Has anybody used a professional diver?

[Richard10002]

As a follow up to the thread about commercial diving, I thought about it as an earner because whenever I have been on a boat where a diver may have been necessary, the marina or harbourmaster has said "We'll can call THE diver, but HE will not be available until 3pm" or similar.

Never got to the point of actually needing one, but the impression was that 1 person would turn up in a mucky old well used wet suit.

Has anyone ever us the services of professional divers, perhaps in Europe rather than UK, and what kind of crowd turned up?

Cheers

Richard

 

[boguing]

Used them a few times a few years back Andark in Bursledon was a good contact point.

I used them for pre-race scrubs.

A friend, who shall remain nameless, Howard, dropped his outboard in while berthed in Dartmouth. A very long funny story. But the diver trumped it. He'd had to retrieve an outboard and inflatable. It's owner had left it running while fetching his wallet, painter came adrift and off it puttered. So he shot it with his shotgun. Well, you would, wouldn't you?

 

[Deleted member 478]

Yep. Highly recommened for getting a rope off a prop, especially when the marina has an effluent outlet not too far from your boat.

Cost Euro 25 and all he wanted to do was build up the number of dives in his log book.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Saved myself the need to use one by keeping wetsuit, tanks etc aboard (did the qualifications years ago). About once a year I had to go over to sort out my own messes (part fishing net around prop, marina mooring rope cut, salmon net jammed, anchor caught under rock, laying mooring, floating line around prop). And about once a year for a scrub.

About three or four times a year I'd go over to sort out other people's similar problems - not as a business, but just to keep in practice. Some were very grateful, others took it for granted!

As you hinted, time is usually the problem for most people who need diving help. Typically, trying to get a charter back on time. Cost does not seem to be too much of an issue - usual prices around Greek waters seem to be €40 to €60.

I received a few lovely presents. A crate (!) of top quality wine from a large motor vessel. A meal out at a world class restaurant in Santorini (it's right by the little harbour on the south coast). 80 metres of 18mm nylon from a slightly over-equipped sailing vessel (well, he had cut my kedge warp!). Many six packs, several meals aboard.

And one guy harangued me for not being quicker. Takes all sorts, I guess.

I dived without an underwater buddy (which many would frown upon) but with a spare bottle and mask, and a signal system through a line with my crew. I was well practiced in shedding all my gear if anything got caught up, doing it on every recovery so it was complete routine.

I guess I shouldn't talk about scrumping oysters and scallops.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Once in Cherbourg. We'd berthed very close to the bricks at the carpark end, and I wanted to be sure we weren't going to end up sitting on one at LW. There was a charter dive boat on the pontoon about three bays along, and one of them did it for beers all round for his mates. As I recall, he did it solo.

Once in Hamble. Wrapped my own mooring line around the prop (doh!). There were divers working nearby, and they said they'd do it for £40. I only had £30 in cash, and they were happy to take that. Two in the water, one in the RIB.

 

[vyv_cox]

My anchor swivel fractured in San Antonio harbour, Ibiza. I snorkelled in the 3 metre deep water for a couple of hours but couldn't see the anchor in the weed. I asked at a diving school if someone would come and have a look, they arrived in an hour or so, found the anchor in about 5 minutes. Asked for 20 Euros, I gave them that and two cold beers, for which the German one was very grateful and the French one seemed not.

Since then I have a short length of floating line attached to my anchor, just in case. It's just long enough to reach above normal weed length.

 

[PlanB]

In Uk marinas, Health and Safety seems to apply so you end up with a cast of thousands (well, four) and a bill of (nearly) hundreds.
Here in Spain, it's much more relaxed - one man and a tank, except that one man is approved by the marina (and therefore insured).

 

[thalassa]

Ten yrs ago, I had one professional diver aboard, sent by the (Dutch) insurance company, on a Sunday. The rivet holding the swing keel had broken, so it was out of the question getting back to my drying mooring. Lifting cranes were not available at the time in the area. The chap brought a vanload of gear, and his wife as a knowledgable helper. It took him close to two hours to refasten the keel. The insurance company got a bill of about 550 GBP.
The chap was pleasant enough. We finished a bottle of brandy afterwards between the four of us, and we vividly remember the stories, as he had been one of the first divers to reach "Herald of Free Enterprise" at Zeebrugge.

 

[[2574]]

yes, last year. Fishing net around the prop - needed a full dive team for compliance with regs. It included:

1 flag waver
1 medic
1 buddy diver
1 diver

job was done in about two minutes, the bill was about the same price as a new door mirror for a beemer 5 series - I'll let you guess!

 

[LymingtonPugwash]

Just about to moor up at a small island in the Cyclades and in the rush to ready the boat, SWMBO dropped her only glasses in the briney so ensuring she can't see one metre beyond her nose!
So.... once we moored up, asked around for a diver and half a dozen local urchins offered to strip off and dive in for a few euro, so I offered 10 Eu for the first one to bring up the glasses.... but it was too deep for them, by the time the urchins were ready to give up, the local bongo drums had got through to a diver who turned up with all his gear/tanks etc and went in and got the glasses back.... worked all by himself and only asked for a tenner! Felt it was worth 20Euro, so gave him 20 whereupon he promptly insisted on spending half of it on beers with us at the nearest Ouzeria!
Nice helpful and hospitable people the Greeks... I have always found in Greek waters, that there is always somebody around who can do whatever job needs doing or somebody around who knows somebody who can do the job and is only too happy to contact them for you, whether it's climbing up the mast to retrieve or change something, jump in the briney to retrieve something or do a clean up or job on the hull, or even to clean out the boat, etc!

 

[Jezlyn]

An old shipmate of mine used to be a professional diver, with Marine Underwater Fire Fighting endorsement.

 

[rwoofer]

Must admit I regularly go down on my own for a scrub, anode change or just to check things. Done it in marinas and at anchor. Given you are never less than 2 metres below the surface it does seem a complete overkill to have buddies, surface helpers etc.

My brother-in-law is a technical diver and often goes below 100m. He saids that there is not much a buddy can do at those depths, cause they won't have enough gas to help you, so you are effectively diving on your own.....

 

[ytd]

we regulary use a diving service for a scrub between antifouls. About A$100 (GBP40). Although I have a dive qualification not really worth my time to do it - by the time you get all the gear down to the boat.

I once searched the bottom of a bay (300mx300m) for an anchor & 80m of chain for a couple of hours without success. The owner had let the whole lot run out in 4m depth and the bitter end wasn't tied on. I was surprised someone else had found it in the 24 hours since the owner had lost it. Transpired later he had sent me to the wrong bay!!!