outofofficebrb
HARRO HUNNAYYY
One thing to note is that a lot of newer divers are often overweighted. As they dive more, weight tends to get removed as they get more comfortable and get a hold of their buoyancy skills. They are also less nervous which I think tends to have an effect. With that said, I can understand the idea why a newer diver doing a negative entry can be less than ideal as there is a risk they can sink straight to the bottom after backrolling which in turn can pose some barotrauma and other issues. Although, the counter argument to that is that could still happen when they deflate their BC to descend after being positively buoyant as they go down to dive. To that I say, they might not be deflating it all the way in that moment or situation and their hand is probably already on their inflator hose ready to inflate and counteract/stop/slow the sinking down rather than possibly panicking as they are uncontrollably sinking.
Takeaway message....be properly weighted then it won’t be an issue.
On another note, we were diving in the Red Sea and after having been on a liveaboard doing many negative entries the last week, we were diving with a day boat while we waited for the boat to be turned around for us to get back on and do another week. My dive buddy did a negative entry out of habit from the previous week and the guide got really annoyed when he didn’t pop up. He was partly worried because he thought something happened but also wanted to speak to us while also ensuring everything was OK before the dinghy driver moved away. In those conditions and visibility, a quick glance down and around confirmed he was just hanging around waiting and I can understand why that might be a more significant issue in some areas where viz is not good.
To be clear, I am not specifically for or against either method. I think there’s a time and a place for both, and a giant stride for that matter, and it should be discussed with the group and agreed upon, especially safety procedures when it comes to the boat and the prop. I’m just trying hard to see both sides of the “argument”.
I’ve done live drops and pick ups before off the back of a liveaboard boat (Similans, I’m looking at you), but all entries in the water were prohibited until the captain rung a bell. For pickups, each group had to have a DSMB in the water not only for safety from other boats but so that the captain could also see where everyone was relative to his boat for the pickups.
In the Philippines, the bangkas often did moving drops but I think (I hope) the prop is in neutral with the boat in a forward momentum. You backroll into the water between the outrigger and the boat. They don’t have everyone do it at once, maybe 2 or 3 people on each side that are not directly next to each other. Then the group that was directly next to you goes after you are clear of the back of the boat. The bangka continues forward as everyone splashes. If you have camera gear, you get it after you splash and the boat driver hands it to you towards the back as you float by the back of the boat. It was efficient and it ensured everyone was out of the way and way behind the boat away from the prop by the time it was time to take off.
Takeaway message....be properly weighted then it won’t be an issue.
On another note, we were diving in the Red Sea and after having been on a liveaboard doing many negative entries the last week, we were diving with a day boat while we waited for the boat to be turned around for us to get back on and do another week. My dive buddy did a negative entry out of habit from the previous week and the guide got really annoyed when he didn’t pop up. He was partly worried because he thought something happened but also wanted to speak to us while also ensuring everything was OK before the dinghy driver moved away. In those conditions and visibility, a quick glance down and around confirmed he was just hanging around waiting and I can understand why that might be a more significant issue in some areas where viz is not good.
To be clear, I am not specifically for or against either method. I think there’s a time and a place for both, and a giant stride for that matter, and it should be discussed with the group and agreed upon, especially safety procedures when it comes to the boat and the prop. I’m just trying hard to see both sides of the “argument”.
I’ve done live drops and pick ups before off the back of a liveaboard boat (Similans, I’m looking at you), but all entries in the water were prohibited until the captain rung a bell. For pickups, each group had to have a DSMB in the water not only for safety from other boats but so that the captain could also see where everyone was relative to his boat for the pickups.
In the Philippines, the bangkas often did moving drops but I think (I hope) the prop is in neutral with the boat in a forward momentum. You backroll into the water between the outrigger and the boat. They don’t have everyone do it at once, maybe 2 or 3 people on each side that are not directly next to each other. Then the group that was directly next to you goes after you are clear of the back of the boat. The bangka continues forward as everyone splashes. If you have camera gear, you get it after you splash and the boat driver hands it to you towards the back as you float by the back of the boat. It was efficient and it ensured everyone was out of the way and way behind the boat away from the prop by the time it was time to take off.
