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Old 01-11-2009, 10:07 PM   #1
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another diver hit by boat

just saw it on the news. two women in boca were hit by a boat. any one shed light on the story?
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Old 01-11-2009, 10:14 PM   #2
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Re: another diver hit by boat

http://www.wpbf.com/news/18458624/de...s=wpb&psp=news
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Old 01-12-2009, 11:10 AM   #3
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Re: another diver hit by boat

I am one of Rob's roomates. I just read about this accident on PBPost.com. I just wanted to express my condelences to the victims friends and family. And from my experience, already, I just know they are going to need all the support the can get. Its the support right now, that is helping Rob out in these times. Listen Guys, keep catching those whoppers!!


God Bless

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Old 01-20-2009, 06:07 AM   #4
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Re: another diver hit by boat

I am out of the country and this is the first time I've been on-line in weeks. Unbelievable what happened to Rob and I know the whole community world-wide is thinking about him and praying for him and his family, as am I.

I can report that the two girls that were also hit by a boat that same day are doing okay, all things considered, which is to say they are alive and back home! One is a good friend of mine from New York who was visiting family in Delray. Their boat was anchored off the sand bar just south of Boca Inlet and they were swimming / snorkeling right around the boat with a few other people. Apparently the other boat came cruising right through the area, oblivious of the dive flag flying from their boat and the two guys still onboard SCREAMING for the guy to slow down / stay clear while he had his feet kicked up on the concle while driving! He ran over the two sisters, who were swimmimg together. (I was not there, but their friends who were still on the boat said this happened no more than about 25yds from their boat). One of the girls was hit by the hull and banged up pretty bad while the other girl got hit by the hull and prop and had major injuries to her head, knee, leg, and basically her whole body. Thank GOD she is alive, which is still figured by everyone involved to be a miracle. They both have long recoveries ahead, especially the one hit by the prop.

That is the story in a small nut shell. Another case of a careless boater oblivious of their surrounds, which often proves fatal at sea.

One of the girls boyfriends, who is one of my best friends, was snorkling in the same area with them. He said there were two guys spearing in the same area as well, towing floats (not sure if they were dive flags or not?), when this all happened. (Before the accident he was more worried about getting hit with a spear, but they ended up seeing each other and everything was clear that people were also swimming off the boat, so no problem). If the guys who were spearing south of Boca Inlet at about 1:30pm that Sunday (11 Jan) read this, please send me a PM. My buddy may need to speak to you regarding the inncident. Thank you very much!
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Old 01-20-2009, 08:09 AM   #5
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Re: another diver hit by boat

25 yards is more than close...thats freakin stupid reckless...whats scary is these people obviously dont have a clue what there doing.
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Old 01-20-2009, 10:07 AM   #6
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Re: another diver hit by boat

my sympathy to anyone who has been hurt... however it seems like boats with divers down are expecting to much from other boaters. yesterday i left boynton inlet set the auto-pilot on my way to delray for a dive when i see a dive flag on the north end of boynton ledges then another just a 50 yrds away. they were over a mile away from their dive boat in pretty sloppy conditions. i gave plenty of leeway but that just is asking for trouble. its 100 yrds from a dive flag and another hundred from the boat itself... right? so is it not fair and logical that boat operators should stay within a hundred yards of their divers? its like driving a car, defensive driving trust no one.... just a thought not trying to start anything and i know there are hundreds of negligent boaters out there that harm innocent divers, i just think we as divers need to to do as much as possible to protect ourselves.
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Old 01-20-2009, 10:20 AM   #7
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Re: another diver hit by boat

I think it is not a very good idea to run the reef line from Boynton to Delray with your boat on autopilot. As a diver your are obviously familiar with the reef structure and general depths. Run out to 150 and head south would probably be a little safer if you want to use autopilot.

Divers are required to carry a flag but the are not required to get there by boat. I have seen people come from the beach to the 60ft reef in Palm Beach. I travel very carefully when in this area because I know it is a common dive area.

Should people stay closer to their boat so that you don't need to watch where you are going?
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Old 01-20-2009, 10:22 AM   #8
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Re: another diver hit by boat

They may have been beach divers??? I have dove Boynton Ledges many times. Very close to the beach.

The Dive flag distance is the Law not the distance from a boat if they even had one.


Quote:
Originally Posted by GhostWhite View Post
my sympathy to anyone who has been hurt... however it seems like boats with divers down are expecting to much from other boaters. yesterday i left boynton inlet set the auto-pilot on my way to delray for a dive when i see a dive flag on the north end of boynton ledges then another just a 50 yrds away. they were over a mile away from their dive boat in pretty sloppy conditions. i gave plenty of leeway but that just is asking for trouble. its 100 yrds from a dive flag and another hundred from the boat itself... right? so is it not fair and logical that boat operators should stay within a hundred yards of their divers? its like driving a car, defensive driving trust no one.... just a thought not trying to start anything and i know there are hundreds of negligent boaters out there that harm innocent divers, i just think we as divers need to to do as much as possible to protect ourselves.
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Old 01-20-2009, 10:22 AM   #9
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Re: another diver hit by boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by GhostWhite View Post
my sympathy to anyone who has been hurt... however it seems like boats with divers down are expecting to much from other boaters. yesterday i left boynton inlet set the auto-pilot on my way to delray for a dive when i see a dive flag on the north end of boynton ledges then another just a 50 yrds away. they were over a mile away from their dive boat in pretty sloppy conditions. i gave plenty of leeway but that just is asking for trouble. its 100 yrds from a dive flag and another hundred from the boat itself... right? so is it not fair and logical that boat operators should stay within a hundred yards of their divers? its like driving a car, defensive driving trust no one.... just a thought not trying to start anything and i know there are hundreds of negligent boaters out there that harm innocent divers, i just think we as divers need to to do as much as possible to protect ourselves.
I agree completely....as divers you better listen for motors before surfacing and should be prepared to dive immediately. Maybe having a BC full of air while on surface waiting to be picked up is not a good idea.
By the way....I had my boat run over while at anchor with a dive flag so I know first hand there are some really careless boaters out there.
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Old 01-20-2009, 10:27 AM   #10
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Re: another diver hit by boat

Far too often people come too close to anchored boats. I really don't care if there is a dive flag up or not, when I'm driving, unless you are anchored in a small channel or something, I'm going to give you at least a 100 yards of clearance. Whenever I hear a boat while diving I pop up and look where it is and see if its coming toward me. I remember actually hiding behind my own boat one time while another boat came so close he fouled his prop in my anchor line. Mind you this was on a weekday and his boat and mine were the only two boats I could see...
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Old 01-20-2009, 11:55 AM   #11
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Re: another diver hit by boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by GhostWhite View Post
its 100 yrds from a dive flag and another hundred from the boat itself... right? so is it not fair and logical that boat operators should stay within a hundred yards of their divers?
From http://myfwc.com/boating/safety/diving_flag.htm

(5) Divers must make reasonable efforts to stay within 300 feet of the divers-down flag on all waters other than rivers, inlets, and navigation channels. Any person operating a vessel on waters other than a river, inlet, or navigation channel must make a reasonable effort to maintain a distance of at least 300 feet from any divers-down flag.


(6) Any vessel other than a law enforcement or rescue vessel that approaches within 100 feet of a divers-down flag on a river, inlet, or navigation channel, or within 300 feet of a divers-down flag on waters other than a river, inlet, or navigation channel, must proceed no faster than is necessary to maintain headway and steerageway.

I always try to protect my divers with my boat, but sometimes it gets tricky when one team heads north and the other team heads south. I hang between them and keep an eye out for any approaching boats and act accordingly to protect my divers.
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Old 01-20-2009, 12:54 PM   #12
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Re: another diver hit by boat

My buddy and I have had several close calls with boaters, there are alot of south florida boaters that are oblivious to any of the laws involving divers, any dumbass with a check book can get a boat and take it out. The other problem is hardcore fishermen hate divers, example, diving in west palm one day my buddy and I surface with sausages to see a large boat trolling past a commercial dive boat and he is coming right at us I know he sees us because we are looking eye to eye with the driver, getting closer finally turns because Bill puts the boat between that jerk and us.
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Old 01-20-2009, 02:22 PM   #13
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Re: another diver hit by boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by Heads-Up View Post
Their boat was anchored off the sand bar just south of Boca Inlet and they were swimming / snorkeling right around the boat with a few other people. Apparently the other boat came cruising right through the area, oblivious of the dive flag flying from their boat and the two guys still onboard SCREAMING for the guy to slow down / stay clear while he had his feet kicked up on the concle while driving! He ran over the two sisters, who were swimmimg together. !

This is not at all what happened.

The boat was anchored just outside the sand bar and they were snorkeling just inside the sandbar. That is right in the path of boats that take the south cut out of the inlet. MOST IMPORTANTLY, they had NO dive flag! They were ticketed and the operator of the boat that hit them was not!
Man, facts just get mixed up..........
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Old 01-20-2009, 02:54 PM   #14
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Re: another diver hit by boat

Quote:
This is not at all what happened.

The boat was anchored just outside the sand bar and they were snorkeling just inside the sandbar. That is right in the path of boats that take the south cut out of the inlet. MOST IMPORTANTLY, they had NO dive flag! They were ticketed and the operator of the boat that hit them was not!
Man, facts just get mixed up..........
Quote:
My buddy and I have had several close calls with boaters, there are alot of south florida boaters that are oblivious to any of the laws involving divers, any dumbass with a check book can get a boat and take it out.
2 very relevant and common scenarios..the facts, but could it have been avoided? Autopilot? hmm
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Old 01-21-2009, 11:01 AM   #15
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Re: another diver hit by boat

You have to be a jackass to not use a dive flag anywhere in South Florida.
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