Hawaii’s Dive Flag Law - Is it a recipe for disaster?

[Wildcard]

You should see the Manta dive here on the Big Isle, what a goat rope. 3 or 4 boats tied off to one mooring, 12 or more boats in one little hole. Someone will get hurt.

 

[Gilligan]

You should see the Manta dive here on the Big Isle, what a goat rope. 3 or 4 boats tied off to one mooring, 12 or more boats in one little hole. Someone will get hurt.

I think it is the same everywhere. $$$$$$$ is the motivation and lack of enforcement in Hawaii by DLNR is the problem.

The only good thing, if you can call it a good thing, is that if you survive an incident with one of these commercial operators you can sue the a*#@% off them as they have lots of insurance.

 

[archman]

Florida, which has more diving activity than any other state, has a similar definition.

Vessel operators must make a reasonable effort to maintain a distance of at least 300 feet from divers-down flags on open waters and at least 100 feet from flags on rivers, inlets, or navigation channels. Vessels approaching divers-down flags closer than 300 feet in open water and 100 feet in rivers, inlets, and navigation channels must slow to idle speed.

Excluding boats entirely opens up a whole new can of worms regarding right-of-way, obstructing navigation, and the plain old "you took my dive spot ya' jerk!" axiom.

Personally, in areas where I thought boats might be a problem, I'd prefer to have someone topside with an air horn. The majority of recreational boaters don't even know most of the rules of the road, if any. In fact, most sailors I come across are under the impression that they always have right of way!

I do not think it's legal to create a no-diving buffer around a dive flag. That would violate the federal "freedom to navigate in navigable waters" rules.

 

[Aerodog]

It seems that whenever I post a flag at Airport beach anywhere farther than 50 feet from shore it gets used as a pylon for passing boats.

 

[Charlie99]

Hawaii’s Dive Flag Law.

Is it, or has it already been, a recipe for disaster?

<snip description of idiotic snorkel boat behavior>

I think it's time Hawaii took a closer look at its dive flag law and the need to revise it. My feeling is that the 100 and 50 foot distances should be absolute regardless of another boats intentions. Our waterways and popular ocean dive/snorkel sites are too crowded for the rule as it is currently written.

The boat Captain didn't see your flag. It doesn't sound like an unmanned kayak seemed out of place to him. It sounds more like a problem with the Captain than the law. Independent of what the law says, any rational person doesn't want to run over divers.

It wouldn't hurt to call up the CG detachment at Maalea and tell them about the incident. Even just an informal question or two by the Coast Guard to the Captain or boat owner would go a long ways toward making sure that sort of thing doesn't happen again.

 

[Rick_G]

Gilligan-

Get the lights and shapes for mine clearing, I think boats have to stay 1000' away. With homeland security and all we could use a few good mine clearer's.

Rick