Antigua: Dive boat leaves behind two scuba divers

[DandyDon]

Don, I wanted to reply to a post about the lime green vest. I have been told that the lime green color is the easiest to see in most lighting conditions and this is why the Department of Transportation has changed the vest colors for highway workers.

Perhaps so to the motorist, but what about a search plane looking down on the sea...?

I'd think that yellow or oragne would contrast the best?

 

[StuartScuba]

Yes DapperDon, you are correct, I have only used the lime vest underwater ( I was dming for a class and our class got crossed with another group and I "lost" a young boy, lesson learned was to tag them) and under the water it worked great. But you are right about above water and the color of the sea etc.... I am switching it out with the orange vest I use when I run at night.

 

[MarkUK]

The RNLI and the Coastguard did a test with all sorts of surface marking accessories (smoke, dye for the water, flags, DSMBs, flourescent hoods, etc, etc) in all sorts of colours, and the most visible for both surface-searchers and air-search was bright yellow. Which is why my collapsible flag, which snugly mounts up the side of my cylinder, is bright yellow!

Mark

 

[Dadvocate]

After reading so many of these stories, I am amazed at how this mistake can still keep happening. I am a teacher by trade and with this occupation comes the repeated challenge of learning several names in a short span of time, especially for fire drills.

Technology being what it is, we now have this great software program that applies pictures to names as students enroll at our school. At any time, a teacher can access the picture and info of any student they need to “know” for whatever reason, which aids in the process of identifying important students for various reasons.

For fire drills now, teachers are responsible for knowing their “buddy” homeroom classes as well in case a teacher happens to be absent. The truth is that except for a couple times in the year “buddies” never meet. I haven’t a clue who all my buddy’s kids are for instance.

Two clicks and viola, I have a name sheet replete with pictures that I can use if I need to. This works for club membership, school outreach trips, and team rosters as well. I love having this e-service at my fingertips. It helps me make sure students are where they need to be at any time, even if I don’t actually know who the student is.

I wonder if this technological angle couldn’t be used by dive shops as well.

When you check in, you get a greeting drink. Someone snaps a quick electronic photo that gets compiled on a list of who is who and then the diver gets added to a list that is printed off when any dive group gathers. The name call with pictures is done before people board the boat (or gather on the boat depending on the situation). And then this is used to check who is there before the boat goes anywhere.

Perhaps this would be considered overkill by some, but I know plenty of people in the naming game who would benefit from the visual hard copy to make sure they did a good job with roll calls when they needed to. It could also be a backup if someone else on the boat wanted to do an informal roll call.

Ridiculous?

Cheers!

 

[DandyDon]

I wonder if this technological angle couldn’t be used by dive shops as well.

I can't see the capable Ops adopting it. DAN has a free system with tags and a board, but few Ops will use it. In the Caribe, you have to check to make sure they have PDFs and O2 onboard, many don't - so asking for this is way out I think.

Good idea, tho. I like it, just won't fly.

 

[BladesRobinson]

Perhaps so to the motorist, but what about a search plane looking down on the sea...? I'd think that yellow or oragne would contrast the best?

I respect everyone's right to have an opinion. I try hard to base my opinions on sound research and facts so I pass along the following for consideration. If someone can assist me by providing sound evidence that another color is better, please pass the informaton along. I am NOT a scientist and I "don't have a horse in this race" so I will yield to others who know more than I. This is what I was able to find online this evening in an effort to support what I have been told over recent years.

Respectfully,

Blades Robinson

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Can you see a number inside the diagram below?



The number "74" should be clearly visible to forum readers with normal color vision. Forum members with dichromat or anomalous trichromat may read it as "21", and viewers with achromat may see nothing.

From: http://www.wastesafety.com/safety.htm
The April 2000 issue of Utility Safety states that the lime-yellow fluorescent color provides better visibility to distinguish humans in a cluttered work zone. Furthermore, a red/green colorblind person (which includes a large portion of males) sees orange fluorescent as black in sodium light, which is increasing in usage on some roadways. The lime-yellow fluorescent color is seen more clearly and more brightly than the orange fluorescent color.

CAT.INST http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2064027
The relative conspicuities of six test garments (fluorescent orange, green/red, high-contrast, fluorescent lime-yellow, white, black) were assessed to guide the selection process of a standard upper body safety garment to be used within the New Zealand logging industry. Six male and four female participants, aged between 18 and 26 years, volunteered to perform 10 trials each on a demanding, central (tracking) task, while peripherally searching colour slides for test garments displayed on each of eight positions, against a pine forest background typically found in the New Zealand forestry. During each trial, transparency luminance was first gradually increased from darkness to daylight and then decreased to darkness again within 180 s. A head mounted ASL eye tracking system (4000SU) recorded the eye line of gaze for each participant, enabling a rank order of detection to be obtained for the tested garments in each trial. The fluorescent lime-yellow, fluorescent orange and white test garments were detected earlier than any other test garments across all trials, and the fluorescent lime-yellow test garment was detected first with a higher frequency than the white test garment. It was concluded that while white may be the most visible colour in near darkness conditions, as it provides highest contrast, fluorescent lime-yellow stands out better in twilight and daylight conditions against the pine forest background. The results of this study led to the promotion of fluorescent lime-yellow as the standard safety colour used in upper body garments within the New Zealand forest industry.

The Complete Color Harmony: Expert Color Information (page 34)
Lime green is the ideal choice for billboards or equipment that needs to be seen at night. Research has proven that flourescent lime is the most visible color in the dark as well as in poor weather conditions such as fog.

In fact, safety research studies of fire engines found that when they were painted lime green, the trucks were involved in half the number

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Based on the information above and information that I have read over recent years, I am of the opinion that lime green, day-glo green, or flourescent green is the most easily seen color in nearly all conditions.

 

[RS]

My god, I thought there were only 2 divers, now I find it's 74? This is horrible.

 

[BladesRobinson]

My god, I thought there were only 2 divers, now I find it's 74?

The good news is you can SEE "74" and can see the color orange. You are not part of the growing male population that is colorblind. I wonder how many forum members purchased orange BCs and think they are wearing black. That might explain those orange wetsuits too!

 

[The Chairman]

Is there any corroborating evidence that this actually HAPPENED? I just checked CNN.com and MSN.com and they have NO RECORD of it. I just can't imagine this type of news NOT making it out on the "Real News". The OP cited the National Enquirer of the Scuba Industry: a site so vile and full of distortions that we CENSOR their URL. I have sent a link of this discussion to the folks at Sandals and perhaps they can deny or verify what happened.

It would not surprise me if it turned out to be a malicious rumor, but it's possible that it happened. I just don't trust the original source!

 

[Belga]

I havnt read through all the comments posted before me but i have read in a magazine that one should always strike up a conversation with the instructor and skipper of the boat. That way they "should" remember you and could hopefully prevent accidents like this.

This is of course no excuse for the instructor and skipper not doing a headcount before the time.