https://dhscuba.com


This Pompano sounds like a crazy area. Are their pirates there also.
I am not sure I like the way Misconduct charters sounds either. Do you think they could have come up with a better name ?
I can't charter a 6 pack, so that eliminates DH scuba also.
Maybe I can find a fishing trawler to take me out and pick me up on their way back in. LOL.
 
  • Bullseye!
Reactions: Ana
So your "complaint" is that a boat had a mechanical problem (but you were offered a spot on another boat) or that you had to carry your own tanks to the boat?

'Cuz in my world, we call that a normal dive day.
The crew was inexperienced, inattentive, they were ok with taking additional divers on the other boat to the point of overcapacity as divers were already on this boat for a separate trip; we also could have been stranded on the water had we successfully gotten underway.
 
The crew was inexperienced, inattentive, they were ok with taking additional divers on the other boat to the point of overcapacity as divers were already on this boat for a separate trip; we also could have been stranded on the water had we successfully gotten underway.
"Could have been stranded" is always a possibility with a boat, which is presumably why they offered you a spot on the other boat. I find it doubtful that they would exceed their capacity limit as this would put them in deep do-do with the Coasties. "Crowded" perhaps...

Anyway, I'm sorry it didn't work out. That's disappointing for sure.
 
The crew was inexperienced, inattentive, they were ok with taking additional divers on the other boat to the point of overcapacity as divers were already on this boat for a separate trip;
Do you mean to tell me the SFDHQ operator chose money over safety ? I am shocked I tell you. :no:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

Back
Top Bottom