Do you carry basic safety equipment on dives? If not, why?

[Beowulf]

I'm enjoying reading this, some good info. I always carry SMB and whistle. I had a small light that broke, think I'll replace with Intova Compact.

Something that always occurs to me in these type discussions is one of the primary elements of survival is water. Does anyone carry fresh water or a filter for salt water? Is there a viable solution for that. I mean it would really suck to be adrift at sea even a couple hours with out any drinkable water.

Also, would a chemical light stick survive multiple compression/decompression cycles? Might not be a bad thing to have in BC pocket unless I'd need a new one for every dive.

 

[Thalassamania]

Scientific diver procedures and requirements vary with institution and even location (e.g., different requirement for diving at sea than shore diving). What formal requirement is there for DMs and Instructors?

 

[DandyDon]

I always carry a light and a SMB. It was only recently that I became very faithful about bringing a light. We were on the boat and had 2 divers that did not come up where expected. Even with 20 sets of eyes on the boat during the day we could not see their SMB sticking 6 feet into the air.. We did however see them once they started flashing a light towards us.

Personally noice making device is useless.. can't hear it unless you are close enough to be seen, and at that point I can yell. Mirror.. well that is why we carry a light and a backup

I guess I need to do some field testing when I go to Coz this month - get the skipper to compare my mask reflections to my mirror while I am in the water daytime. I carry a light on every dive but doubt it'd help much on surface at noon, and who wants to wait until dark for rescue.

I carry a Storm Whistle in case of OOA or other problem with the DiveAlert and it will carry better than voice, but if you have not heard a DiveAlert - you just don't understand. I blew it without sticking my head underwater once!

He was talking about the pilot who landed his plane into a Great Lake, and tread water for 17 hours. Basically, the pilot shouted, and had a light pass over him, but to no avail.

Thanks, but I was poking fun at him for not carrying - except I don't know his dive areas.

I always carry a large SMB, a pair of sea snips, and have my DAN tag is attached to my BC (it has a mirror on the back for emergency signalling. I also have a Dive Alert 2 for both underwater audible signalling as well as doubling as an air horn on the surface - 100 times louder than a storm whistle. I almost always have a light in a BC pocket, but sometimes will skip it if I am diving shallow and the boat is moored. On a drift dive, I will try to always have a light, just in case.

In Roatan recently, we were doing a drift dive and a group of 5 of us got separated from the rest. When we surfaced, we were about 200 yards from the dive boat, and while we could see them very clearly, it took quite a while before we were spotted, even as we continued to drift away in the current. I was the only one in the group with a large SMB - and that was what got us noticed eventually - by different boat that then contacted "our" original boat.

It just amazes me that anyone goes to sea without SMBs. A $20 sausage is a lot more than nothing. Did the boat not hear your DiveAlert at 200 yards?

I got lost at sea with an SMB, a mirror, a light and a whistle. They didn't help in any way for me so I think personal EPIRB is the way to go now.

The SMB didn't help at all, not even at the last? What about your dive bud?

 

[Sas]

The SMB didn't help at all, not even at the last? What about your dive bud?

It could help in the very early stages for the boat to find you (if you aren't drifting away from it). And later if the Coastguard is looking for you but you don't have to be very far from the boat for it to be useless. In my situation they went the wrong direction to look for us and as we were 45 nautical miles from shore, there was no other boat traffic to see us. There is no way I would trust my life again to an SMB. Personal EPIRB is the only way to go for me now, after my experience.

 

[Sas]

Oh and on another note, make absolutely sure you have a clear plan with the boat in the event of a diver missing. After speaking with the Coastguard they recommend calling 15mins after the end of someone's runtime. In my case the Coastguard was not called for the entire three hours after our run time that we were missing because they 'didn't want to bother' the Coastguard. I should have discussed this with the boat in advance but I just assumed they would know this. Now every boat I go on I make sure that they have a plan for if I go missing and that includes an EARLY call to the Coastguard. They stressed strongly that they prefer early calls and to be stood down, than waiting to call.

 

[vladimir]

Personal EPIRB is the only way to go for me now, after my experience.

My PLB, with its waterproof aluminum canister, weighed a couple of kilos, I guess. I think they are a great idea, but I weighed the likelihood of needing it (I have been left adrift for an hour once, off Kakaban, so it's not negligible) against the burden of lugging it. Nautilus Lifeline has been advertising a device--a radio transmitter with GPS--on SB lately that looks like a sleeker, lighter alternative to the one that I had.

 

[FireInMyBones]

Yes: Light, (D)SMB, 3 cutting devices (shears, z-knife, steak knife)
No: mirror
Sometimes: Whistle (on Ocean dives off a boat)

 

[SandyRobinson]

1. SMB (Surface Market Buoy) - yes and a reel or 2
2. Working Light with fresh batteries - yes
3. Reflective Signaling Device (mirror) - no - on my list
4. Noise Signaling Device - no
Plus a first aid kit and O2 for non charter trips

 

[randy88k5]

1. Surface Market Buoy - yes, the 84" XS Scuba marker, and an older ~48" Dive Rite marker (oral inflation only), finger spool, reel
2. Working Light with fresh batteries - yes, primary and backup light
3. Reflective Signaling Device (mirror) - no, but plan on getting one soon (will most likely attach to backplate)
4. Noise Signaling Device - no, but plan on getting a whistle soon (will most likely carry in leg pocket)

 

[Tortuga68]

I voted No, based on:

1. SMB (Surface Marker Buoy)

Yes

2. Working Light with fresh batteries

Sometimes, if required (eg night dive, swimthrough or ledges to look under)

3. Reflective Signaling Device (mirror)

Don't own one; never seen the need for the diving I do

4. Noise Signaling Device

Own one but have never taken it diving, as above