Dive Flag Basics

[mrvllus]

Hey all,

My wife and I are doing our first lake dive (altitude) and I just purchased a dive flag and have attached line on it (150ft), so how does one dive with this flag?

- Do I need hold this every where I go (towing)? If I need to hold it, that seems to be a big pain.
- Try to secure it somewhere, then stay close? What if there is nothing to secure it to?
- If I just leave it, I assume it will just blow away.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[letterboy]

Depends on what you are doing underwater, with a drift dive along a reef I have seen people set the line to a certain depth and clip it off to themselves and just swim along, I have also seen folks hold it in their hand . . .

if you are swimming around a stationary location, and will be within, personal opinion here, 30ft you could anchor it to the bottom somehow.

How are you getting to the dive location ie boat or shore dive?

What lake are you diving, there might be some folks who can give information as pertaining to the lake specifically.

 

[mrvllus]

I will be diving in Lake Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho. Should be very calm, no drift diving

 

[mrvllus]

oh and it will be a boat dive.

 

[Scott]

As LB states it depends on what you are doing.
One lake (Bear Lake) I dive in I just anchor it to the bottom with a steel block or tie it off to a large rock and make sure I ascend by it. If I'm not going to ascend by it I use a SMB as a marker.
Another lake (Flaming Gorge) I just tow it along and reel it in or let it out as I need.
One thing I DON'T do is clip it off to my gear or tie it around my wrist.

OK I see it's a boat.

Make sure the boat has a flag flying.

 

[Sasquatch]

If it's a boat dive try to fly the flag as high as possible ON the boat and stay within a 100' radius of where you've anchored. Also be very aware that a dive flag, no mattter how obvious, is no guarantee that surface traffic will pay attention to or understand the meaning of the flag. Especially if it's a floating dive flag.

As always, use EXTREME caution when surfacing. Do it by the book and, if possible, I've found it useful to have a spotter on the boat while divers are in the water. The spotter should have access to an orange signal flag and an air horn.

Hope these tips help and have a great day of diving!

 

[letterboy]

Also ensure there is someone on the boat who knows how to operate your radios and how to drive the boat in case of an emergency.

Be sure to give whom ever is on the surface a briefing of what to do in the unfortunate event there is an emergency.

Depending on how busy the lake and how frequently they see divers using a surface float in addition to a dive flag on the boat may be more of a hindrance if the "locals" are not familiar with the protocols associated with dive flags. (distances, courtesies etc)

 

[letterboy]

If it's a boat dive try to fly the flag as high as possible ON the boat and stay within a 100' radius of where you've anchored. Also be very aware that a dive flag, no mattter how obvious, is no guarantee that surface traffic will pay attention to or understand the meaning of the flag. Especially if it's a floating dive flag.

As always, use EXTREME caution when surfacing. Do it by the book and, if possible, I've found it useful to have a spotter on the boat while divers are in the water. The spotter should have access to an orange signal flag and an air horn.

Hope these help and have a great day of diving!

sometimes waving a shotgun around helps too

 

[Sasquatch]

In Idaho? No problem!

 

[Doc Harry]

Dive flag laws vary from state to state.

State laws usually specify the size and colors of the flag, and how and when to display the flag.

You would benefit from getting a copy of your state's dive flag law. These laws are often found online.

Additionally, there is a dive flag forum here on Scubaboard!