Basic Safety Accessories

[scubacalifornia]

I'm looking for recommendations on basic safety gear. Most of my diving is from shore in Laguna Beach, CA with an occasional boat trip in the area. I started diving last summer and have about 25 logged dives at this point. Though I don't have any exotic/tropical trips planned in the near future, I want to be sure what I buy is appropriate and reliable for the time being.

A safety sausage is the first thing that comes to mind. But how long, what color, what brand, what else to consider? I was thinking a signal mirror might be a good thing as well. The recent report of a diver left behind by the dive boat off Newport Beach is fresh on my mind.

Innovative makes an "SOS diver safety signaling kit" which includes an 8' sausage, mirror, lightstick and a couple other small items. At $29.95, I wonder what the quality is like. In the spirit of staying as streamlined as possible, I'd prefer to buy something that fits in my BC pocket (I have a Zeagle Ranger Ltd). And something that works well out of the box without modification.

Thanks for your suggestions!
Kevin

 

[Lawman]

I wear a small strobe light strapped to my arm. It identifies me to my buddy when we're all wearing black outfits and it makes me generally more visible. I've also got a whistle/horn on my low pressure hose. It's so loud it will hurt your ears. If you use it it means SOS NOW!!!!! Sisors are necessary to cut
SpiderWire or other of the new fishing lines. Other than that
I don't carry anything special.

 

[H2Andy]

this is my current safety kit, could be better, but it's a start:

1. air-powered horn connected to BC

2. 6-foot bright orange safety sausage (the four-foot ones are hard to see in waves; six feet may be too small anyway. the 8-foot one you described as part of the kit is best)

3. two flashlights (these are my back-up cavern lights)

4. line cutter

5. EMT shears

6. first aid mask

all of it except the horn, the bigger light, and the line cutter stow into my pockets.

i've been meaning to add two CD's taped shinny sides showing (Dandy Don's idea), but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[hantzu701]

I think this has been addressed before:

orange/red means safety - normally used for rescue.

yellow means emergency - normally to signal a problem.

Halcyon makes a nifty personal marker that has radar reflective tape. Not sure how useful that is, but you can buy the tape at any boat supply shop and retro-fit ur personal marker.

Personally, I think yellow is easier to see. During sunrises/sunsets, I find that I can see yellow, whereas I think that orange gets lost in the clutter.

However, it seems that more experienced and knowledgeable agencies have made orange the color for rescue, so orange for rescue - yellow for emergencies.

 

[Allison Finch]

MORE important to consider about the safety sausage you buy is the quality of the sausage. Do not get the long plastic tube that is open on one end. They are impossible to keep inflated and are subject to leaks. Invest in a nylon tube with an inflator. Also look for one with a clear plastic sleeve at the top that you can insert a chem light tube into for night rescues. I dive a lot in high currents in PNG and would not be without a quality piece of equipment. I've also added several strings of bright yellow surveyors tape to the top for added visibility.

 

[armyscuba]

I'll Add two for Your list of Options...
http://www.divealert.com/
Check it out....We use the Mini Hammerhead...or Surface...Dive Alert..

 

[IndigoBlue]

For shore diving, such as at beautiful La Jolla Cove, the main thing you would need is a good buddy. A spare mask would be a good idea, but not critical. A buddy line would be nice too, in case the vis got really bad.

For boat diving, I would say, the above, plus a few more items.

A safety sausage, some type of sound device (like the kind that attach to your B/C LP hose), a metal mirror (from a camping store), and a light.

 

[Scubaroo]

A safety sausage is just as appropriate on a shore dive as a boat dive. Ditto on getting a quality one - test inflate it when cleaning your gear and hang to dry before restowing. I use a small orally inflated one for *all* shore dives, and on boat dives take a larger 5' orange tube. About to add a yellow one to the arsenal. If you get a SMB with an autoinflator valve, you can also deploy it during your safety stop if required.

Orange = here I am, Yellow = emergency

 

[miketsp]

A safety sausage becomes really visible at night if you push your secondary dive light up into it (don't forget to turn it on first of course : ) ) and leave it pointed upwards. My sausage has an entry tube about 8 inches long which serves as a sealing valve with it inflated and my secondary light just fits through this opening.

 

[miketsp]

You may also like to see:
http://www.icit.demon.co.uk/Diver Location Trials.pdf

The link is a little slow.