What do folks make of this one...

[DeepSeaDan]

Sounds like they need permanent moorings for the wrecks in that area - good for the wreck, good for the divers.

Regards,
DSD

 

[rambaldi]

I agree for the most part with what others have said, I would add a couple things. If you (actual author) had a suspected DCS hit, you should have gotten onto that fishing boat. Taken a couple O2 bottles with you to breath on the trip over and then hopped onto the dive boat, or if warranted gotten them to call in the Coast Guard to ferry you for your treatment. (not sure if that is appropriate, here we would call a DAN number and they coordinate medical evacuation etc.)

 

[RJP]

Sounds like they need permanent moorings for the wrecks in that area - good for the wreck, good for the divers.

Regards,
DSD

Permanent mooring adjacent to "the busiest shipping channel in the world." Hmm... let's think about what could be wrong with that idea.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Permanent mooring adjacent to "the busiest shipping channel in the world." Hmm... let's think about what could be wrong with that idea.

If they are going to allow divers to dive in this "busiest shipping channel in the world," then a permanent block on the bottom adjacent to the wreck would provide a stable mooring point for the charter boats to tie into. The down-side is the dive boat may have to slip it's mooring to give way to traffic, though the boat could return to the site once the way was clear.. A permanent buoyed line to a surface buoy is not feasible as it would be a hazard to navigation.

Another option would be to drop a buoyed line close to the wreck using GPS co-ordinates, the dive boat then stands off a short distance away, waiting to retrieve the divers. This method is used at the eastern end of L. Ontario where shipping is very active going to & from the St. Lawrence River.

Better for the preservation of the wreck, safer for the divers.

Regards,
DSD

 

[Hetland]

Retards... in the water and on the boat.. What can you say?

Telling divers to unhook the anchor at the start of their dive?
Actually following the boat operator's direction of unhooking the boat from the wreck and expecting it to stay there?
Swim down an anchor line to sand and then follow a furrow to the wreck and do a deco dive?
Shorten up a deco stop to do what? Look around? (Much better to stay down).
Hit the surface with skipped deco, experience pain .. and not descend with oxygen and tell your buddy to hold onto your float?
Going inside the boat and making lunch and not, at a minimum setting an anchor alarm on the GPS?

While I'd have stated all of the above more diplomatically, I agree with all of these points.

I'd add:

• anyone planning to do a decompression dive without a reel is either ignoring their training, or has been improperly trained
• any captain not regularly eyeballing his gps position ESPECIALLY when close to a channel, is a captain I'm never diving with again
• moving an anchor is flat-out dangerous, ESPECIALLY when close to a channel
• moving an anchor with 11 decompression divers in the water is beyond stupid
• ideally, you would have a diver to tie-in at the beginning and untie at the end of the trip
• since you can't be sure that all divers have returned to the wreck, you would, at minimum, need to have a divemaster untie once everyone was back on board

 

[Ayisha]

Sounds like they need permanent moorings for the wrecks in that area - good for the wreck, good for the divers.

Regards,
DSD

Yes. I was wondering why they don't do that? We certainly have permanent moorings on wrecks here in Ontario. On the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence River, you have the America permanently moored in a very busy shipping channel, and the wreck is treated as an overhead dive due to the freighters and other heavy boat traffic. It works.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Yes. I was wondering why they don't do that?

A few reasons:

1. A bottom-mounted mooring isn't necessary. If you're running a line to the bottom, just tie into the wreck.

2. Around here, moorings are surface floating moorings and it's not practical given the shipping lane issues. When a diver boat is anchored there and flying the Alpha flag, tankers/etc will navigate around. But with a permanent mooring there on the surface, a tanker will eventually hit it. Safety and liability issues arise, plus you'd need Coast Commission and USCG approval for it.

3. Assuming it would be a surface mooring, it then becomes a beacon for every yahoo around to dive what is already a dangerous wreck. Not need to invite more trouble than already exists.



- Ken

 

[Ayisha]

3. Assuming it would be a surface mooring, it then becomes a beacon for every yahoo around to dive what is already a dangerous wreck. Not need to invite more trouble than already exists.

Around here there are a couple of wrecks that certain dive shops want to keep "private", and their mooring is about 4 feet under the surface. You would need the GPS coordinates or a sidescan sonar (may be illegal here I think without a permit, but some divers have one) to find it. However, many boaters eventually find out the GPS coordinates, so it may not keep everyone away.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Around here there are a couple of wrecks that certain dive shops want to keep "private", and their mooring is about 4 feet under the surface.

USCG regs require SIXTY feet of clearance. FOUR feet under the surface is an invitation to create a whole mess of trouble for yourself when someone who doesn't know the mooring is there rams into it.

- Ken

 

[Centrals]

I thought the shot line has to be secured and safe before any dive can commence.
I don't think I want any un-necessary work at the end of a tec dive ie. to free the anchor.