Canadian diver and buddy rescued near Apo Island, Philippines

[Luxe miles diver]

That’s why I carry my PLB1. After a couple hours of no response, I’ll launch it & let NOAA contact the local SAR authority & US Navy to find me.

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You should hide the hex numbers in your plb1.

That is how sar or nooa can identify you. They need that number to make sure it is you and be able to turn off false alarm. (Don't want others to call in. only you in possession of the plb1)

 

[Dan]

Another data case:

We were diving in misool area at raja ampat years ago. During the whole week, everybody in resort were making fun of us and our gears (why do you carry knife, smb, whistle etc). Most of the guests that week was divemaster, guides, or sell dive gears. A few was from south africa.

Last dive of the trip was at magic mountain dive site (far from any island nearby). The dive was nice and uneventful. Last 15 min of the dive suddenly the current picked up. We had to use reef hooks just to finish safety stop. Our group was 5 guest and one divemaster guide.

We surface and found out the current is much stronger and surface waves chop was 4 to 6 feet high. It was 4:30 pm on our last day of the trip, last dive. The divemaster signalled the boat to come get us. Boat was maybe only 30 m away but we could not even swim to the boat. That was when the boat motor refused to start. Our divemaster yelled and tried to direct the only staff on boat how to fix it. Boat motors refused to start.

After a few minutes, as the boat was slowly moving away pushed by the waves, the divemaster that was with us informed us that he will try to swim to the boat and help the other staff to start the boat. He ditched his gears (bcd and tanks) for us to hold (waves were too strong to swim with all gears). He swam without any floatation and swam and swam for it seems like forever, and he almost drowned. He manages to reach the boat after 15 min but it still refused to start. At that point the boat was so far away that we cannot hear anything.

And so we float and the waves start to separate us. I had to tell the group to swim closer and hold on to each other.

I had some camera coil lanyard (Howshot Steel Wire Coil lanyard with Dual Clip (Max Length:130cm / Weight:50kg)- Quickly attaches/release any accessory or bc strap Id) With me and we used it to tether and attach the group bcb to each other.

We deployed our own smb. By then it was around 5pm. The south african divers suddenly panicked and tell us that there is a HUGE shark under us circling us. At first everyone thought it was a joke, until we all looked down and saw a massive shark 3 to 4 m long that have a big belly at maybe 15 m under.

Some of our lady did not want to look down after we confirmed the shark and the size of it. We said omg it looks so big even from far away!

Count my blessings. I’ve been in Magic Mountain 3x, all of them were smooth diving, enjoying the majestic oceanic manta hovering over the cleaning station. It goes to show that bad weather can come all of a sudden. Being prepared for it helps you to keep a clear head in handling such dire situation.

 

[Luxe miles diver]

Actually, diving very, very conservatively, with a local guide and in full awareness of the local realities - which, in many parts of Indonesia means zero SAR ("SAR units"?!), plus fuel limitations on the dive op that's looking for you - is a much better protection than a PLB. As I said in response to the original question (Does that work outside the US?), "I wouldn't rely on it", and it now appears that you wouldn't rely on it either, so it seems we agree.

Currents can pick up. Guides can disappear. Boat can stop working. Vhf radios on boat need power and battery can stop working. Etc... (Speaking of experience)

When s... happens, would the guides save you or himself? Even if he want to, can he? (swim against current to come get you?)

Ironically we have seen guides that disappear or left us, most are not evil and intentional, just that s... happens...

What do you think the guide's story would be if he lost clients at sea? (Vs your own story)

 

[james croft]

Unless I missed it I did not see any mention of them in the thread but I often carry a MK13 Mod 0 military day/night flare with me. I also think they may be called a Mark 124 flare I tape it to the sheath of my knife. It is basically a smoke producing flare that emits a huge amount of orange smoke that is impossible to miss even miles away. It burns for a long time. The opposite side for night use is a night signal similar to a roman candle on steroids. There are large raised bumps on the night flare side so you can use the braille method to feel them to make sure you use the right signal.
Since this is a military flare I am not sure where you could purchase them on the civilian market but I would think they are available. There is a pull tab on each side that you pull loose and then it has a cord attached that ignited the flare when yanked.
I have learned that they are not designed to be deeply submerged but I have taken them down to @ 100 feet with no ill effects. I would strongly recommend carrying one or two as they work great.

 

[Dogbowl]

Unless I missed it I did not see any mention of them in the thread but I often carry a MK13 Mod 0 military day/night flare with me. I also think they may be called a Mark 124 flare I tape it to the sheath of my knife. It is basically a smoke producing flare that emits a huge amount of orange smoke that is impossible to miss even miles away. It burns for a long time. The opposite side for night use is a night signal similar to a roman candle on steroids. There are large raised bumps on the night flare side so you can use the braille method to feel them to make sure you use the right signal.
Since this is a military flare I am not sure where you could purchase them on the civilian market but I would think they are available. There is a pull tab on each side that you pull loose and then it has a cord attached that ignited the flare when yanked.
I have learned that they are not designed to be deeply submerged but I have taken them down to @ 100 feet with no ill effects. I would strongly recommend carrying one or two as they work great.

Assuming civilians can purchase these, when would you deploy them when stranded at sea? Since they are one-use, and not long-lasting, there is probably an optimum time to deploy them so that they would actually be seen by searchers. This question would apply to other short-lasting, one-use items as well, such as dye.

 

[Dan]

Unless I missed it I did not see any mention of them in the thread but I often carry a MK13 Mod 0 military day/night flare with me. I also think they may be called a Mark 124 flare I tape it to the sheath of my knife. It is basically a smoke producing flare that emits a huge amount of orange smoke that is impossible to miss even miles away. It burns for a long time. The opposite side for night use is a night signal similar to a roman candle on steroids. There are large raised bumps on the night flare side so you can use the braille method to feel them to make sure you use the right signal.
Since this is a military flare I am not sure where you could purchase them on the civilian market but I would think they are available. There is a pull tab on each side that you pull loose and then it has a cord attached that ignited the flare when yanked.
I have learned that they are not designed to be deeply submerged but I have taken them down to @ 100 feet with no ill effects. I would strongly recommend carrying one or two as they work great.

I sure like to know where to purchase one & whether it can be carried in a check-in baggage on the flight.

 

[Luxe miles diver]

Sar want to make sure that the actual person carrying the plb is safe before they turn off false alarms. (And not anybody on internet / guide/ resort)

 

[james croft]

Assuming civilians can purchase these, when would you deploy them when stranded at sea? Since they are one-use, and not long-lasting, there is probably an optimum time to deploy them so that they would actually be seen by searchers. This question would apply to other short-lasting, one-use items as well, such as dye.

If a dive boat was looking for me and I could see it I would pop smoke. I would not use it If I could not see a potential rescuer.

 

[chillyinCanada]

So, what’s the outcome?

I suspect not good because they were still searching for her, days later. We recieved no further word and I've not been able to find anything in the news. If she didn't manage to make it onto one of the islands, there's no hope.

 

[Dan]

You should hide the hex numbers in your plb1.

That is how sar or nooa can identify you. They need that number to make sure it is you and be able to turn off false alarm. (Don't want others to call in. only you in possession of the plb1)

Sar want to make sure that the actual person carrying the plb is safe before they turn off false alarms. (And not anybody on internet / guide/ resort)

I don’t quite understand your point. The PLB1 will always be in my procession. If a false alarm is triggered & NOAA call my emergency contact to verify my whereabouts and the local SAR authorities come looking for me, won’t they want to verify me not simply by the hex number alone? I would think they would check my full name & passport #, etc, not just “Dan T”