L E T T E R T O T H E E D I T O R
DMR Trying To Kill Off Urchin Divers?
How can I make such a statement? Case in point: For 22 years urchin divers have been lobbying the DMR to allow us to trade bad weather days for safe weather days. Or for the DMR to come up with a tagging system so we don’t have to risk our lives trying to make a living!
The heartless DMR will not even entertain any such plans. They call it conservation? When we must choose to stay home or choose to risk our’s and our crew’s lives to try to make a living! I have been an urchin diver for 22 years and have never come as close to dying as I did Tuesday, the 18 of December, 2012.
Here is my story. The forecast for the area I planned to dive that day was small-craft warnings with 25 to 35 knot winds gusting to 45 knots. Any other time of my season I would have chosen safety over trying to make a living. But because my season was already reduced 9 days by the DMR, I am forced to work as many days as possible. We fought the wind and 4ft seas in our 24ft dive boat and arrived at our dive site behind an island which allows us some protection from the brunt of the wind and waves.
We proceeded to work. It was while on my 3rd tank of air, with 700 lb air left, the problem occurs. My tender, unknown to me, has struck a ledge. It’s low tide and I’m diving in 4ft of water. The wind blew his 5000lb boat, which draws 2ft of water, right on top of me! The hull pins me to the bottom and begins bouncing up and down on me.
In the struggle to escape from under the boat I’m using my remaining air at a dangerous rate. Almost clear of the boat and now in 6ft of water, I am again driven to the bottom by the boat. He has no idea of my dilemma since he has one of is own! With a broken propeller he is trying to keep his boat from smashing to pieces on the rocks! In doing so, he engages his 225HP outboard into forward gear. This is why I have been driven back to the bottom. Knowing.full well the damage a 225HP outboard motor revving a damaged propeller could do to me, I pushed myself downward to try to escape! But I’m too slow. The boat surges forward, overtakes me, hits my foot, rips my fin off in 8ft of water and cuts my drysuit! The suit starts to flood immediately! Thankfully, for whatever reason, my tender puts the motor in reverse and probably saves my life by doing so. I surface with little to no air, ditch my weight belt and for the time being feel safe.
I yell to my tender to pick me up. But again he has problems of his own. His boat is still pounding against the shoreline. He’s on the front of the boat franticly trying to throw his anchor so he can physically pull his 5000lb boat of the shore. Meanwhile I realize I’m not as safe as I thought. As my suit floods my Buoyancy Compensator is not able to keep me afloat. In the bashing I took under the boat my brand new BC was punctured. I wear a tri-laminate dry suit which has no buoyancy at all.
The tide is pulling me further and further from shore. Remember I have only one fin. I can’t make it back to shore. My tender meanwhile has managed to get off the shore and has started his boat again. I franticly wave my arms in an attempt to get his attention. He’s looking for me, but I have drifted too far for him to hear me. I’m going down, my suit is completely flooded with 40 degree-water, my legs are cramped up from the fight with the boat and the cold water.
Then he sees me. I’m 100 yards from him doing my best to stay afloat with my spent arms. Just as I’m going under he hooks me with his gaff. Is it over? My suit’s full of 40 degree water, I’m half passed out from exhaustion and unable to help him get me in to the boat. Thankfully his boat has a pot hauler on it. He gets a rope around me and is able to haul me back in to the boat.
That’s how my December 18th 2012 day went. On the way back in, after changing our prop, my suit and diving two more tanks, (After all we are out there trying to make a living.) we make our way back to the safety of the harbor. When we get into the harbor it’s 3:30 pm. A marine warden has been watching us come in from his $40,000 state truck. We think to our selves, oh good when he comes over to check our urchins we can thank him for trying to kill us today. My captain, drops me off. I back the trailer into the water arid when we get the boat back on safe ground we get down to inspect the damage. We do a quick estimate of the cost to replace or repair our equipment. Total? - propeller $250, new fins $150, new boot on dry suit $150 and $450 for a BC.
The fact that we are still alive, priceless! The warden never shows up. Too busy drinking coffee and playing video games on his $20,000 computer system while sitting in his cozy $40,000 pick-up truck, to bother doing his job! I think I’ll submit a bill to the legislature requiring that when there is a small craft advisory all marine patrol officers should be sent home without pay. Think of all the money the taxpayers could save! I think I will call it conservation. Those are my thoughts, lets hear yours. Speak out! Only through debate, can we the people change the minds of the heartless DMR!
Quintin King
Corinth, ME