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Gentlemen,
A dive boat and crew is usually much more than a taxi to the dive site.
It is a support resource - a necessarily mobile plaform providing a much
needed point of refference, base of operations, storage for excess and
emergency equipment, communications platform, and place of refuge on the open
sea. The degree to which this is true depends on the type of diving and the
conditions, of course, but it is always true to some extent, even in the most
benign recreational persuits. As conditions worsen and dive complexity
increase the role of the vessel becomes more vital.
One of the biggest problems I have had acquiring a vessel for a Mona
Island expedition is insuring that the vessel, captain, and crew is up to
their role as vital parts of the dive team. If they don't understand the
needs and limitations of the divers they can not provide reliable support and
the only way I can guarantee their ability to do so is to leave a knowledgable
diver on board as counsil (this, due to the lack of experienced technical
vessels and crews in the area of Puerto Rico).
I was part of a team of 4 divers saparated and drifting after a dive on a
deep wreck from Jim Mim's boat last year. We were scattered to the four
winds and one of us had lost all his lift bags and was drifting with no
surface marker (50 minutes of deco). Jim not only kept track of each of us
but made sure we each knew that he was aware of out position by running the
boat around our bag or bubbles to signal his presence. No worries about
being lost or abandoned.
This is the kind of performance that separates the men from the boys on the
topside team and I assure you it makes all the difference in the world when
all the chips have yet to land and the stakes are high.
On technical dives there is no substutute for a competent vessel and crew
and I offer up as examples of such excellence; Capt. Jim Mims of the "Reef
Cat" in Pompano Beach, Fla., Errol Kalayci's "Greatful Diver" out of Ft.
Lauderdale, and Capt. Dan Malone of the "Ocean Explorer".
Chuck Boone
--
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