Something you might want to consider..

[Chuck Tribolet]

Doc: "Que paso" (Spanish for "what's happening, dude?"), not "K-pasa".
It's a swizzle on nearby Malpaso Creek.

I was on the charter where Phil found it from just a coupe of bull kelp
stipes.

 

[DocWong]

Doc: "Que paso" (Spanish for "what's happening, dude?"), not "K-pasa".
It's a swizzle on nearby Malpaso Creek.

I was on the charter where Phil found it from just a coupe of bull kelp
stipes.

Que paso it is! Nice site, I'm ready to dive it again!

 

[alibi 2]

Alibi 2 -- It would be quite interesting to know what actually occurred on this trip -- how much time did your husband's team spend in the water -- were they first in/first out? -- IF there were tech teams doing deco, were they first in/last out? -- etc.

Also, was it really the result of the tech teams that caused your husband's buddy to get seasick or was it just that he got seasick? In my only time diving in MB there were a couple of people on board who were very quiet the whole time -- turns out they were both seasick almost from the getgo (one I learned later pretty much gets seasick thinking about a boat ride!).

I think your BASIC observation is correct -- everyone on a boat should have a good idea of the parameters of the diving -- for example, 45 minute total run time, 60 minute, whatever -- which is something the Captain needs to make clear. On the various boats I've been on where there were mixed teams (tech and rec) I've generally used the rule to let the tech guys go in first (more room for me to kit up) but that also generally means I'm one of the last back on the boat (generally, last in/last out) but even IF I'm last in/first out, the times pretty much even out.

The key is NOT to forego diving a "mixed boat" but just to make sure the diving times are rationalized. (Not to mention, IF you are susceptible to motion sickness, use a patch!).

Alibi 2 -- Query -- Would your husband (and in rebound you) have been so upset had the buddy NOT gotten sick and left your Instructor husband with a ding bat insta-buddy?

Finally some smart questions,,,thank you!!..first let me reclarify the reason for this post..

#1 Hubby was NOT upset with the dive and never had a problem with the Cypress Sea...we like the boat and captian and have dove with him before..we like all the dive boats...heck ,,hubby is a Captian himself and we are locals..so we know the locals...

There were other divers who were upset before the boat left the harbor because of all the tech divers on board and how much time would be spent sitting on top...waiting..my hubby at first thought they were just being jerks..

then he saw the wait time...and the sea was lumpy which made some ill....there is a long wait for tech divers...and those with scooters that go so far away from the boat you can hardly see them...with all the gear it takes longer to get in so usually the other divers with less gear are in first...and they just drop down the anchor and don't travel off to a further local to dive..

Let me say again Hubby was never upset about the dive (he didn't get sick)...but he did learn something,,, and this is the only thing Im trying to say,,,this group were tech divers..thats what the main dive plan was...hubby and buddy jumped on at the last minute ...they werent comfortable with the longer wait in rougher seas but that is not the tech divers fault or the fault of the dive boat...that is the fault of hubby and buddy for not checking about what the dive plan was before going out...

The only thing I was trying to say was that if you are uncomfortable diving with tech dives then find out what the dive plan is and dive with a boat that is doing a plan your comfortable with..if you hop on a boat that is going out to do tech dives then expect a longer surface wait and don't get made at the divers or boat and crew...

i have been told I will feel out of place to post here and that I should stick with my own but living here at the ocean and diving about every weekend I thought I might be able to give some positive feed back on conditions,,ect..now and then...but the nasty remarks to just plain stupid remarks this post has generated has me thinking, I'll stay with my own, those who love to dive and teach, and help others to have a safe and happy experiance...

I have found the Patch not a good plan for some ...it is meant for multi day trips...and I get a really bad reation to it ,,Migraine, vomiting, fever..I get car sick very easy but have found that if I can breath compressed air I don't get sick.....but there is a new prescription med called Scopace...it is the same med in the Patch but you can control the dose to a signal dose, and my hubby has great results with only 1/2 a dose..

 

[skynscuba]

^^ I understood your point in the original post, and appreciate it. I'm mostly okay when on boats, at least with Bonine, but my girlfriend's tolerance is quite a bit lower. She also doesn't do well with drugs (even ibuprofen makes her spacey, Bonine is a non-starter). More of a problem when on the surface, of course. Anyway, I've taken notice of your comments, and will consider the possibilities when booking in the future.

Thanks, Gary

 

[Peter Guy]

Alibi 2 -- Thank you for your comments. However, I do remain somewhat confused and I hope you will clear this up -- "this" being the question, what day was your husband's dive? Was it, in fact, the 28 December dive that both HBDivegirl (who is a good friend -- full disclosure) and DocWong described?

The simple reason for asking is that both of them say there was NO "tech diving" done that day -- but you keep referring to tech divers as the source of the timing problem. Further disclosure -- I've gone out on charters with HBDivegirl with a scooter and an HP 130 (but no doubles or deco bottles) and we did spend a long time in the water -- more often than not, first in/last out. I'd really hate to be identified as someone who, through my uncaring and thoughtless diving profile, aided and abetted the discomfort of someone else. We all paid the same money for the charter (more or less) and everyone should have equal amounts of "fun tickets."

It certainly sounds like your husband (and you?) didn't -- but was it really because of the other divers' profiles or was it something else?

 

[TSandM]

Alibi2, we're really not trying to be unpleasant AT ALL. We just keeping pointing out -- those of us who weren't there, and those who WERE -- that those WEREN'T TECH DIVERS!!!!! Yes, they had doubles; yes, they had scooters, but they weren't doing staged decompression diving. They did longer dives. Two of the people on the boat were diving single 130's and do longer dives than I do, and I have pretty amazing gas consumption rates. ANY time you get on a boat, you are going to have some people who have longer dives. If you happen to get on a boat where most of the divers are VERY experienced people, using large tanks, they are probably going to dive to the maximum the boat captain says is permissible.

Reloading people with scooters takes a few seconds longer than reboarding people without them. It takes no more time for me to get on a boat in my doubles than it does to get back on in a single tank.

Honestly, I think what happened is that your husband and his buddy happened to get on a boat where most of the people were doing longer dives, and where one buddy pair got separated from the boat (which is not desirable, and which I am not defending). But the people who got separated weren't tech divers. The people with the long dives weren't tech divers. That's all I keep trying to say. You started the thread with the advice that people should avoid charter boats with tech divers on them.

We did a mixed charter in the San Juans this spring, and the "tech divers" were doing experience dives for a class, and we STILL had just about everybody getting back on the boat at the same time. But we were all experienced recreational divers, and we all did the maximum run time the boat captain allowed us.

 

[alibi 2]

I was not there, this was a simple thing but I will let my hubby who was there comment,,I have corralled him and the following is his comments, "There were a number of divers that were diving with doubles and with swing tanks with different percentages of O2. These divers all raised their bags indicating that they were undergoing decompression." As a matter of fact during the Captain's briefing one of the divers asked if there were going to be bottom limits and the Captain said no there wasn't. Based on comments by some of the divers I got the impression that some of these were students undergoing various stages of tech training. I have no problem with anything that went on on the boat. The dive was well run and the divers were all a friendly group. There were also some new rec divers in the group. My original comment was only that divers should always ask what the objective is of a dive charter. This was just a suggestion for any new divers who monitor the site. If you are a new diver and the trip is for advanced divers wanting to make deep dives it might not be the best match. If you are a photog and everyone else is after game it may not be the best match. This was a last minute trip for me on a beautiful day and it was an interesting mix of sites, good company and excellent personnel on the boat. Sorry if some feathers were somehow ruffled, the comments were only meant to be educational and in no way negative to anyone or group.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

These divers all raised their bags indicating that they were undergoing decompression.

Shooting a bag is not prima facie evidence of deco. A lot of the
tech divers (and wanna-bes) will routinely shoot a bag on a recreational safety stop for practice and to give a visual reference.

If you are a photog and everyone else is after game it may not be the best match.

I don't think
you'll have that problem on any of the local commercial boats --
I don't think any of them have a Passenger Fishing Vessel license
any more, so no hunting from them. (If I'm wrong, please
correct me).

 

[alibi 2]

Chuck,,,I don't know about the fishing as we don't do that on commercial boats...but I think dave was just giving examples of types of dives that wouldn't mix...

I don't think
you'll have that problem on any of the local commercial boats --
I don't think any of them have a Passenger Fishing Vessel license
any more, so no hunting from them. (If I'm wrong, please
correct me).[/QUOTE]