# Diving without a bubble watcher....



## 290coastal

Just wondered how many of you do it ? Thanks


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## Native Diver

Do you mean as in leaving the boat unattended?


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## Firefishvideo

NEVER HAVE , NEVER WOULD.:001_huh: Divers/boats go missing even when all precautions are taken.....leaving a boat unattended while diving is just begging for trouble.
You can usually find SOMEONE, to watch the boat....just make sure they know how to operate it in an emergency. Bubblewatchers should know how to cut loose (if anchored), re-acuire the divesite via gps or other means, and know how to safely pick up a diver without running him over or chopping him up in the prop. Also should probably know how to call coastguard....ect.
If you only have 2 divers (experienced) It would be better to do solo dives while the other tends the boat......but 2 teams of 2 would be better.
....of course 1 diver with no bubble watcher, would be russian roulette.


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## Native Diver

I agree with firefish... Its just not safe!


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## courantpublisher

*No less than three*

We never dive with less than three on the boat. If one diver is in the water and needs help and there is only one other person on the boat it is asking for a disaster.

You need a boat operator and also someone to attend to the diver in distress. The only good dive trip is one that everyone comes home safe. 

+1 on Firefish on having someone CAPABLE of operating the boat.


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## JoshH

Ill come watch bubbles if you dont mind a butterfly jig bouncing around as you dive! PM me


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## sealark

Like the song goes, When I dive alone, I'd prefer to be by myself.


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## Orion45

Firefishvideo said:


> .....leaving a boat unattended while diving is just begging for trouble...
> 
> If you only have 2 divers (experienced) It would be better to do solo dives while the other tends the boat...


My sentiments exactly.


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## Welchy

I agree. Coming up to find that your boat is gone can be a crappy day. Get a bubble watcher.


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## WhackUmStackUm

Even though we don't have bubbles (rebreathers), I always leave at least one experianced captain on the boat who can drive and communicate with the Coast Guard, if needed.

WARNING: Inexperianced bubble-watchers can be worse than none.


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## bamaben

My buddies and I have gone out and used a teenager as a bubble watcher, and we learned a lesson that day. 

The three of us started heading down the anchor rope but I was having problems with my mask. After I fixed my problem, i got to the anchor and could not see the reef or my dive partners due to the vis, so I decided to turn and get the cords on the anchors and swim 180 degrees from the anchor and if i could find them i would swim back to the anchor and head back up. 
So I turned around and the anchor was skipping away on the bottom. I kicked about 4 or 5 minutes before I caught the anchor and started heading up the rope. As Im heading up and doing my stops, i see the teen catching and releasing snapper (out of season). When I finally get into the boat we are 1/4 mile off mark. By the time I get into the boat, get my gear off, ask the teen if he had noticed we had drifted, and pulled pulled the anchor, we were 1/2 mile off. We spotted my dive buddies surface and went and pick them up. 

I know If I would not have had mask issues, we might have been out there a while. The bubble watcher really needs to be aware of whats going on (ie: the boat is moving). And if the boat is moved, how find the dive spot to pick up the divers. 

I trust my dive partners, been diving with them awhile. But all of you are right, safety first, train your bubble watcher or run with 4 divers and dive in pairs.


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## DreamWeaver21

We always have someone in the boat.


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## Plattinum

Here is an old thread I started on the Bubble Watcher thing. http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f45/bubble-watcher-list-75233/


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## TheCaptKen

Even though I haven't dove for years, we never though of anything like this back in the 70's or 80's. But then we did have times we returned to where the anchor was and only found drag marks in the sand. Nothing worse that coming to the surface and seeing the boat in the distance. Of course this never happens in good seas, only when its rougher than a cob. Back then it was blood and guts diving and if anyone had requested someone to stay in the boat, we would have just laughed.


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## skipperbrown

I used to dive all the time w/o someone on the boat usually b/c we couldn't find another party to go with us. It's a calculated risk. You don't do it in anything but a light chop and you make damn sure your anchor is properly set w/ good scope. Better yet, tie into the wreck. If conditions were questionable, I'd clip off a reel to the anchor and be attached to the boat however remotely for the entire dive. I always called a fellow diver to tell them where I was, when I was going in and when they should expect a call that I was safely back on the boat. We never had any issues, but there is a risk you will surface and wonder where your boat is. 

The best policy is to have someone on board who knows how to handle the boat, radio, and knows when you are overdue. However, that is not always possible. In that case, you try to mitigate the risk and realize you might spend the night in the Gulf if you have a bad day.


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## cone

We used to spearfish with an untended boat. After following drag marks we went to double anchors. then there was the time we surfaced to find another boat had dropped an anchor and snagged ours (we had a dive flag displayed). They were at least a 1/2 mile downcurrent. We swam to our boat but they left shortly after we surfaced and we never had the chance to talk!


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## swander

cone said:


> We used to spearfish with an untended boat. After following drag marks we went to double anchors. then there was the time we surfaced to find another boat had dropped an anchor and snagged ours (we had a dive flag displayed). They were at least a 1/2 mile downcurrent. We swam to our boat but they left shortly after we surfaced and we never had the chance to talk!


Dang!! Pretty sure we would have talked!! Least they could have done was watch for you and offer a ride!! :furious:


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## sniper

bamaben said:


> My buddies and I have gone out and used a teenager as a bubble watcher, and we learned a lesson that day.
> 
> The three of us started heading down the anchor rope but I was having problems with my mask. After I fixed my problem, i got to the anchor and could not see the reef or my dive partners due to the vis, so I decided to turn and get the cords on the anchors and swim 180 degrees from the anchor and if i could find them i would swim back to the anchor and head back up.
> So I turned around and the anchor was skipping away on the bottom. I kicked about 4 or 5 minutes before I caught the anchor and started heading up the rope. As Im heading up and doing my stops, i see the teen catching and releasing snapper (out of season). When I finally get into the boat we are 1/4 mile off mark. By the time I get into the boat, get my gear off, ask the teen if he had noticed we had drifted, and pulled pulled the anchor, we were 1/2 mile off. We spotted my dive buddies surface and went and pick them up.
> 
> I know If I would not have had mask issues, we might have been out there a while. The bubble watcher really needs to be aware of whats going on (ie: the boat is moving). And if the boat is moved, how find the dive spot to pick up the divers.
> 
> I trust my dive partners, been diving with them awhile. But all of you are right, safety first, train your bubble watcher or run with 4 divers and dive in pairs.


I know this is an old post but...

How did you not know you were drifting before you and your dive buddy dropped in? You didn't check your GPS? It took you going to the bottom and actually seeing the anchor moving along before your realized it? Or chasing the anchor line for 4-5 minutes. So how did you expect your bubble watcher to know if you didn't? Seems like you found a scape goat for your own ignorance.

Also there is nothing illegal or immoral about catching and releasing Red Snapper out of season.


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## cone

I agree they should have and if it was me we would have picked them up for sure. We watched them untange their anchor and haul ass. Good thing it was down current. Live and learn.


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## Mattatoar

Sadly, I am guilty of this most days I go out. I'd prefer to find someone to go with but I often go weekdays and on the spur of the moment from Eglin AFB. I've had a couple close calls where I surfaced farther away than anticipated and downcurrent on a new spot but not more than a couple.

I use a few precautions and always figure that I can ditch my stuff and swim unencumbered if things go seriously wrong (as in "why is the boat WAAAAAY over there?") With my BC inflated and floating, I'd hope I could recover it and and anything that I could connect to it before making the swim.


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## Rich Lacour

While I agree that it is always safer to dive with a bubble watcher, you have seen from other posts that an inexperienced bubble watcher is equalivent to no bubble watcher at all.

I think there are plenty of folks out there who dive without one. If you are proficient in anchoring a boat, allow for plenty of scope and have sufficient anchor chain you should be fine. I always check the GPS when I believe the anchor is set and make note of how many feet the boat is from the spot. We then gear up, get the dive flag up, etc... and before we splash, I check and make sure we haven't drifted. We always spend the most time making sure the anchor is set and will pull it an re-set if there is any doubt.

Because it is my boat and my responsibility, I always go straight down the anchor line and double check that the anchor is secure before continuing the dive and use a finger reel if I am unfamiliar with the site so I can make absolutely sure I make it back to the anchor before ascending.


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## Jarhead

I had a buddy that would take his boat out alone, dive alone, with no bubble watcher.. That dude was nuts! Fun guy to dive with but, that's just crazy.. I ALWAYS have someone on the boat, but that's just me. I got caught in a current once chasing said buddy, came up a few hundred yards from the boat in big swells... That was a bad day, and the bubble watcher probably saved my ass..


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