Using a spool to return to anchor on boat dive

[lamont]

the OP mentioned a boat with 20-30 divers. What happens if every buddy pair runs a line? That's 10-15 lines coming off the anchor. Surely recipe for tangles!

This is the DIR section, and cattleboats aren't DIR. You can also share a line off the upline with another team by using a cookie per team.

 

[limeyx]

This is the DIR section, and cattleboats aren't DIR. You can also share a line off the upline with another team by using a cookie per team.

Sadly, some of us (I guess less & less DIR people from what I am reading these days!) are forced to dive on more densely packed boats or we end up not going diving.

In those cases it is messy unless you know & trust the other people.

In practice, down here virtually no one ever
a) runs a line
b) seems to know what they are for (until they neglect to run one and end up following mine back to the anchor "hey ... that was really neat, the line led us right back to the boat" "yeah, no joking buddy -- but I was forced to leave my spool down there as now the entire boat is relying on my line to get back"
c) is trained to run a line (or dive 1/3's as thats usually implied by running a line)

So I just run my own and it's pretty much going to be the only one there.

If it's people we know then just share a line and team 1 lays it, last team out cleans it up.

 

[limeyx]

Usually, on the dives I've been on where the boat has not been live the boat would not pull the anchor line but would simply let go of it if they had to go live.

And if the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied off near it, you are now nowhere near the anchor line. If the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied onto it and it snapped, you are no worse off. If the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied onto it and it dragged your line with it, you've still got your exit.

Yah, I have had one supposedly break when the anchor moved (but I do suspect that the "DM" that was sent down to fetch it couldn't figure out how to detach the spool and just cut it)

As lamont says -- if you tie off to a rock near the anchor and the anchor moves you are SOL. At least if you tie to the anchor and it moves, there might be enough ties or give in the line to be somewhat useful making it back.

Not ideal though. Much better to drop a shot line where possible and tie off to that, but that has its own issues in some cases.

 

[stiebs]

This is the DIR section, and cattleboats aren't DIR.

Correct, but as I said the OP did mention 20-30 divers on a boat.

And in a similar situation to what limeyx mentions, I've been on a number of dives where there are 2 or 3 DIR pairs, and then an AOW group of 10-12. They dive the top of the wall, and we go off the edge. The only way to avoid the cattleboats down here is on the "graveyard" dives which are wrecks generally between 50m and 80m. And those charters aren't necessarily DIR. Just adv nitrox/trimix qual reqd. And I don't fit into that category.

 

[KMD]

When I have run a line, I have tied off to the anchor line, simply because there was nothing within visual range of the anchor on which to make a tie. It's not a good choice, as observed above, because if the crew pulls up the anchor, or the boat drags it, you have problems. But if the anchor was dropped in a simple silt bottom, it may be all you have.

Even with a simple silt bottom you can usually make your own tie off point by simply taking a backup light, wrapping the line around it, turning it on and jamming it into the silt.

 

[KMD]

Usually, on the dives I've been on where the boat has not been live the boat would not pull the anchor line but would simply let go of it if they had to go live.

And if the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied off near it, you are now nowhere near the anchor line. If the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied onto it and it snapped, you are no worse off. If the boat pulled the anchor line and you were tied onto it and it dragged your line with it, you've still got your exit.

#24 or #36 line is not going to stop the boat from pulling/dragging its anchor, its going to snap or drag you with it. It could also do such things as pull the reel from your hand (bad) or snap the line further away from the starting point. So now in addition to having to deal with navigation you are going to have to clean up your line before ascending.

With such devices such as GPS and depth sounders the captain knows where he has anchored, so in the event of the anchor slipping or getting pulled, he will know where to look for your bag.

I suspect you Seattle-its have gotten a bit spoiled on boats. In Monterey, 4 to 6 foot swells is a great day and 7 to 9's are common and boats taking experienced divers out on 12 to 16 foot swells. In such conditions, it can be much harder to see the bag and the Anchor + chain bounce around a lot more.

Speaking for myself, if I am running line I really *really* want to get back to my starting point. If the Anchor is not there anymore then at least the people topside will have a starting point on where to start searching.

 

[KMD]

This is the DIR section, and cattleboats aren't DIR. You can also share a line off the upline with another team by using a cookie per team.

Why exactly are cattle-boats not DIR? I have heard this phrase alot.

You talk with the captain and work out what responses he expects to perform in normal operating conditions as well as emergency procedures. You tell him what actions you expect take in contingencies. Finally you take into account the skills sets of the other divers aboard, conditions and competency of the crew and boat and adjust your dive plan accordingly. Then you go diving.

 

[limeyx]

Why exactly are cattle-boats not DIR? I have heard this phrase alot.

Yeah, I think this is a bit of an over-reaction to the "get the whole boat on the same page" thing.

Obviously its nice to have all GUE-trained DIR divers on a boat but when you have a most of the boats in an area are 20-30+ capacity and a couple of smaller boats, it's either that or not go diving (maybe I am no longer DIR !)

For recreational diving it works out fine. For more complex diving, a smaller boat with 4-8 people is a much better idea and more practical (but also much more expensive in a lot of cases)

 

[SparticleBrane]

In Monterey, 4 to 6 foot swells is a great day and 7 to 9's are common and boats taking experienced divers out on 12 to 16 foot swells.

Kevin I have a great deal of respect for you and your posts, and usually I agree with them...but I'm calling BS on this.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

We dove the Olympic wreck in Los Angeles, and had precisely the conditions you describe. Limited viz (probably 20 -30 feet), some current, anchored boat. We did not run a line, and everybody agreed afterwards that it would have been smart.

20-30 feet, which is a big difference between the two, is pretty good for the Olympic. I had the best conditions ever there once with 100' vis. We could see the wreck and sand from the surface, but I've had several dives there with less than a foot of vis. Steve Lawson made this drawing, which I have laminated and take with me when divers are there for the first time.

Check out Elaine Jobin's report with her excellent pictures from the wreck.
Trip Report 11/17/04: Oil Rig Eureka and Olympic Wreck on the Psalty V