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From: "Christina Young" <christi5@ix*.ne*.co*>
To: "Capt JT" <captjt@mi*.co*>
Cc: <techdiver@aquanaut.com>
Subject: RE: FW: Survey of NE DiveBoats re: GUE acceptance.
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 02:34:18 -0400
Hi Capt,
Let me address a few of your points below, from my experience on the recent
Seeker Doria trip.

I've never not had any help standing by if I needed it to gear up while on
the Seeker.  The mates don't automatically come and start handling your gear
(which I would get pissed if they did), but they do ask you if you need help
when you are ready, and stand around in case someone does.  Maybe it was
different on your trip?

The Seeker does have an assist line (better than the one they had 2 years
ago), but it is still not the greatest (i.e. it is not weighted so that the
divers can just jump in and drop immediately straight down to 20 feet, they
still have to follow it to the anchor line and then descend).

The last three "physical" items you mentioned are the question.  Who
determines that?  The captain?  Or should the groups chartering screen who
they bring?  This is why I asked you for a list itemizing these criteria -
how would you determine that you would not let them dive?  You were on the
trip where one of the deaths occurred (this one also a heart attack).  He
was a friend of mine.  Would you have disqualified him from diving that day?
He looked like he was in great shape (and active in other things as well,
like being a champion skydiver).  The Seeker asks you for medical
information, the Miss Lindsey does not.

Danny has and does disqualify people from diving off his boat.  I've never
seen him trying to "macho someone into doing a dive".  In fact, just the
opposite with his pre-Doria briefings.  Perhaps you think he doesn't go far
enough?  You almost lost someone last year on one of the Miss Lindsey Doria
trips.  Should that person have been disqualified from diving that wreck?
Who convinced them to dive it?  Did they have the experience necessary to do
that type of dive?

Are you saying that solo diving should be prohibited now?  On my last year's
Miss Lindsey charter to the Doria last year, who jumped into low-visibility
conditions (without the boat hooking the wreck) and tied the boat into the
wreck *solo*?  Didn't that person spend most of the rest of my trip in their
bunk completely wiped out after that dive?  ;-)  What kind of unnecessary
risks did the person take on that dive?  The Seeker would have never allowed
any of their mates to tie in solo, especially in those kinds of conditions.

You are right about the deep Billy Mitchell wrecks.... I wanted to go
specifically with you guys because I like the level of support and planning
you had for those kinds of depths.  For stuff in the 250' and shallower
range, however, I don't see a lot of difference in the way you run your boat
vs. the Seeker.... unless all solo diving is prohibited?  Is that correct?

Finally, are you saying that Danny should be on the Internet as often as you
posting about both incidents and little mistakes divers make in an effort to
embarrass them?  Don't you think that there are other ways of dealing with
that beside requiring him to become an Internet junkie?  ;-)

Cheers, Christina

-----Original Message-----
From: Capt JT [mailto:captjt@mi*.co*]
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 9:32 PM
To: christi5@ix*.ne*.co*
Cc: christi5@ix*.ne*.co*; techdiver@aquanaut.com
Subject: RE: FW: Survey of NE DiveBoats re: GUE acceptance.



At 12:45 PM 7/16/02 -0700, christi5@ix*.ne*.co* wrote:
>Hi Capt,
>I'm not sure how you can say that medical issues weren't issues at hand
that
>had a major contributing factor in the deaths.

Christina
Why are so many divers having heart attacks on his boat, my guess is maybe
a few things. I have been on the boat only 2 times, so if my guesses are
wrong please let me know.

There is little help in gearing up, if you don't ask for it, you do not get
it, ones ego will cause you to say I can do it myself.

Lack of a good assist line to the anchor line during current.

Poor physical condition.

Too much gear.

Lack of experience.

Any combination of the above.


>My questions still remain unanswered.  As the boat captain, what specific
>things should he do

Care about his divers.......... enough to piss them off, enough to get to
know them, enough to tell them no, enough to expose them, become their best
friend,lead by example.

>or require of the divers on these trips?

Require them to give up their dive to save another, require them to not do
stupid things or you will tell everyone if they do, egos dislike being
exposed.
Remember the guy who got bent on your Carolina Trip awhile back, by
breaking the rules of the day and I exposed him to your private email
list.........has he come back, has he done it again?


>  What criteria
>should disqualify a diver or group from being accepted on these types of
>dives, period?

Keeps you off the boat.....on deep trips
Lack of experience is number one, lack of being a team player is two ( when
on a boat, like it or not, you are a team, don't think so.......let one die
and see what happens to the rest of the boat), unwilling to play by the
rules, past history of being a hotdog diver, places artifacts, gear,
ect.... above life.

How did you get on my Ostfriesland trip? You were willing to do it my
way...... gas, buddy, everything......... you are no where near DIR.......
yet some of us are close and you fit in with us, why? My rules are of plain
logic and you understand it.


>Cheers, Christina
>www.christinayoung.com
>
>On Tue, 16 Jul 2002 14:23:48 -0400 Capt JT <captjt@mi*.co*> wrote:
>
>
> >  What level of
> >screening should / can the captain be responsible for???  What level
should
> >the groups chartering be responsible for?  Already the Seeker requires
>medical
> >
> >information, more than the Miss Lindsey ever asked me for.  Can they be
> >responsible if people lie about that, or should they have an EKG machine
and
>a
> >
> >nurse taking your collesterol reading at the boat?
>
>These are not the issues at hand and bare little in the deaths of the
divers.
>
>
> >  You yourself have said in the past that they run a good
> >operation (requires you to fill out a dive plan, have a boat that is
> superbly
>
> >outfitted for those kinds of trips, etc etc etc).
>
>Yes, I said this.
>
> >  Now you are saying that his
> >
> >operations needs to be updated, as well as his clientele.  Can you
elaborate
> >on this?  What specific items need updating and how, and how should he go
> >about "updating his clientele"?
>
>This is a hard thing to do, I did it when I took on the deepest trips the
>Miss Lindsey runs. In the past they had many close incidents. Even a death
>or 2.
>As long as you let divers do as they please, things will happen, as long as
>you let instructors, Trimix cards, and friends be your shield things will
>happen.
>
>When I began telling the truth of what divers did on our trips, they
>stopped coming if they were unwilling to change. You cannot dive to the
>deeper depths thinking you can leave your buddy, cut corners, have total
>faith in your RB without a back up plan, only care if the diver is not back
>on time ect........ ect.........
>
>Even now, when the boat is chartered by some, they ask I not be one of the
>Captains.........so they can do as they please, no one to tell what really
>happens.
>
>Everything that needs changing with the Seeker is within Danny himself, the
>way divers look at the dive will change because of him and no one else. As
>long as he does nothing on his present course divers will die, he must step
>up and say this is what you must do.........Let him get on a list or post
>photos on a site about the 3 going up the wrong line after they were told
>not to, and not tieing off, but drifting away, bash their ass, see if it
>happens again, do nothing and it will.............
>
>
> >Cheers, and I hope you can come up soon and dive,
> >Christina
> >www.christinayoung.com
> >
> >At Mon, 15 Jul 2002 23:05:40 -0400 Capt JT wrote:
> >
> >--=====================_26101733==_.ALT
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> >
> >Trey, I could give a shit what you or the other guy says, I checked with
> >the CG......... TODAY....... to be sure I was correct. I only must walk
> >300ft from my office to the USCG Marine Safety Office where I work, they
> >are stationed inside the shipyard I am employed at......... They handle
all
> >of the inspections for the SPV in this area.......... I discussed the
> >procedure for over an hour with them. Then I called and talked to the
> >pilots again in EC, NC......got the same answers they gave me at the
safety
> >seminar.
> >
> >Sure Danny sucks shit for lieing, everyone who lies does......... Sure he
> >has the worst track record for deaths........You are the last person I
want
> >to butt heads with, but I will not lie or change the facts of any event
to
> >suit personal agendas.
> >Clearly his dive operation needs to be updated as well as some of his
> >clientele.
> >
> >There are 2 kinds of Captains, those that have already had an accident
and
> >those that are about to. I have done everything possible to keep the
trips
> >I'm on safe, but that does not ensure it will not happen. Must I endure
the
> >same crap on these list if it happens to me and nothing I did was
> >wrong..........is that what you plan for me.
> >
> >The CG does not know jack shit about diving....... they know about boat
> >handling ect.......they rule over us Captains, cut and dry.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
> >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
>
>
>"You can't learn to dive on the net, sooner or later you have to get in the
>water"
>Your Guide to Great Wreck Diving along the East Coast & more
>   Web Site  http://www.capt-jt.com/
>Email     captjt@mi*.co*


"You can't learn to dive on the net, sooner or later you have to get in the
water"
Your Guide to Great Wreck Diving along the East Coast & more
  Web Site  http://www.capt-jt.com/
Email     captjt@mi*.co*


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