Question How long would you wait before calling in a rescue via PLB/satellite/etc.?

[pnwkiwi]

As someone who serves in a volunteer Coast Guard unit here in NZ, all I can say is that me and my colleagues would infinitely prefer to help you get over your embarrassment on the ride back to the dock and deliver you safe and sound to your friends and loved ones than put your deceased body into the custody of law enforcement. There is an inevitable delay between PLB activation, the mobilization of rescue services and the location and recovery of a drifting person. Put that person in a black exposure suit, add in any kind of swell/chop and/or fading light and the last step can be extremely challenging.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

This thread has been very helpful. Initially I voted for an hour or more but have since changed my vote and my thinking to 15-30 minutes. For me currently, all of my diving is in SE Florida with reputable charters. I don't recall the last time I surface and did not see the boat. If that were to ever happen, I'll now be a bit quicker to alert emergency services if I do not see the boat within 15 minutes or so. In my case it would be via satellite using a Garmin inReach Mini 2.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

If it’s a drifting deco under DSMB or drifting lazy shot/deco station, I would be getting worried already before surfacing if I can’t hear boat engines. So less than 15 minutes after surfacing, especially if it’s rough on the surface and there are no other divers or DSMBs around?

 

[Wookie]

If it’s a drifting deco under DSMB or drifting lazy shot/deco station, I would be getting worried already before surfacing if I can’t hear boat engines. So less than 15 minutes after surfacing, especially if it’s rough on the surface and there are no other divers or DSMBs around?

Which then brings up the point of "when do you shoot your DSMB?". I always shoot mine from the first stop as long as I'm not in a smoking current and can still see the wreck. I want to shoot as cose to where the boat last saw me as possible. If I am in a smoking current, I shoot it from the wreck and follow my line up to my first stop.

 

[hammet]

Seeing shark fins at the surface might alter the equation some.

 

[Johnoly]

Which then brings up the point of "when do you shoot your DSMB?".

That's excellent advise. On my dive this week from the time I shot my DSMB til when my head was above the surface I drifted 3 football fields length in 4 mins. Keep in mind the captain is trying to track about 12 of those dsmb's that are all trying to get away from both behind and infront of him. Get that DSMB on the surface as fast as possible after starting your ascent from the bottom so the capt can see if you are infront or behind him and make a pickup note.

 

[jadairiii]

I'd be too embarassed to activate a beacon or anything and get all those
agencies out, wouldn't want to get into trouble and be left with a big bill

To reiterate what others have stated, it first comes down to location and, also conditions.

If you are in Jupiter/PB, 30 min and rough conditions, you could be in the water a long time. On a flat calm day off Jupiter/PB you could walk back to shore on all the boats.

On the other hand, if I'm off Ft Lauderdale, and, for some odd reason, the boat is no where to be seen, I'll just swim to shore, or climb on a boat close to me if one is near.

The variables will dictate the divers response. But embarrassment would never be on of those variables. I've been in a few diver searches from a dive boat, it is not fun and it is not easy. Especially in rough and or low light conditions. MAKE THE CALL!

 

[MB NZ]

Seeing shark fins at the surface might alter the equation some.

Around the time of my "incident", I was actively shark hunting (with a camera). I was doing deep solo dives at first light in spots where sharks where know to hangout. Did I ever see any? Petty much no, just the occasional tail disappearing in to the gloom. When my incident occurred, every time I looked down in to the water from the surface, I could see two big bronze whalers circling below. Not famous for their aggression towards humans, but they have been known to have a go, I didn't tell my wife/buddy. I knew it would break her resolve.