Suggestions for finding the anchor line.
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AbyssalPlains
Contributor
I don't need no stinkin' anchor line. I enjoy my dive and if I can't find the line, I shoot a bag.
Obviously, I tell the boat crew beforehand, and I only consider this option in calm seas with no currents.
Obviously, I tell the boat crew beforehand, and I only consider this option in calm seas with no currents.
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
It's an amazing fact, and one that's often overlooked, but the anchor line is almost always found connected to the boat on the surface! When you begin your safety stop, ease up to the surface with a compass and take a bearing on the boat. Descend and do your safety stop while swimming towards it!
This reminds me of a dive I did with a friend off of Destin last year. We were the last ones on the reef and the DM thought the reef was clear, so he moved the anchor AWAY from the reef so it wouldn't foul. We swam from one of the reef to the other looking for that stupid anchor! We swam gently into the current and I did my commando peek using a digital compass (for the first time). That was cruel and unusual punishment as we had purple jellies to dodge to boot! No, the boat hadn't left the scene: they were waiting on us. The DM just couldn't imagine peeps with a better SAC rate than himself! For the record, we also shot a safety sausage while we were doing our two minute half stop.
When you begin your safety stop, ease up to the surface with a compass and take a bearing on the boat. Descend and do your safety stop while swimming towards it! This reminds me of a dive I did with a friend off of Destin last year. We were the last ones on the reef and the DM thought the reef was clear, so he moved the anchor AWAY from the reef so it wouldn't foul. We swam from one of the reef to the other looking for that stupid anchor! We swam gently into the current and I did my commando peek using a digital compass (for the first time). That was cruel and unusual punishment as we had purple jellies to dodge to boot!
No, the boat hadn't left the scene: they were waiting on us. The DM just couldn't imagine peeps with a better SAC rate than himself! For the record, we also shot a safety sausage while we were doing our two minute half stop.
Blackwood
Contributor
ND - What do you feel re-descending is doing for you?
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
A number of things...
I do a full five minute safety stop to avoid Sub-Clinical and Type II DCS. So consider the following:
I do a full five minute safety stop to avoid Sub-Clinical and Type II DCS. So consider the following:
- Why would I want to leave my buddy down there alone for that long?
- Swimming in slop is not fun. Swimming at >15 feet is serene.
- In this case, the jellies were concentrated in the first 10 ft of the water column. I missed most of them.
- While some bubble pumping may occur in the blood (especially if you ascend and descend quickly), the five minutes of 1.5 bar helps clear most of the N2 from my neural fluid. That's my target tissue for this stop.
Blackwood
Contributor
Fair enough, just curious.
My only reply is to bullet 1: why did you leave him there in the first place?
My only reply is to bullet 1: why did you leave him there in the first place?
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
They moved the anchor on us. We had no idea where the boat was. I would rather decrease or minimize the distance if possible. No need for both of us to surface when we could easily see each other from that distance.Fair enough, just curious.
My only reply is to bullet 1: why did you leave him there in the first place?
This is a pretty common practice here in Key Largo when diving Molasses, French and other shallow reefs. There are SOOOOO many mooring balls that it's easy to get turned around even with the best of nav skills. Normally I work the group in a circular fashion and can keep the boat bottom in view. However, one distraction can lead to another and we could be looking at cool critters all over the place.
On the artificial reefs and wrecks, a good captain will be sure to describe how to find your mooring line. The last time on the Speigel Grove, the Ocean Divers Captain told us the number (6), showed us on a wreck card (picture) and made sure we knew that it was the one most forward on the port side. How could you go wrong with a briefing like that???
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