Something you might want to consider..

[alibi 2]

I havent been able to dive since I broke my foot last Aug. My husband had a chance to do a "fun" dive with another dive master last weekend...They were going to do a shore dive then decieded on a dive boat...they went on the Cypress Sea last weekend..the boat was rented by Any Water Sports out of san jose area..

When they boarded my hubby said a fellow diver pointed out to the captian that there seemed to be a lot of double tank set up like teck divers and he asked if the captian was going to limit the bottom time or if they were going to wait all day for the tech divers...my husband said he thought the guy was being a jerk (but then we don't do a lot of boat dives because we have our own boat.)///

the first dive was south of Yankee point/ and the vis was around 30 feelt...he and his buddie the DM had about a 39min. bottom time...while sitting on the boat he realized the problem of diving with a tech dive group...they use up much more time...they have 30 plus minute deco times and some were using scooters to get really far from the dive boat..which didnt seem to please the captian....

So while bobbing on the boat waiting for the tech divers a lot of the regular divers became ill (the conditions were kicking up or cold)...when the boat moved hubby had to buddy up with another diver (who had no idea what it meant to check his SPG) because his buddy the DM was now sea sick and couldnt dive again...

Lesson learned: I will always ask before booking a dive on a dive boat is there will be tech diving occurring and and I will not go out on those dive boats!..

 

[TSandM]

alibi2, I know some of the people who were out on the boat, I think, and they weren't tech divers. They were recreational divers, using doubles and scooters.

My typical bottom time on a dive is 60 to 70 minutes. I'd be FURIOUS if my dive time were curtailed to make sure somebody who did a 39 minute dive didn't have to sit on the boat while I was diving.

The typical Tech 1 dive is 20 minutes at 150, and about 20 minutes of deco; so a Tech 1 diver is going to come up in about 45 to 50 minutes . . . and they sit on SCHEDULE. They aren't late. It's the recreational divers with experience and very good gas consumption who can stay down much longer. Most of our charter boats request a one hour dive time or less. I wouldn't dive again on a boat that insisted I keep my time to less than an hour.

I don't think the divers or the captain were at fault. I think somebody who does 39 minute dives should either expect to spend a significant time on the boat, or not boat dive on mixed charters.

 

[ryssyr]

ive been out on monterey dive boats and I dive single tanks. my typical dives are approx 60 minutes or more if i dont have to swim far. I'd be pretty mad to be recalled early. I have also been on dives where I came up early with a buddy and was happy to wait on the boat while others got to enjoy as much bottom time as possible.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

I had a wonderful day of diving on the Cypress Seas yesterday, Sunday December 28, 2008.

It was an open boat with a very "mixed" group of divers... all of whom enjoyed a wonderful day of Monterey diving.

On deck:

• 6 divers with doubles, 4 of whom carried single deco cylinders
• 8 divers with single cylinders,
• 5 divers with scooters,
• 4 divers in wetsuits
• 8 divers in dry suits.

During the excellent briefing dockside, a diver asked, "How long will the dives be? Some people have doubles."

Captain Phil responded, "Most dives are about an hour, and the surface interval will be about an hour."

Everyone heard it and nodded.

We had 60-80 foot visibility on dive #1.
We also had a raging current begin about 45 minutes into the dive.
All the divers, regardless of depth or tank configuration, returned to the boat within 65 minutes of their entry times, except for one team that was blown off the upline by the current. Captain Phil wasted no time in doing a full roll call, and efficiently hoisting the anchor to go retrieve the drifting team.

We had an even stronger current on dive #2.
And again, all divers returned to the boat within 65 minutes of their splash times.

Some people did shorter dives.
Everyone had a great time on a gorgeous day.
The seas were calmer, so those waiting on deck appeared to be comfortable.

Mixed tank and gear configuration has rarely presented a problem on the dozens of dive boats I've been on in California and Washington.
The captains generally set a "be back by" time as the divers leave the deck.
Or it's been stated that dives should be limited to a specific elapsed time.

This is a great point to clarify during the pre-dive briefing.

~~~~~
Claudette

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

• 6 divers with doubles, 4 of whom carried single deco cylinders
• 8 divers with single cylinders,
• 5 divers with scooters,
• 4 divers in wetsuits
• 8 divers in dry suits.

Interesting arithmetic. 6 with doubles and 8 with singles = 14 divers. 4 with wetsuits and 8 with dry suits = 12 divers. Were
there two divers in their speedos? ;-)

I agree with TSandM: If you do a short dive, you better expect to
sit on the boat. And take your dramamine or whatever. Monterey
is on the end of the longest fetch in the world, and there are no
offshore islands for protection. It can be rock and roll.

 

[Teamcasa]

During the excellent briefing dockside, a diver asked, "How long will the dives be? Some people have doubles."


Captain Phil responded, "Most dives are about an hour, and the surface interval will be about an hour."

Everyone heard it and nodded.
~~~~~
Claudette

There is the answer. If everyone is briefed before boarding, everyone knows the rules. This sounded like a killer dive, wish I was on the boat!

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I don't think you can blame the twin tanked deeper divers. They use up much more are at deeper depths and will not usually have excessively long dives.
I dive a single AL80, and at normally 20 meters or less, I can make an 85 minute dive with still 90-100 BAR left in my tank. And usually, it is the recreational divers with great air consumption who make the dives long. 39 minute dives are really short, and you will end up sitting on the boat until you better your air consumption. It will come with practice an dives.

 

[TSandM]

39 minute dives are really short, and you will end up sitting on the boat until you better your air consumption. It will come with practice an dives.

Interesting to note that the people with the short dives were both DMs.

 

[Gombessa]

Interesting to note that the people with the short dives were both DMs.

I'm unfamiliar with the site they dove, but perhaps they went deep which limited their BT? Then again, if nobody on the boat had a deco obligation, what was everyone else doing?

 

[dannobee]

I've been on the other side of the equation before. I was on a SoCal dive boat (open boat) that happened to have two classes of open water students. I noticed what was going on and asked if my buddy and I could jump in the water before everyone else. That was met with scowls and contempt. So about an hour and ten minutes after we got in the water, we surfaced right near the boat, with sea sick students and pissed off instructors on the boat (some for an hour).

Oh well, I TOLD them I wanted to get in the water first.

The second and third dives weren't much better. At least one of the instructors got the hint, but the other one didn't.