Unusual Divers

[Seabear70]

you know... i did hear that cuban drug smugglers were using a new robot technology called 'lobsteroids' to smuggle drugs into new england. they pose as lobsterman fishing off the coast, and dump thousands of cocaine-filled robot lobsters into the ocean. then their clients (also posing as lobsterman) can use an encrypted frequency locator to find the lobsters and retrieve the cocaine or heroin.

this would lend credibility to you DEA theory... they were probably working on a hot tip from a local double agent.

Funny, but it was already stated tht they were bringing nothing up and taking nothing down. That was a consideration in my annalysis as well.

 

[Gabriel90512]

you know... i did hear that cuban drug smugglers were using a new robot technology called 'lobsteroids' to smuggle drugs into new england. they pose as lobsterman fishing off the coast, and dump thousands of cocaine-filled robot lobsters into the ocean. then their clients (also posing as lobsterman) can use an encrypted frequency locator to find the lobsters and retrieve the cocaine or heroin.

this would lend credibility to you DEA theory... they were probably working on a hot tip from a local double agent.

I was reading about that on CNN today lol

 

[warpig]

seabear: i forgot to mention; lobsteroids are invisible.

i didnt mean to mislead anyone.

 

[MSilvia]

The reason I'm making the guess that I am, is partially because of the low vis. If you've got the money for something like that, go somewhere nicer to dive... It sounds like they're diving on a spot that has nothing much to look at, and nothing much to do

Lo-vis diving in these parts is the rule, not the exception. It sounds to me like they were diving a near-shore rock outcropping called Strawberry Ledge... because even in the lo-vis, you can sometimes see the reddish color from the anemonae and seaweeds that grow on it. It's hardly a spot with nothing to do, but it's a bit too far to swim to as a shore dive. A small boat and an inexpensive hookah system would be a reasonable way for several people to dive it, and would cost less and give longer bottom times in shallow water than getting them each their own gear.

Then consider, it's a small boat, right? Why have one tender and another on watch? They were likely following some rather strict procedures. That's pretty anal even for DIR'ers.

Sure it's a small boat. If it was a big boat, there'd be better places around here to dive with it. When boat diving, it's a good idea to have one person tending to the boat, right? Well, when diving with a hookah, it's a good idea to have someone tending it too, so that lines don't get fouled, and so that exhaust from the built-in compressor doesn't blow into the air intake. If I were relying on it for breathing, I wouldn't want the guy tending it to split his attention between being my life support and driving. I don't consider that anal... I consider it good sense. Also, it's common for recreational hookahs to have two hoses. With 4 people out, only having the ability to have two breathe underwater at a time is a good argument for having two stay in the boat.

I don't think hookah systems are DIR.

If I've already come to these conclusions, then it's an easy guess to figure out he exposure protection, Military divers tend to wear wetsuits in my experience, unless there is a specific reason not to.

You mean, like extended bottom times in cold New England water? Lots of folks up here dive dry year-round, and in my experience just about nobody has "markings" you could see from shore, including police dive team members.

Why a radio? The types of divers I described would be unlikely to go in the water with that gear without one.

True, but the kind of divers who'd be in a small boat off Nantasket beach with one of these would be unlikely to have them: Hookah rig with compressor

I suppose it COULD be DEA agents or military doing some kind of training or recovery operation, but it would be a strange place for it, and I don't think there's any reason to believe it wasn't just some folks out having a bit of fun in a buddy's boat.

 

[MSilvia]

I heard a rumor a while back that Massa Products in Hingham was making robotic survailence lobsters for the Navy. It's too bad the Cubans got a hold of one of the stealth models.

 

[Seabear70]

Could be, I didn't see them and I am going off of a limited description. The observer was using binoculars of unknown power, and I do not know the local conditions or the local attractions.

I do think it is odd that someone would choose to dive 100 yeards off of a beach with surface supply, be that consiencious about procedures, and have their own boat.

Also consider that having two divers in limited visibility with survace supply seriously adds to the chances of something going seriously wrong. (this is mainly a warning to those who would try this) That hose trails behind you and you have to be aware of where it is and where your buddy's hose is. Failure to do this can get you tied in knots, litterally.

 

[MSilvia]

I do think it is odd that someone would choose to dive 100 yeards off of a beach with surface supply, be that consiencious about procedures, and have their own boat.

It would be odd for a diver, but if you were just a local recreational boater who found out they could get a little two-hose compressor thingy for $700 that would let two people breathe underwater to depths of 30 feet without getting scuba certified, that's another story. I'd bet the "two tenders" had more to do with them only being able to put two divers in the water at a time than with any procedural stuff.

If they were using a commercial rig, that would seem stranger to me than a recreational compressor, if only because it's a site listed in local dive site guides. There isn't much there to interest serious pros, but it's a pretty dive that's a short ride from the docks or moorings. Since there isn't much to see but sand for shore divers, that nearby location would make it a pretty appealing spot for a small boat diver.

Bear in mind that in coastal communities, a lot of people have their own small boats, and beaches are popular with boaters.

 

[Seabear70]

As for a commercial rig, I've used some pretty unusual stuff.

For example, several HP flasks lashed down and manifolded together.

But as I said, I do not know the area, so it is very possible that you are correct.

 

[Gabriel90512]

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I LOVE JELLO

 

[alemaozinho]

Anyone ever run across this before?

Off Nantasket Beach this afternoon I saw a group of four divers in a very small boat (15-18 feet if that) anchored only about 100 yds off the section of the beach where the private homes are located(not the old MDC area). I trained my binoculars on them and observed no tanks or BC's, but what appeared to be a compressor with long yellow hoses connected to it.

I observed them for some time and they did not pick up anchor or surface with anything. Also, it seemed that only two divers were in the water at one time. Someone was always fussing with the yellow hoses.

Ever seen this before and what are your thougths on what they were doing. I've never seen any divers here before in such shallow water and so close to the beach. I'm stumped.

LobstaMan

they,re propably where looking for clams,peace