Had to thumb a dive

[DivemasterDennis]

I also agree that given the added hazard of holiday weekend boaters and revelers, it was better to live to dive another day. If a flag as such is hard to remember, get a 6 foot diver down sausage on a reel to use in a pinch. Compact but fills the need.
DivemasterDennis

 

[spectrum]

Chris Horn


You made a good call. With heavy boat traffic and no flag you would be in a virtual overhead situation. i don;t enjoy pulling a flag but when diving in a boat traffic area it's worth the peace of mind. It's not foolproof as some idiots will take it for a slalom buoy but you are still better off having something to surface near.

I'm sure it was a painful call. That first time you do it is a very empowering moment. Keep it in mind anytime things aren't adding up right.

It's impossible to say not knowing the situation but a skin-dive along the shoreline may have been an option. Most divers have too little exposure to this sister activity.

Pete

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm in my native NY for summer and have the flag. Never use it in NS, but you guys down here just have too many boats.

 

[BluewaterSail]

Good for you on calling the dive! That takes alot of strength.

I just was in a situation where I should have insisted on calling the dive before entering the water because of sea conditions, but did not want to look weak in front of the younger, stronger, male (I am a middle aged female) divers.

In the end we called it, but only after getting cuts and bruises from being thrown into rocks, and losing a fin.:depressed:

Next time I hope that I do the right thing the way you instinctively did!

 

[drdaddy]

There are some places that you don't dare to dive without a flag. I always carry a couple of flag/floats in my truck. However, sometimes the flags attract boaters .

Good call!

 

[drdaddy]

Good for you on calling the dive! That takes alot of strength.

I just was in a situation where I should have insisted on calling the dive before entering the water because of sea conditions, but did not want to look weak in front of the younger, stronger, male (I am a middle aged female) divers.

In the end we called it, but only after getting cuts and bruises from being thrown into rocks, and losing a fin.:depressed:

Next time I hope that I do the right thing the way you instinctively did!

Hello Bluesail,

Was that rocky dive that you failed to call in Israel? Sounds like a Med dive if it was.

Boy do I miss the Red Sea diving. Have you seen Adi lately?

Out here in the cold murky Pacific NW waters.

DrDaddy

 

[captain]

Frankly I feel safer without the flag if making a shore dive. To me it just attracts attention of boaters and jet ski riders who have no idea what it is or are just curious as to what it is. I follow the bottom in and out. My fear is getting sited by the marine patrol for not having one, it has happened.
I was making a shore dive without one with no boat traffic coming coming into the area I was diving when I was ticketed by a marine patrol boat for no flag. I got out my flag and float, went back down and within minutes a jet ski was zooming around the flag and float with the marine patrol boat still in sight.
Now I take the flag and float, either tie it off or anchor it with a weight, go about the dive and pick it up at the end of the dive.

 

[mselenaous]

+1 what they said. Anytime you've got a bad feeling, go with your gut instinct. Otherwise it will nag you through the entire dive and you won't be focused...that's when a small issue can snowball into a series of bad decisions, reactions, outcomes.

Shyte happens and you come back another day. Preferably a day with a smaller mosquito fleet (little white boats buzzing around at high speeds fueled by Budweiser).

 

[Chris Horn]

Thanks for the encouragement. It was really just the boats, I wouldn't have even considered it if the conditions for that area were normal, I basically dive much the same way Captain described, but you do have to take into consideration the "what if", like what if I need to come to the surface 30' from the bank. It just had the above average potential to not play out well. I realize that everything about what we do comes with a higher risk factor that directly relates to our mistakes. I just think our own actions and descisions can heavily temper the value of that number. You know at the end of the day, I may not even have made that dive if we had of brought the flag, there were just alot of darn boats! The deciding factor was the two or three jetski's that I seen come right past the shore. Knowing what that bottom looks like, I can safely say they were in 8-10' of water by my best guess.
Someone did mention the saftey sausage, and I should say, I do have one, and had it with me, but I really feel like they attract more attention to it as a "come look at me device" more so that it does to ward people away, and I just do not feel comfortable dragging it around anyhow. For me, that was not an option unless I had a bubble watcher to scream at people on the surface.
Great conversations though guys. Thanks again. Oh, and it really wasn't a "hard" decision to make, just dissapointing to not get to do it.:depressed:

 

[Chris Horn]

Woot! I got my after work dive in today. /happy dance Different lake, but at least I was able to get in the water this time. Wasn't the greatest viz for Beaver lake, but it was wet. Now sinse I happen to have just gotten off tomorrow as well lets see if I can sneak out from the wife and get another one in. lol