I am a keen angler, have been off and on for many years. Even on diving trips. In fact I remember a cracking day’s diving on the “Undaunted” out of Scarborough in the 90s when the skipper took us back and forth across a productive wreck during our 6 hour surface interval enforced by the tides between the two dives. I managed a massive ling (a long fish like an eel but tastes like haddock) and a healthy plump cod that together filled my freezer back home. We ate healthily for the following month at least. The fishing was fun, we ate what we caught and there was no danger to divers from flying hooks and weights.
I think fishing from a RIB is a different thing. You know how little space there is and how intimately crowded they can be when diving. Watching a boat one weekend, and its 8 occupants chug out of the harbour, including a couple of young children, I wondered about the dangers of flying needle sharp hooks and lures in a crowded boat made out of inflated rubber tubes! Even if you fail to pierce the tubes, catching a fish must be an event to behold. The poor flapping victim struggling in the bottom of the boat as all and sundry tangle to subdue it. Rods will be poked, lines will be tangled and people might be hurt.
Diving is an exciting sport. much safer than crossing a busy road. It is safe because we train properly and take precautions where any form of risk may be perceived. Therefore when diving from boats we ensure we have the proper training. This is true even if the dive is taking place on a chartered hard boat. We ensure the skipper is competent and that all divers are competent to dive in the conditions offered by the trip. All divers know how to behave on the boat and how to handle a diving emergency in relation to boats and being out at sea. Those that are inexperienced are in the care of a suitable instructor who is imparting this sort of knowledge to the novice.
When taking our own boats out, such as a club rib, we must be proficient to do so. Indeed, being only infrequent sailors (at best every weekend in the Summer) we are relatively inexperienced when compared to our ex-fisherman hard boat skipper. Taking people diving is a great responsibility and adding a spot of impromptu fishing in between dives add an element of casualness that I dont thinks marries well with a dive trip. A short surface interval of say an hour or two is all that is needed with the shallow dives being done, and this time is best spent making sure all divers are comfortable, novices are quized over what they have learnt and a cup of coffee is enjoyed.
If the club rib is going to be used as a fishing boat (have you seen how big and sharp those hooks can be?) the divers should be deposited in between dives and the anglers take the boat out separately.
I know I sound like the club committee that shot down the request of one of our members a couple of years ago who wanted to take the club rib out for a water skiing trip. However, having experienced a fish hook in the hand when on dry land I know how easy it would be to spike someone’s eye in a crowded boat. Either that or a punctured tube!