As the previous piece on “Why
Divers Die” points out, the misuse
of alcohol creates all sorts of
problems for divers. Alcohol
dehydrates, and dehydration is
strongly suspected of impeding
offgassing efficiency. The adverse
effects of alcohol on mental ability,
motor skills, judgment, and
impulse control are very well documented.
On the other hand, I
would agree with experts like
Brett Gilliam who say that a beer
with lunch is no big deal.
Many liveaboard boats have
an explicit policy: “Your first
drink of the day means you’ve
had your last dive of the day.” Peter Hughes Diving and the
Aggressor Fleet have a more adult
attitude, with no inflexible rules governing
drinking and diving.
Representatives of each told
Undercurrent that drinking during the
dive day was not prohibited, but did
add that the captain may, at his discretion,
stop a customer from diving And we can’t recall hearing about
an alcohol-related problem on these
boats, though that’s not to say they
have had none.
Interestingly, the policy to provide
unlimited “free” drinks as part
of a package is not without its contradictions
on a dive boat. While the
policy recognizes that the passengers
are responsible adults who have
paid big bucks to come to dive, it’s
also common knowledge that “free
booze” encourages more consumption.
The problem on a dive boat is
not just that a drunk diver will go
diving, but that a hung over, severely
dehydrated diver may get into trouble
the next day. (On the other
hand, is the Aggressor Fleet changing
its policy? Glenn Snyders,
Virginia Beach, VA, onboard the
Belize Aggressor in March, writes
that his group of twelve “were asked
to buy more beer and diet soft
drinks before departing because
‘they are expensive.’ So why do they
advertise drinks included?”)
However, even if we stop worrying
about people diving drunk or
hung over, we can worry about how
their behavior can affect others. An
injured diver on a liveaboard may
mean the diving for everyone is
over. More likely, however, is this scenario,
where a bunch of drunks just
made for a miserable trip, as
Undercurrent subscriber Dean
Knudsons (Golden Valley, MN)
reports about his March Blackbeard
trip in the Bahamas.
“Discount prices attract a variety
of clients to Blackbeard’s Cruises,
and not all are frugal and unassuming
(or even divers). On board were
five members of a construction crew
who had received the trip as a
Christmas bonus from their boss.
They spent the average day
wrapped in blankets sleeping on the
deck, only to arise at 3pm and begin
drinking beer, continuing to 4am
each night, much to the dismay of
the passengers who took the trip to
dive. Several of the men were hung
over and irritable from 7am to 3pm,
often refusing to move from their
topside sleeping spots even to
allow the crew to handle lines, or
to allow passengers to navigate
from one end of the boat to the
other. One urinated on the first
mate in the middle of the first
night and another screamed at
the cook (the captain’s wife) in
the middle of the night.
“The captain actually warned
them in a public announcement
that he had permission to abandon
them in Bimini. This did
calm them, but they still managed
to drink an astonishing
quantity of alcohol. The shouting,
screaming, profane language and
stereo blasting made it difficult
for the diving passengers to sleep,
despite repeated polite requests
for them to drink quietly. I was
surprised to learn that this was
their second Blackbeard trip.
They had taken precautions to
bring a large quantity of their own
alcohol, since they had consumed
all of the alcohol available on the
boat by the midpoint of their previous
trip.”
Divers at dedicated dive resorts
can face similar problems. At
Belize’s Turneffe Island Lodge in
January, Sue Ann and Howard
Hackworth ran into three jerks
who “were a pain in the *@!*.
They were very hung over when
they went diving at the Blue Hole
and promptly drank beer when
they surfaced (while we were in the
water on two dives, they consumed
the beer the other divers had
ordered for the trip back). They
kept dropping below the dive limits
even with two divemasters with
them — the divemasters had to
physically pull them back up twice.
The third time the divemasters gave up and took us all up for our
safety stop. They drank heavily all the
time and the folks at the resort finally
told them they couldn’t dive if they
were drinking. They thought this was
ridiculous — they chose to drink
instead of dive pretty much from that
point on. They would only do the
middle dive and then drink all afternoon.
One guy was a divemaster (he
had no buoyancy control and was
always running into everyone and
kicking coral). His wife kept having
runaway ascents. When we went for a
night dive he told the divemaster she
didn’t need her own light — crazy!
The divemaster insisted she have one.
The resort handled it well, and later,
when they did dive, the resort sent
them on a separate boat from everyone
else.”
Of course, the problem with boats
and dedicated resorts is that you have
no where else to go. If jerks are
causing problems and management
doesn’t act, you’re stuck.
In at least one case — Cayman
Madness — partying and diving is
pushed heavily in the dive community
through advertising and magazine
articles. Subscriber William Hall (Oak
Harbor, WA) writes about last
October Madness that it was “too
much of a ‘dog and pony’ show for
me. There were cheerleading and
drinking contests and lots of other
party-type things. I’m fairly new to diving
and quite conservative, so I don’t
really like to mix much alcohol with
my diving. Therefore, going out in the
evenings for partying didn’t appeal to
me.” In situations like this, of course,
there’s no control over who goes diving
the next day. However, one wonders
whether such a week ought to
garner headlines in diving magazines
that are purported to be watching out
for our safety.
If you wish to avoid excessive partying,
stick to the tried and true exclusive
dive resorts and boats (though
even a place like Turneffe will turn up
some party animals on occasion). If
you happen to run into guys like the
idiots at Turneffe or on Blackbeard’s
boat, don’t be shy. Talk to the people
who run the boat or resort, explain
how the obnoxious guests are spoiling
the fun of others, and insist on your
rights. A sensible operator will side
with you.
— Ben Davison