Error Five Drifters Rescued - Hawaii Kai

[chillyinCanada]

Do folks think a dive alert on an inflator introduce an additional failure point in critical equipment for limited benefit? A storm whistle is almost as loud.

After 20+ years (1000+/- dives), mine has never introduced a failure point, so my answer is "maybe but unlikely".

I will add that I've used it twice to attract attention. Captain didn't hear it. Regardless, it's going to be more useful than my voice.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I meant more in the nature of the Dive Alert failing at depth or on the surface and then disabling your LP inflator. Has that ever happened that anyone knows of?

It has never caused a failure on my gear, as I said above.

 

[Dan]

We've had several threads about drifters, some found, some not. I won't leave home without my PLB as it rides in my car's console fine, or my backpack if I get out to farm or hike, or my canister when diving.

I used to rent one for dive trips. Now you can get a much lighter dive canister for $100 or so.

Carry a buoyant PLB that is waterproof on the surface in a dive canister clipped to your BC. Change the O-ring every couple of years or if you get a leak.

I carry these (PLB1, Nautilus Lifeline nexGen, whistle) in my BCD left waist pocket (DSMB in my right pocket):

 

[chillyinCanada]

Once upon a time, on a liveaboard far far away, one my fellow divers had a flag pole that broke down in segments and he stowed it length wise on the back of his bcd. I don't recall exactly how it was attached. The flag was large and eye catching as well. How that was stored equally escapes my recollection. The flag portion did take up an extraordinary amount of space when being dried at the end of the trip.

I was quite impressed with the ingenuity of the whole of it. Put together and flying, it would have been pretty darn hard for anyone looking to miss or mistake a floating diver for flotsam and jetsam.

 

[Dan]

Have you used a Storm Whistle? I used mind once in Coz and had five boats on top of me in no time. The DM asked me to blow it because all the boats were far away.

https://www.industrialsafetyproducts.com/storm-whistle-101-all-weather-orange-safety-whistle/

Just ordered one from Amazon.

 

[Dan]

I meant more in the nature of the Dive Alert failing at depth or on the surface and then disabling your LP inflator. Has that ever happened that anyone knows of?

It did to mine. I pressed & pressed & pressed my power inflator button underwater, but my BCD bladder wasn’t filling up with air. Then it dawned on me that the DiveAlert was blocking the LP air from going through it to the power inflator button. The DiveAlert internal was corroded & jammed the whistle. I had to take it off underwater to make my power inflator to work.

You need to check your DiverAlert before going to dive & flush it with fresh water after the dive. At some point of testing it before diving, it just made a burb sound so I tossed mine to the trash. What a piece of sh*t.

 

[coldwaterglutton]

It did to mine. I pressed & pressed & pressed my power inflator button underwater, but my BCD bladder wasn’t filling up with air. Then it dawned on me that the DiveAlert was blocking the LP air from going through it to the power inflator button. The DiveAlert internal was corroded & jammed the whistle. I had to take it off underwater to make my power inflator to work.

You need to check your DiverAlert before going to dive & flush it with fresh water after the dive. At some point of testing it before diving, it just made a burb sound so I tossed mine to the trash. What a piece of sh*t.

Thanks, that was my concern (and why I never added one to the kit). I rely on a storm whistle and a backup flat whistle.

And I did add a dryfob/plb to my kit a year or so ago. I won't go in the ocean without it.

 

[Allen-1]

XL DryFob, (thanks @Jaan), in left zipped pocket of BC. PLB, mirror and whistle inside.

Short tethered boltsnaps on either end of DryFob.

DSMB clipped lowest leftside D—ring

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

So, did the sailors throw a line to the divers or not? The Coast Guard report says so but it is not seen used in the video, though the lady holds it at one moment. When the chopper comes the divers seem to be too far from the boat to be holding the line (though the wide angle lenses can be deceptive).

The boat threw a line yes, but the current was strong enough that it was still a struggle to keep them all on it, 2 of the tourists were not doing well and had been exhausted from the beginning of the ordeal, even with weight dumped they were still being rescue towed by 2 other divers the whole time

IMHO, the primary key to a successful rescue in tough seas is to first make safe the "rescue-ees" and let the "rescue-ers" come to them. Dragging a person or group on a tag line is not always the best option. On my boat I have a Throw Raft for these types of emergencies. It weighs about 3 lbs and I can throw it accurately 50ft + even in windy conditions. Can't do that with a standard cushion. Once it hits the water it auto inflates via a CO2 cartridge into a raft with grab handles on all 4 sides. Maintains positive buoyancy for a group and keeps them together. It also has a manual inflate option. It even has my name on the yellow actuator pull tab where it clearly says....... "Jerk Here".

 

[coldwaterglutton]

. . . On my boat I have a Throw Raft for these types of emergencies . . .

I carried one on my boat for a long time but not for scuba specifically. I deployed it in the Harlem River for a jetskier with no PFD who dumped himself in what must have been a 3-4 knot current up there. Worked like a charm and I picked him up quite a bit down river. I didn't refill/replace it after, I probably should have.