Sundiver Woes Continue

[gcarter]

Personally never met him or been on his boat. But every boat i HAVE been on the Captain has owned responsibility.

 

[The Chairman]

So I suppose this thread is populated by Captain Wookie and his peanut gallery...

Wake up and smell the ovaltine! This entire forum is populated by fans of Wookie. He excels at Social Media almost as much as he excels as being a Captain. He and Melanie are as anal as they come when it comes to safety, safety, safety. I have been on dozens upon dozens of dive boats over the years and have even crewed on them once or twice. His crew does a diver check in as everyone gets out of the water. But wait, there's more! Before the boat moves, Capt Wookie does a post dive interview with each and every diver as well as those who missed the dive. He asks you how you are, and he won't accept a flip answer. I know, because I've given him one and he patiently asks again until I get serious. He looks you in the eyes and assesses you. If he's satisfied that you're not in denial about your condition, he checks your name off and goes to the next victim. So when Wookie tells you what is and is not acceptable: he walks the walk and not just gives the talk. No, not everyone likes Wookie because they don't like telling the truth or following the rules. I feel a lot more comfortable with them not on the boat. I'm not sure what him having a forum full of fans has to do with the merits of his post, but they are legion. I'm one of them and not embarrassed to say so.

 

[dytis-sm]

Did not discount Captain Wookies' reputation here, I do not know the man or been on his boats. But he did sound like those experts walking around claiming that nothing bad ever happens to them because they are perfect and not do only do a diver roll call, but also check if their crew did not jump in the water in the meantime... Things do happen on dive boats and a lot of times against the best plans and procedures. This is what happened on that boat, that day and we all know it can happen again on other boats. Nobody is perfect and I am just being realistic (or dumb according to Captain Wookie).

Cheers!

 

[The Chairman]

Nobody is perfect and I am just being realistic (or dumb according to Captain Wookie).

Wookie isn't perfect by any means. His protocols are designed with that in mind. I have had a boat leave me at a dive site once. They were underway when my sausage popped to the surface and was seen by the passengers: NOT THE CREW. Someone told them that my buddy and I were on the bow. when we were just running out of NDL 100 ft below. I just don't buy into your "realism". It's not for me and no, I won't be on that boat again. The boat captain needs to get me to the dive site safely, drop me off, pick me up and get me home safely. none of those are optional in my book and I agree with Frank: it's a cultural issue. If you don't fix the culture, you'll keep making the same mistakes.

 

[drrich2]

Reading over this thread reminds me of something I read elsewhere, that if everyone's responsible, no one's at fault (when something bad happens). I suspect that, and the desire to make someone high enough up the chain of command accountable, is why the legal responsibility falls on the Captain, who while no less human than the crew is presumably more of a fixture in the operation, has more clout in how procedures are conducted, and might provide for better odds of not leaving anyone behind.

Is this an accurate appraisal?

I'm sympathetic to anyone who's lost a diver under such circumstances, including this captain. I don't suppose there's any known statistic out there for what % of dive operations this has happened to?

Richard.

 

[scubadada]

As I said, for all 4 operators I commonly use in SE FL, the captain personally does roll call after every dive. I have no fear that I am going to be left behind, ever

 

[drrich2]

Is that because it's the Captain doing the roll call, or because you know and trust these individual people who happen to be the Captains on those 4 operators, or because of something to do with how they do those roll calls?

Richard.

 

[scubadada]

Is that because it's the Captain doing the roll call, or because you know and trust these individual people who happen to be the Captains on those 4 operators, or because of something to do with how they do those roll calls?

Richard.

The captains do the roll calls, of course I trust them not to leave me behind, duh

 

[undrwater]

I think the question is about the protocol vs the person.

In other words, can another human use wookie's protocol and achieve the same results?

 

[scubadada]

Frank, Wookie, personally engages every diver in conversation and asks about your dive and how you feel. This is above and beyond. It is clear why he has a good safety record This is after the DM has already logged you back in and has recorded your depth and dive time. I have never felt safer under any operator. Say what you will, this is a very safe operation. The Spree would not ever leave you behind. The captain is responsible, in this case, the captain is responsible...thank you