hypothetical scenario 4 our Monday morning quarterbacks 20 miles out & boats gone

[D_B]

Another site to add to the thoughts on equipment, what works and what to bring ... http://www.equipped.com/signal.htm
I notice that the streamer like what you posted BigTuna, is one of the better signal devices .. a straight line in the ocean stands out
and the record for a signal mirror is .. 105 miles away

 

[Scared Silly]

Years ago my climbing partner and I were caught in a massive serac fall (part of a glacier calved off) from 2000' above us while climbing on Denali. Think getting slammed with a couple of semis full of bowling balls . We needed a lift off the hill. I set up a signal marker with a bright red emergency blanket. The pilots could not see the red or the aluminum on it. With in a minute of using my mirror they saw us.

One thing that no one has mentioned so far is the boat ride out. What did you observe? For instance, perhaps a signal tower on a low lying reef? perhaps nothing. But when I am cruising out whether 20 or 2 miles I am looking around to see what is what.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

DB, that is a great link on signaling and of course Scared Silly that is a great story about how well a good signal mirror can work. If you hadn't had it, you might have well been one of the many who have perished while looking at searchers trying unsuccessfully to find you.

 

[D_B]

Thank you .. I just have been searching that site and it has a treasure trove of info on gear, and survival ... look ... http://www.equipped.org/toc.htm

 

[fairybasslet]

What a great thread. I've learned so much. I always wondered whether or not it would be better to ditch tanks. I always dive with a big yellow sausage, a mirror, whistle and a dive alert but now I'm thinking of adding other things too, like a life raft. JK. Seriously, I never thought to carry water or flares or a streamer.

 

[RJP]

a little more info:
the water is 75 degrees
no one has hoods or gloves

Faulty premise - I WOULD have a hood and gloves.

 

[fairybasslet]

Faulty premise - I WOULD have a hood and gloves.

Me too. I wear a hood in 82 degree water. LOL

 

[Web Monkey]

The boat is gone. Pick any reason you want--they forgot you, emergency and had to go to shore, boat sank and on your way up, you didn't see it going down. pirates--whatever the reason you don't why it is gone, it just is. This was your second dive. It is 4:00 pm in the summer you have another 5 hours of light and the prospect of a very long surface interval.

You do not have a personal locator beacon or handheld water proof marine radio. Just you and 3 other divers.

• Make sure everybody's BC is inflated
• Clip everybody together
• Inflate the two 9' SMBs (1 orange, 1 yellow),
• Remove my weight pockets and clip them to the bottom of the SMBs making them stand up
• Wait for my wife to call the coast guard because I'm late
• Relax.
• When dusk comes fire up the strobes and clip them on top of the SMBs
• When help arrives, smile a lot and wave the sausages and flashlights and honk the screechy air horn.

Leave a post here about how everybody should carry two big SMBs and two strobes when out on the water.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

What about peeing while you are out there? If you have no water to refill yourself, do you let it out to warm your suit up or do you hold for a while so that your bladder won't refill as quick and dehydrate you more? Or does it not matter?

 

[Oriskany Divemaster]

Me? First I'd tip my divemaster before I went under for the first dive. At least I know he'll have a thick steak and a nice bottle of wine while I'm freezing my buttocks off.

Second, I'd stick close to my buddies. I'd have them tie into each other so we all survive together.

Third, twenty miles swimming is not an option. When the Coast Guard looks for wayward folks, they follow the direction of the current.

Fourth, inflate your sausage. If you've ever been in a jet or helo looking for someone it's tough--even the smallest wave could block you the split second the searching aircraft is looking right at you.

Fifth, when all hope is lost and you feel like you're never going to make it, start telling jokes. Have a competition to see who can tell the most stupid jokes you've ever heard. My buddy won one contest with, "What's the sickest country in the world?"

Sixth, when the Coast Guard arrives, don't forget to thank them. They risked their life for your safety...or at least you interrupted thier evening of TV and Scubaboard lurking.

Finally, I'd pee all I could....just one less thing to think about...

Oh, and the sickest country in the world....

....Germany.