Dive boat rant

[snowleopard]

Crossing Plymouth Sound last week, I was heading across the fleet anchorage and had to divert to leave room for a frigate manoeuvring to pick up a buoy. As I did so there was a 40 footish Sunseeker type boat approaching slowly from my port side and showing no signs of giving way. The time was shortly after sunset and he, like us, was showing sidelights and steaming light. When we were about 50 yds away someone came out on the stern deck and started waving and pointing at a banner flying from his bridge. I was eventually able to make out that it was an 'A' flag overlaid with printing and about the same time I saw two divers in the water in front of him. A minute or two later I heard him get a bollocking from port control about being outside his designated area and straying into the anchorage where he was causing the frigate problems (he was totally unapologetic). About 10 minutes later he tried to call me on the radio, presumably to have a go, but after responding I heard no more.

A couple of questions for the experienced dive types out there - is an 'A' -shaped advertising banner considered a valid dive flag? And what lights should a dive boat show at night?

 

[hlb]

Divers are a bloody nuicence round Plymouth. First they find a spot where the traffic is thickest, like just off the Mews stone. Then just have a droopy flag that cant be seen. Half the time, they have not got a clew where there divers are.

 

[bdsweeting]

I would have thought that Restricted in Ability ot Maneurve lighting R/W/R should be on display.

 

[robmcg]

Hmmm! I have nothing positive to say about dive boats/ribs in Plymouth Sound either. Always TOTALLY ignore speed limits and have deliberately 'buzzed' us while picking up a mooring to create maximum wake. All I seem to get from them is laughter and the bird (the latter is always returned post haste!!). They really should be regulated better by the QHM. I am sure a few 'examples' made of a couple of them with hefty fines will get the message across!!

 

[freeman]

My objection to dive boats is that they seldom show appropriate sized flags that can be seen.
I think that their dive flags should be of a min size AND they should show a flahing light- yellow perhaps.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

ISTR that dive boats are actively encouraged by divers to have a rigid Alpha about 1m across as this makes the thing far easier to see. Lights at night, that's a good one, can we star by getting them visible in daylight, when stationary

 

[Davy_S]

A hovercraft diveboat? thats different /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Thistle]

When active encouragement extends to not diving from a boat unless she is showing the proper signals we may see some change. Now, about those motoring cones and anchor balls .... ??

 

[jamesjermain]

I've noticed two things about diving in the West Country this year. One is that some(?), most (?) or all (?) dive boats are calling in to HMC to report that they are starting to dive, how many divers they have and how deep they are diving and secondly the high number of accidents and incidents there have been.

I don't think I have been out beyond Drakes Island once without picking up a 'casualty working' conversation between a dive boat and the Coastguards. Some of these appear to have had sad endings.

There has been comment that the Scilla wreck is attracting a lot of inexperienced divers into an enclosed site that is beyond their competence.

 

[StugeronSteve]

Mmmm. Whilst on passage, a few weeks ago, we passed a mid size motor cruiser seemingly at anchor. Thankfully we were a reasonable distance off, as concealed behind his superstructure was an "A" flag. I tried to call him on VHF to suggest that he might reposition his flag somewhere a little more obvious but got no reply.

 

[savageseadog]

Dive accidents are due to the very short and perfunctory training under PADI. Many Padi divers qualify in warm clear water totally unlike British waters and seem to qualify because they've paid the fee rather than because of their expertise.

 

[jamesjermain]

Been there, done that, largely agree.

 

[wingdiver]

PADI - Pay And Die Instantly?
It would be funny if it were not akin to reality in some cases.
As a BSAC trained diver, who has also been on dives in warmer climes where people are being trained it seems that, if you are sensible about it, you can do either and be OK.
If you are going to dive on holiday in clear warm water then PADI training is fine. If you are going to dive in the UK where it will be colder and often the viz isn't too good, then the BSAC system is better IMHO.
At the end of the day, if you choose to disregard your safety and that of other divers and water users, then it doesn't matter who triained you.
It also works both ways as divers are often at risk from certain boat owners.
From that perspective, I have been on a dive where the A Flag was clearly visible on the (commercial) support vessel and some clown in a mobo ploughed right through the middle of those nice orange coloured sausage shaped things you see near dive boats. Each of these usually is connected to a pair of divers down below who would be in a lot of bother if the line got caught in the prop. If the prop doesn't slice you up, you could be at serious risk from a decompression related incident as you are hauled to the surface.
I guess the bottom line is, if you see a rib with several people on board wearing wet suits or dry suits (mainly black unlike sailing gear) and a lot of yellow cylinders strapped down inside its a good chance they are diving so give them a wide berth and keep a watch for divers who have become detached.
Its all common sense really, you wouldb't steam along at a great rate across the stern of a fishing boat would you?

 

[rickp]

[ QUOTE ]
Its all common sense really, you wouldb't steam along at a great rate across the stern of a fishing boat would you?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not if it was flying a dive flag, like this enterprising potter....

(sorry for dodgy camera work - he was quite some way away)

Rick

 

[snowleopard]

An open boat with wetsuited figures is of course a giveaway. The boat in question was to all appearances a bog standard Sunseeker. The only unusual thing about it was the fact that it was going under the 10 knot speed limit.

And re the superiority of BSAC over PADI.... The reason I didn't at first recognise the A flag in the twilight was that it was defaced with large lettering saying, among other things,..... BSAC.

The international code flag A has no lettering on it so a flag with prominent lettering is not an international code flag but an advertising banner.

 

[doug748]

Yep, there have been a number of fatalities in Plymouth alone over the past few years. Ironic that if they had been yachtsmen there would have been Gods knows what fuss and calls for legislation.
Snowleopard has my sympathy. I generally identify dive boats, because they look like dive boats and are normally anchored in unexpected spots; I then start squinting to pick out the flag and diver's float. Few would suspect a cabin cruiser might have a diver down...