Do you need a dive flag for shore diving?

[THPetya]

Sure, if the boaters/jet skiers give a damn. Lost count of the number of times the flag was ignored or people started yanking on the flag.

DW

Sad, but true words DW. BUT, exception proves the rule.
Use a flag, or bouy or what u want

 

[Dark Wolf]

Sad, but true words DW. BUT, exception proves the rule.
Use a flag, or bouy or what u want

Agreed. A person has to make the best decision possible with the information at hand. When I use a flag, I tie it off to a stump or log.

DW

 

[agilis]

Absolutely required in NJ, and of a fairly large size. There are a few inlets and jetties that are popular during the summer, and I've seen as many as 6 flags at once in a small area. In some places flags are helpful to morons on jet ski 'personal water craft' , giving them a destination to head for so they can see "what's going on". Years ago, in Jamaica, I hit one with a small weight. He had been having a fine time circling me. I actually got a visit from the all-inclusive rental manager complaining about the dent.

 

[Jeffrey Byars]

For me at least being a new diver, the piece of mind of having a flag/buoy goes a long way.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Where can you dive in SE FL without pulling a flag, not BHB, where?

There are many wreck dives in SFL that aren’t drift dives. I would say the vast majority are not. The deeper dives (>200 ft) off Ft Lauderdale are dove as drift just as a convenience, since it’s difficult to tie/untie into the wreck at that depth. Deco is also easier drifting, rather than holding onto an anchor line.

 

[nippurmagnum]

If you’re going to dive with a flag, and don’t have much experience doing so, please keep some basics in mind:

(1) Any current, however slight, will case your flag to pull away from you, and you should hold the line in whichever hand makes sense to reduce line entanglement risk given that; as well as to avoid entanglement with objects above you (coral overhangs, pier pylons, etc.), keeping in mind that you will be changing hands as you change direction of movement.

(2) At some point, the line WILL get entangled in your fins and/or your tank and/or your BC. When that happens, stop moving, and think through the best course of action. That might be to call over your buddy, if you have one nearby. It might be to partially or wholly remove your bc underwater, to have a visual on the entanglement (a skill every diver should practice). Or it might be to cut the entangled line; you should never deploy a line without having some cutting device on you.

(3) Lastly, make sure you know how long your line is, and how deep you intend to dive. Last month I saw some divers renting a flag and line at a dive shop, and they didn‘t ask how long the line was, to do an 80 ft. dive in a boat channel area. I pointed out to them that they’d need a 100 ft line. They went back to the shop, which had no idea how long their own line was, so they measured it out (it was 50 ft.). That was my good deed for that day.

 

[scubadada]

There are many wreck dives in SFL that aren’t drift dives. I would say the vast majority are not. The deeper dives (>200 ft) off Ft Lauderdale are dove as drift just as a convenience, since it’s difficult to tie/untie into the wreck at that depth. Deco is also easier drifting, rather than holding onto an anchor line.

I dive in Boynton Beach, West Palm, and Jupiter. The Castor in Boynton is still done mostly with a moored ball. The Capt Tony and Bud Bar used to be, but with the deteriorated condition, they are mostly a drift. All the wrecks in West Palm and Jupiter are drift dives. All the drift dives require flags.

Your tech dives may be in a different category. The Sky Cliff off Boynton beach is also a drift down, drift deco

As per @nippurmagnum If you dive solo, your flag line will eventually get wrapped around something that you will not be able to release, especially if you have a yoke tank. Doff and don is a valuable skill. Ask me how I know

 

[NothingClever]

I use an orange torpedo buoy with standard DD flag.

2lb weight on bottom to keep it upright under DPV power.

Flat, waterproof cell phone case on top with aluminum foil and closed cell foam to prevent my phone from getting fried in the Florida sun. I also strap a Garmin running watch in "walk" mode to the top to download my track later.

You can stow non-melting energy bars on top, too, if you’re going for a shallow, three-to-five hour haul up the coast.

No problem handling the torpedo buoy and DPV.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I dive in Boynton Beach, West Palm, and Jupiter. The Castor in Boynton is still done mostly with a moored ball. The Capt Tony and Bud Bar used to be, but with the deteriorated condition, they are mostly a drift. All the wrecks in West Palm and Jupiter are drift dives. All the drift dives require flags.

Your tech dives may be in a different category. The Sky Cliff off Boynton beach is also a drift down, drift deco

As per @nippurmagnum If you dive solo, your flag line will eventually get wrapped around something that you will not be able to release, especially if you have a yoke tank. Doff and don is a valuable skill. Ask me how I know

Ok, I did most of my diving a little farther south, Broward, Dade & Monroe. I know Palm Beach is drift diving.

 

[Sharkbait88]

I always take a dive flag. Even if I'm going to a site other shore divers frequent, never know when someone will exit and pull their flag with them.