Would you stay with the boat?
#1
Posted 22 December 2005 - 05:30 PM
You are on a dive boat headed to a site off-shore, you are about 3-4 miles from land when the motor cuts out. The crew is unable to get it restarted so now the boat is drifting away from land.
Over the next few moments, you discover that the boat does not have a functioning radio or signal flares. The crew attempts to stop the drifting by tossing the anchor overboard but then it is discovered that the anchor chain was so rusted that the anchor broke off. The boat continues to drift.
Now you find yourself in a dilemma. You do not know if other boats are out there, the seas are a little rough after a storm had passed to the north hours before, but you can still see land. The captain also informs you that there is no other land mass that the boat is drifting towards. For all you know, you are headed out to sea.
Do you stay with the boat or do you get out in your dive gear and try to make a swim for the island?
This actually happened a couple of months ago in Belize. Four divers decided to get off the boat and make a swim for the island. The currents separated them and then took them out of sea where they drifted for three days and two nights. Three of them were eventually rescued, one of them did not make although her body was recovered.
It is easy to play Monday morning quarterback but I always believed you always stay with the boat unless it is going down, especially if you are more than a mile from land. At the same time, if a boat is going to take people out, it should always be in good working order and have a functioning radio and signal flares. Reading the reports, evidently in some of these third-world countries, the onus is on the customer to make sure these safety measures are in place.
I will also make sure I have every signaling device I can carry on me. That includes a see-me sausage, a signaling mirror, and a dive-alert whistle which is attached to the BC inflator. I have all three.
Last thing, the boat went out on a day no other operators went out due to small craft warnings. Hurricane Wilma had passed several hundred miles north earlier that day and waters were still pretty rough.
#2
Posted 22 December 2005 - 05:34 PM
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I feel the urge, the urge to submerge! -ScubaHawk - Raptor of the Deep !
WHO DAT!!!!
#3
Posted 22 December 2005 - 05:41 PM
When I get on a boat, I generally check it to see its condition and the presence of safety and communications equipment. A boat in the sorry state described here would undoubtedly show many signs of disrepair and poor maintenance that should give one clues to investigate further before going out with it.
#4
Posted 22 December 2005 - 05:44 PM
Remember, a lot of places we dive there is no Coast Guard type organization available, the only people looking for you will probably be another dive boat.
By all that is wet, I do hereby swear, (politely), and attest, upon pain of never diving again, (real or imagined), that I understand and affirm, that I agree to the above.
_________________________________________(log in name signature)
Signed and Dated
#5
Posted 22 December 2005 - 05:53 PM
#6
Posted 22 December 2005 - 06:18 PM
stay with the boat definately - i normally carry my back up vhs radio and gps in my day bag when i fish or dive off someone elses boat - JUST incase
Really! What a good thought. Approx how much would these items run if someone were thinking of adding them to the *ultimate* save a dive kit??? And how big are they? Many boats do have restrictions on weight limits and of course this would be most suited for US based destinations...getting that kind of equipment thru customs on a dive trip might prove difficult.
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#7
Posted 22 December 2005 - 06:20 PM
Here's a question related to the actual event - would you take your gear if you decided to swim for it?
I think the answer is yes if you first lose the tank and regs - you want the flotation at the price of the drag - but I'm not 100% sure of that trade. It might be possible to swim to shore if you weren't held back by your gear - but if you misjudge - you really want the flotation.
Jacques Yves Cousteau
#8
Posted 22 December 2005 - 06:55 PM
As a Ham licensee, I ALWAYS carry a HT which has been mod-ed to operate on Marine VHF freqs...
73 de Norm KE4GAH
stay with the boat definately - i normally carry my back up vhs radio and gps in my day bag when i fish or dive off someone elses boat - JUST incase
Really! What a good thought. Approx how much would these items run if someone were thinking of adding them to the *ultimate* save a dive kit??? And how big are they? Many boats do have restrictions on weight limits and of course this would be most suited for US based destinations...getting that kind of equipment thru customs on a dive trip might prove difficult.
#9
Posted 22 December 2005 - 07:01 PM
stay with the boat definately - i normally carry my back up vhs radio and gps in my day bag when i fish or dive off someone elses boat - JUST incase
Really! What a good thought. Approx how much would these items run if someone were thinking of adding them to the *ultimate* save a dive kit??? And how big are they? Many boats do have restrictions on weight limits and of course this would be most suited for US based destinations...getting that kind of equipment thru customs on a dive trip might prove difficult.
I have a GPS that is about the size of a cell phone and it was about $150. I don't know about a VHS radio but I carry my cell phone as well.
#10
Posted 22 December 2005 - 07:12 PM
Homeland Security isn't the issue with GPS; its the OTHER country. Six or 7 years ago there was a guy from QualComm on a business trip to Russia. He took his GPS. He was arrested and spent several weeks tyring to convice the Russians that his GPS was NOT a spy instrument. QualComm finally got him home, but I bet he never travels out of the country with a GPS again!
#11
Posted 22 December 2005 - 07:52 PM
Edited by Dennis, 22 December 2005 - 07:53 PM.
Dennis
"Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress ... But I repeat myself." --Mark Twain
#12
Posted 22 December 2005 - 09:24 PM
Edited by ScubaDadMiami, 22 December 2005 - 09:24 PM.
"For the diligent diver, closed circuit rebreathers are actually safer than open circuit scuba." Tom Mount
#13
Posted 22 December 2005 - 09:24 PM
And from a guy that has actually thrown the captain from the wheel house (mutinied if you will and it's a long story actually best told over a few beers).
Enquiring minds want to know so go ahead and tell us, Dennis!
#14
Posted 23 December 2005 - 12:09 AM
Ugh - what a nightmare to think something like that could happen.
Pink ~~~ It's the New Black!!!
#15
Posted 23 December 2005 - 12:33 AM
The motor did cut out twice on the way out, but someone was able to get the motor going again. He was dropped off at the small island with a group of snorkelers. The motor cut out the third time and that is when all hell broke loose. No one could get it restarted, then it went from there.
I will note that the same operator had another incident about a year ago when a boat they were running capsized dumping 10 divers into the water. No one was injured in that incident. They were also operating without a license as it has been suspended after that incident. Also, the divers were found by the Belize counterpart to the US Coast Guard. The operator has since been shut down by the Belize Board of Tourism.
I do think the divers showed bad judgement by getting off the boat and trying to swim for the island. However, if the boat had been in good working order with a functioning radio, safety flares, and a good anchor to begin with, it would have never came to that.
Edited by Mitch0129, 23 December 2005 - 12:35 AM.
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