Had a close call yesterday, almost lost at sea...

[TampaScuba]

Well this was the first time in my life I seriously thought I was going to die.

First I want to say that I have about 300 dives logged and 200 of them are while spear fishing. We spear about 3 times a month and 2-3 dives each time in about 40-60 feet of water 30-50 miles out. This was my first close call.

In this instance I was on a friend's boat that we don't usually dive on, and he had a friend that I didn't know and didn't know his experience with boating or diving.

The conditions were 2-3 feet and sunny. It was a 4 person trip, and we were about 20 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico west of Clearwater, FL doing our 2nd dive of the day in 45 feet of water. This particular dive site was a very long section of concrete barriers and cylinders that make a great area for sea life neat passages to swim through...It's supposed to be a very chill and sight-seeing dive. We took our spears just in case we saw something, but didn't expect to do much shooting.

It was a really great dive and did manage to spear one 15" hog. When we finally surfaced after a 30 minute dive, we were about 300 feet from the boat. The two in the boat saw us and his friend started pulling the anchor. We floated as we waited for pickup with the dead hog in hand. We then watched in horror as the boat started to travel away from our location... They had lost sight of us... My dive buddy, thank God, had his safety sausage with him and later admitted that he NEVER carries it on dives, but for some reason on this particular dive, decided to put it on his BC... As we are screaming bloody murder and i'm waving both spears in the air floating on my back, he inflates the sausage. It takes 10 full minutes before they spot us. Those were the longest 10 minutes of my life...

Lessons Learned. NEVER have your most experienced boaters and divers in the water at the same time and ALWAYS carry a safety sausage and/or PLB no matter how easy the dive.

When I got home the first thing I did was purchase a whistle, 6 foot day/night SS, and now I'm looking up resqlinks that I can put in a capsule so I can dive with it.

This event has really made me appreciate life and also respect the real dangers of diving and boating. Never again will I dive without at least a whistle and SS, and I hope I encourage people that see this to always dive prepared.

 

[diver 85]

My SS(SMB) & reel go on every dive with me---EVERY one, for the last about 10 years anyway..........

 

[mmmbelows]

Many people report whistles go unanswered, they just don't carry that far, especially with wind blowing in the wrong direction. Add a a cheap plastic signaling mirror to your list, on a sunny day that flash of light will carry for miles and get anybodies attention, might think about always be diving with a light too no matter the time of day, just because you might get lost during the day light doesn't mean you still won't be floating at night.

 

[beaverdivers]

+ Strobe/ Safety light - Check
+ Signal Mirror - Check
+ Safety Sausage - Check
+ Dive Alert ( pneumatic whistle ) - Check
+ Nautilus Lifeline - Check

Let's Go Diving!

 

[CuzzA]

@TampaScuba I had a similar experience where you can read about here (Where this thread will likely end up). A Critical Error Leads To A Dicey Situation And An Education For This New Diver... Unfortunately, I was solo and being harassed by bull sharks.

I carry a ResQLink+ PLB in a CustomDivers canister. I carry a 6 ft. and 8 ft. DSMB from Piranha Dive Mfg. As well as a Green GloToob and a DIY wrist strap that holds my mirror (mainly for solo bubble checks, but doubles as SAR) and Powerheads (As seen in my avatar). I do have a whistle, but they are pretty much useless. I added a DiveAlert after my incident.

I would suggest reconsidering how you guys operate your boat. I don't like anchoring. Instead we drop a jug and keep the boat live trying to follow bubbles. This usually allows for a swift retrieval of divers which is important IMO, especially when spearfishing.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

what is drop a jug?

And holy cow, I never thought about being lost from the day into the night. Ok torch with every dive.

 

[DandyDon]

My dive buddy, thank God, had his safety sausage with him and later admitted that he NEVER carries it on dives, but for some reason on this particular dive, decided to put it on his BC.

Mine has been with me on every dive since day one. I can't imagine going in the sea without one.

I'm looking up resqlinks that I can put in a capsule so I can dive with it.

This is the one I carry, everywhere: ACR 2881 ResQLink+ PLB Personal Locator Beacon The GPS Store

When I leave the house, it's in my car. When I leave the car on a farm, a hike, whatever - it goes. It certainly goes with me on boats and dives. I got the dive canister from Australia for $100. If you ever use the PLB, that exhausts the battery, but return it with a rescue story and they give you a free one.

+ Strobe/ Safety light - Check
+ Signal Mirror - Check
+ Safety Sausage - Check
+ Dive Alert ( pneumatic whistle ) - Check
+ Nautilus Lifeline - Check

Let's Go Diving!

Good list. Nautilus or PLB. The latter is more useful.

 

[Wookie]

Searched for lots of divers. Never heard a whistle (over radio, engines, inside, etc) in my life. I have a deal for you. I will send you (for the cost of shipping) a waterproof case made of Delrin by Light Monkey or a screwtop case made of PVC with a whistle, mirror, I think I have some orange marker dye, and a PLB with expired batteries. It isn't a joke, you can buy a new PLB or SPOT, or whatever makes you feel safest if you promise to carry it on every dive.

I have half dozen of them I used to use on my tech divers. Since I no longer have tech divers, I am willing to part with these to enhance safety of folks who tend to dive alone far from help.

 

[TampaScuba]

Many people report whistles go unanswered, they just don't carry that far, especially with wind blowing in the wrong direction. Add a a cheap plastic signaling mirror to your list, on a sunny day that flash of light will carry for miles and get anybodies attention, might think about always be diving with a light too no matter the time of day, just because you might get lost during the day light doesn't mean you still won't be floating at night.

Thanks for the advice on the mirror. I do dive with a dive light and my new SS is a day/night so the entire thing lights up orange when you put the light in it.

@TampaScuba
I carry a ResQLink+ PLB in a CustomDivers canister. I carry a 6 ft. and 8 ft. DSMB from Piranha Dive Mfg. As well as a Green GloToob and a DIY wrist strap that holds my mirror (mainly for solo bubble checks, but doubles as SAR) and Powerheads (As seen in my avatar). I do have a whistle, but they are pretty much useless. I added a DiveAlert after my incident.

I would suggest reconsidering how you guys operate your boat. I don't like anchoring. Instead we drop a jug and keep the boat live trying to follow bubbles. This usually allows for a swift retrieval of divers which is important IMO, especially when spearfishing.

The Resqlink and customdivers combo is exactly what I'm going to get.

We really don't like to live boat though, it's actually looked down upon with most people I've dove with. Like I said, this isn't my usual group of people I dive with(or boat). We most ALWAYS drop a jug/marker, but this dive many mistakes were made. Just glad I lived and learned.

what is drop a jug?

It's basically a buoy that marks ledges or dive sites. We always use one for spearing because it makes it simple to anchor up on a ledge and you don't have to search for it and waste air when you go down.... and also as mentioned before it makes a nice rendezvous point for both boat and diver. With my usual dive group and boat, the jug never comes out of the water until the divers are in the boat.

 

[The Chairman]

I like my spear fishing boat to be live as well and looking for my sausage that I send up from deep. That way they can meet me as I surface.