Diver survives boat strike - Maine

[scubadada]

On August 3, 2013, I was hit by a boat off Delray, FL. racing in over the reef at the end of a fishing tournament during a summer squall. I was holding onto the flag on the surface when the boat approached out of the clouds. I made an emergency descent and lucked out, escaping with only minor injuries. I've posted about this previously on SB and had a letter published in Alert Diver.

Things like this are always going to happen. Do everything correctly and be very, very carful, that's all you can do, it's what I do. I have 1,272 dives since then . Back in the water on Wednesday.

 

[Shasta_man]

Though they should know, it's probably not a big surprise that boaters on a lake don't know what the buoy is regardless of any training required by the state, if any. It seems like, effectively, anybody who can reach the starter can be driving a boat or a jetski, so depending on knowledge of what a flag means seems particularly unreliable.

As many times as we hear about incidents between boaters and divers over the flag buoy, it seems a more effective method would be a sign on the buoy that says something like "CAUTION. SCUBA DIVER BELOW". Would not be popular with the diver having to pull it but either it could be more effective or just draw more boaters over to read what the heck that little sign says.

 

[Russjstewart]

Though they should know, it's probably not a big surprise that boaters on a lake don't know what the buoy is regardless of any training required by the state, if any. It seems like, effectively, anybody who can reach the starter can be driving a boat or a jetski, so depending on knowledge of what a flag means seems particularly unreliable.

As many times as we hear about incidents between boaters and divers over the flag buoy, it seems a more effective method would be a sign on the buoy that says something like "CAUTION. SCUBA DIVER BELOW". Would not be popular with the diver having to pull it but either it could be more effective or just draw more boaters over to read what the heck that little sign says.

How big would the buoy need to be to make the writing big enough to be read by someone on a jet ski travelling at 35 knots? At 50 yards distance the ski/ boat operator would have just over 2.5 seconds to read and react

 

[wgw04024]

Seems like a bad choice of dive site. Maine summer is essentially 3 months maximum. Diving at 4' of depth, in a lake with pleasure boaters on it, is crazy, especially by yourself with limited experience. No real excuse for that.

 

[DandyDon]

A newbie who didn't know what he didn't know about the risks.

How big would the buoy need to be to make the writing big enough to be read by someone on a jet ski travelling at 35 knots? At 50 yards distance the ski/ boat operator would have just over 2.5 seconds to read and react

At least he'd learn what the buoy meant. This one is 22" x 10" and looks like a pain to drag with any wind or waves at all, but visible and informative...

 

[SlugLife]

I think my main DSMB says "diver below" or something like that. It's hard to say if, or how many boaters would view some random item floating on the surface as a target, toy, or curiosity.

 

[DiverTimOH]

I am a diver and a boater on Lake Erie. Last week when boating near Kelley’s Island I noticed a boat anchored near a known shallow wreck and suspected there was diving. From a distance no dive flag was visible. Only when I got within a few hundred yards was a dive flag evident, and it was embellished with writing on the stripe making it less noticeable. A boater not suspecting dive activity could have gotten dangerously close before seeing the flag. Takeaway….Get a flag two sizes larger than you think you need…make sure it’s unfurled by wind or mechanically…make sure its not faded or “blurred” by extraneous art or verbiage.