Almost Stranded

[jkaterenchuk]

All I can say is that either you did not read my post or you were one of the many that have already posted on here that think it will never happen to them or wish to bet their life on signal mirrors, dive alerts and other signalling device that may or may not work give the particular situation. If you are going to dive in the sea especially in remote areas with currents like Indo then consider yourself advised. You were very lucky that the boat was able to see your light before you were too far away or that they did not take off looking for you in the opposite direction.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/287782-lost-sea.html


I not longer dive in the ocean without the PLB and several other signalling devices. I will not leave my rescue to chance any longer. Prevention is great but s#&t happens I am prepared to not end up dead as a result.

John

 

[Shasta_man]

Make suggestions. Don't make assumptions about others you know nothing about.

 

[InTheDrink]

All I can say is that either you did not read my post or you were one of the many that have already posted on here that think it will never happen to them or wish to bet their life on signal mirrors, dive alerts and other signalling device that may or may not work give the particular situation. If you are going to dive in the sea especially in remote areas with currents like Indo then consider yourself advised. You were very lucky that the boat was able to see your light before you were too far away or that they did not take off looking for you in the opposite direction.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/287782-lost-sea.html


I not longer dive in the ocean without the PLB and several other signalling devices. I will not leave my rescue to chance any longer. Prevention is great but s#&t happens I am prepared to not end up dead as a result.

John

Hi John,

[-]The link that you provided that links to RBW doesn't seem to have your original post in it. Any chance you can post the full story here again please? Would be interested to read it.
[/-]

Edit: S'ok, found it. It's on page 16 of that thread on RBW - Lost at Sea! - Page 16 - Rebreather World

Thx,
J

 

[robbcayman]

They sell those nautilus lifeline PLB units for $299. I've thought about buying one before I go to Cozumel this May. I can't imagine the sickening feeling of being lost at sea while floating though the vast ocean. In a strong current you could drift a long ways. You hope it never happens, but you never know.

 

[bleeb]

All I can say is that either you did not read my post or you were one of the many that have already posted on here that think it will never happen to them or wish to bet their life on signal mirrors, dive alerts and other signalling device that may or may not work give the particular situation. If you are going to dive in the sea especially in remote areas with currents like Indo then consider yourself advised. You were very lucky that the boat was able to see your light before you were too far away or that they did not take off looking for you in the opposite direction.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/287782-lost-sea.html


I not longer dive in the ocean without the PLB and several other signalling devices. I will not leave my rescue to chance any longer. Prevention is great but s#&t happens I am prepared to not end up dead as a result.

Although I strongly agree that PLBs are a good idea if you're far off shore or somewhere remote, one issue to keep in mind is not to over-assume that it will necessarily help when you need it. A third of the planet (or more) around you will receive the signal, but actual rescue depends mostly on local coast guard or military units. In less developed, less affluent or less densely populated parts of the world, there may not be any authorities around to come find you, or they may be a very long time coming. (This probably applies to large parts of the afore-mentioned Indonesia.) The availability of rescue services might be something you want to include in your research when investigating trips to remote places and contingency planning. Depending on the local situation, some of those other signaling devices jkaterenchuk and others mentioned, such as the Nautilus Lifeline VHF radio, may be more immediately useful.

 

[Garth]

The Nautilus. For 200$ it seems like the best peice of equipment next to your regulator. It has an ability to call the livaboard through walkitalki, GPS, and Coast guard. Seems like a no brainer and I will buy one if and when I go very far offshore.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

A third of the planet (or more) around you will receive the signal, but actual rescue depends mostly on local coast guard or military units. In less developed, less affluent or less densely populated parts of the world, there may not be any authorities around to come find you, or they may be a very long time coming. (This probably applies to large parts of the afore-mentioned Indonesia.) The availability of rescue services might be something you want to include in your research when investigating trips to remote places and contingency planning.

Absolutely. You need to do the research first. However, having been thru an incident I would also say that it is much better for you if your family and your countries embassy know that you are in need of rescue and that a monitoring base is tracking your location via the GPS signal emitted by the GPS.

Of course if your Canadian you might be out of luck with your embassy.

I say this in all seriousness as when I had my incident I was a Canadian Citizen living in the USA on a Green Card. The dive boat contacted the Canadian embassy via a 3rd party on the Sat Phone. Essentially, the Canadian embassy wanted nothing to do with my rescue. I feel the exact words that were used by the Canadian diplomat is far to arrogant and ridiculous to post here. However, lucky for me the US embassy and the PLB monitoring facility located in Hawaii was contacted and they jumped right in to help without reserve. Truly it was not a day that I was proud to be Canadian and I gained a greater appreciation for the benefit a USA citizen enjoys when they come into harms way anywhere in the world.

I would like to believe that if I had also been in one of the few remote areas without local rescue services my home country embassy and monitoring station and following that my family would mount a rescue effort.

John

 

[sassyalice]

If I had it to do over again, the only thing I would do differently is hang onto that piece of dead coral until my arms dropped off =).

you might want to surface before drifting 20 mins also. That was the advice they gave us on the aggressor in Palau. Because your air might run out before your arms fall off.