Any funny moments while being on a boat before or after a dive?
Two things come to mind:
1. We were diving off the NC coast a few years back, on the first revenue charter for a new boat, being operated by an established charter outfit. The boat had twin ladders on the stern, and we were boarding divers after the second dive, with some swells really beginning to develop. One of our group came up the starboard ladder, in doubles (130s, I think) and was midway up when the stern dipped down quite a bit (actually, the bow probably rose), bringing him and the ladder to an almost horizontal position relative to the level of the deck, after which the stern pitched up abruptly (as the wave rolled along the keel), and the diver and the ladder crashed down - at which point the welds on the attachment points for the ladder simply failed. The attachment brackets broke off, and the diver, still holding onto the ladder, dropped into the water. After a moment, he figured out what had happened, and simply let go of the ladder. The captain, who had been standing by right at the stern, waiting to help the diver up onto the deck, saw him release the ladder and said, 'Hey, we're going to need that ladder, you know!'.
The diver was uninjured, and climbed aboard using the other ladder (with appropriate good-humored threats from the captain about what would happen to him if he broke the second ladder off). The lost ladder was recovered about two years later, during a charter on the same boat, although the captain decided not to replace it or later reattach it - we still dive that boat with one ladder. But the story is still retold from time to time, with both the captain and the diver laughing about it
2. On a dive also off the NC coast maybe 8 years ago, the paying customers included a European diver who was somewhat dismissive of anyone who got seasick. During the surface interval between the two dives, he pulled out a sizeable sub sandwich and scoffed it down, after which he lit a cigar. He was, at the time, sitting on a bench on the upper deck with 3-4 other people, and was sitting right next to a diver in our group who was not, shall we say, the most tolerant individual to begin with, and who was getting visibly (to me, at least) tired of this European guy next to him a) talking about his diving prowess, b) bragging about his imperviousness to seasickness, and c) blowing cigar smoke in his face. The, without any warning whatsoever, the cigar smoker takes a big drag on his stogie, but then grunts, turns his head toward the stern, and blows his lunch, spraying everyone downwind of him, including the diver in our group who was seated right next to him. It was one of those situations where you couldn't help but laugh. The guy next to him, already annoyed with him, paused for a second but then burst out laughing - and spent the boat ride to the second site ((after a quick shower on deck)), and then the entire boat ride back to the dock, asking the guy if he was sure he wasn't prone to seasickness, how did that sandwich taste, whether the cigar was really good - all of which prompted a few additional moments of leaning over the side for the braggart - and how did he enjoy that second dive (which he missed). Payback can be so delicious.