-Potentially Unsafe Observation During Dive

[McJosh13]

Why would I name a charter that I have respect for in a thread full of angry/hateful comments.. That would not be very fair to them now would it; and it's not "my charter" just the one I have been using most recently as I feel it is the best I have tried in the area. Not sure why you want it anyways.

 

[Soloist]

Funny how all the experts come out

This is what happens when you post a provocative thread hammering a dive op based on opinion and conjecture. You better have some thick skin. It is SB after all. Obviously your dive op does not cater to divers spearfishing, lobstering or solo diving. This will change your perspective very quickly!

 

[McJosh13]

Perhaps the original title was more provocative then intended, I'll give you that

 

[uncfnp]

Mcjosh13 I know you have some experience with South Florida drift diving but perhaps you do have more to learn. Not all divers or dive ops out of WPB do only follow the leader guided dives. Some of the dive ops allow their known and experienced divers to do their own thing, sometimes as separate groups and even sometimes as solo divers. This is especially true for hunters.

Our go to dive op out of WPB was well known and very popular among hunters for this very reason. I can not tell you the number of times that I surfaced alone to find no boat waiting. This would obviously not be comfortable for you but it is standard operating procedure for others.

Surfacing without the boat did not worry me because, like the boat and crew knew me, I knew that boat and its Captain and I knew he was one of the best and that I was in good hands. I would just kick back and relax until he got around to me, keeping my eye out for other boats of course.

So while it might seem unsafe to you it is actually a very common practice among experienced divers and dive ops in Southern Florida. With a little more experience you might even come to appreciate the dive freedom this practice provides.

Happy diving.

Lisa

 

[sportxlh]

In Boynton or further south divers are typically dropped off in small groups further apart but further north in WPB it is not common to have dive groups far apart for this reason. Who knows how long it would have been or if they would have known where to find them without the call.

I think you're missing the point of what some are indicating. Yes, divers in WPB tend to be dropped in together, but its very common for divers to split off in small groups or by themselves, especially if hunting or photographing. That's why I, and others who have posted, have surfaced very far from the DM with the float ball and the dive boat. Its very common for divers to spread out in northern Palm Beach County. Don't know if that happened the day you observed the two divers, but I wouldn't be completely surprised. No one is dishing out hate to you, just trying to be logical given the dive op in question has a good reputation

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Why would I name a charter that I have respect for in a thread full of angry/hateful comments.. That would not be very fair to them now would it; and it's not "my charter" just the one I have been using most recently as I feel it is the best I have tried in the area. Not sure why you want it anyways.

Just as you state, not fair.
I believe your observations you initially posted btw. No hate here. Simply asking who you dove with.
I bet I can name them in 2 guesses

 

[McJosh13]

Sure no problem .. I have accumulated a decent number of WPB/Boynton/Pompano + some keys dives under my belt but would not claim to be a the expert on diving so you may be right. I still feel that they were left and that was what the dive master + captain thought as well because of the direction the boat was coming from which was unusual and the other factors I described but I will delete all references to the dive op in case I'm wrong.

 

[BRT]

Funny how all the experts come out who weren't there and really have no idea about the conditions but I can tell you that the dive boat was miles away from the divers and that's not OK. There's a difference between waiting 20 minutes at the surface with the dive boat in the area aware of you and where you are and with the boat being a long ways off and flying in to come and get you after getting a call from another dive boat, especially up further north where the current is stronger. In Boynton or further south divers are typically dropped off in small groups further apart but further north in WPB it is not common to have dive groups far apart for this reason. Who knows how long it would have been or if they would have known where to find them without the call.

If they were with other divers from their boat what would you suggest they do? Park in the middle where they couldn't see anybodies bubbles?

 

[aquacat8]

I do think this thread is good for people coming to West Palm for the first time to read so if they surface and have to wait for 20 minutes they won’t think they have stumbled into an “open water” type horror movie. In California my boat was always in sight.

Cold water conditions are not like what @The Chairman points out here can feel like a cosy waterbed. For one thing in California an extra 20 mins could easily put you into hypothermia.

Different things happen in different places! This board is great for learning about that and for that reason I’m glad this thread is here.

 

[aquacat8]

Also in West Palm the current basically sweeps you along a highly populated first world coast with lots of cooperative dive boats equipped with modern electronics... Now imagine boat separation in a remote location with few resources and maybe a current that heads straight for open ocean...