In case you get lost... Fair chance you will be found using Nautilus Lifeline

[Mike]

I would give the OP the Fair chance he is looking for. However, speaking to the emergency issue I would still rather rely on a PLB as my last option. That being any vessel not being with in reasonable visual range of my light,mirror or SMB; let alone the sound of my whistle for a period of time. How much? I would give a time of <> 1 hr (condition dependent) after expected end of dive before hitting the PLB. With in that time the dive OP should have noticed me missing, actively searching, and called for help in a search. I would add that if a PLB is activated, the coast guard does ask for all vessels in the area to respond. There by mitigating some argument of any significantly longer wait until help arrives

As to the point of gear having to be left behind do to a CG helicopter ride.. I'm sure the dive Op would love to reimburse you to avoid a demand letter and possible litigation. Or at the very least bad press.

I will add that a few commercial/rec spear-fishermen I know love them for the very reason stated by others: The ability to contact the boat and not have to wait.

I don't agree with the title used in the thread. Each device - a whistle, a mirror, a light, a Nautilus, a PLB is effective in and order of distance from a boat.

Being lost (which is the word used in the title) is a much different situation than being in the water within site of your boat but being too far away to simply be heard or your SMB seen. Once lost it's onto another game. Once no boats/rescuers are visible around you, your whistle, mirror and light are worthless, the Nautilus is questionable... the Nautilus has a finite distance of range and once beyond that it's game over for the Nautilus and your self-rescue depends on a PLB. So if I'm lost, (lost being the key word) I'm not basing my life on hoping I haven't crossed the magic line in the water that the Nautilus can't broadcast far enough to be picked up.

Add to this that your risk of being in an incident increases with bad weather versus good weather, and the Nautilus range is further decreased due to wave height, rain, etc... or in other words the time you might need it most you probably will be in conditions that decrease it's effectiveness most. It's a good product for what it is, but I don't see it as a life saver when the sh*t hits the fan, it's probably only going to be effective in a small window of opportunity and once you pass outside that window self-rescue is over and you're now at the mercy of chance and hope with a clock ticking slowly down based on a race between how long can you survive the exposure and how long will it take if they can find you as a needle in a haystack.

Inconvenience is one thing, being actually lost is another, I'm not worried about my life being at risk during an inconvenience. You could talk me into buying one to avoid inconvenience, but I wouldn't buy one as a life saving device.

 

[cvchief]

Depends I guess. If you suffer a medical emergency, you could be dead before the PLB saves you. PLB will force you to wait and make sure you are TRULY lost before you punch it. How long will you wait? Come up, no boat. 10 minutes? 30? 45? Then call the Navy? When are you 'actually' lost?

 

[Mike]

True. If the only place you dive is Cozumel the nature of the diving there might make it a really good option, as long as you're not diving the far north, the far south, the east side or out in the middle of the channel, other than that as long as you're close to shore, I think it has a lot of merit.

 

[cvchief]

True. If the only place you dive is Cozumel the nature of the diving there might make it a really good option, as long as you're not diving the far north, the far south, the east side or out in the middle of the channel, other than that as long as you're close to shore, I think it has a lot of merit.

Well hopefully too if you go missing, someone will notice and choppers running up the channels should have no problem hearing the radio?

 

[Ron Lee]

If by "lost" the OP is referring to recent cases where two women assumed a "missing" status then let us be brutally honest. It is most likely that they unfortunately drowned. It is possible that they never made it to the surface in a frame of mind to activate any device.

Do you really believe that a diver on the surface alone at Palancar or Santa Rosa is going to be missed with all the normal boat traffic? Or that they could not surface swim to shore?

Activating a PLB in that situation is not something that I would do, but someone else may feel that their life is in jeopardy and activate it.

Using a Nautilus is also a judgment call. In those dive spots, I probably would not. My preference would be other signaling devices to get picked up by any boat. Call my boat on the appropriate channel and arrange transfer, or if after the first dive drop off at the beach surface interval spot.

Previous responses assume non-threatening conditions.

Something else to consider with the limited VHF (voice) range, how many radios in the area have the reception capability for DSC? If you count on cruise ships, what do you do on Sunday when there are often no cruise ships in port? How many Cozumel dive ops use a Nautilus?

---------- Post added January 29th, 2013 at 08:37 PM ----------

Depends I guess. If you suffer a medical emergency, you could be dead before the PLB saves you. PLB will force you to wait and make sure you are TRULY lost before you punch it. How long will you wait? Come up, no boat. 10 minutes? 30? 45? Then call the Navy? When are you 'actually' lost?

If you have questions about the 406 MHz based system, you can call the US Air Force and inquire about how quickly they will receive the PLB initiated alert and how long before they start the notification process. If you have a life-threatening condition, immediate activation of the PLB is warranted in my opinion.

When I lead hikes locally, I take my PLB, If I am in an area where there is no cell phone coverage and a serious injury occurred, I would have no problem activating the PLB even though I am not lost.

 

[DandyDon]

I should get a PLB for our hikes and some of our back roads trips, and I'd rather have that than a 2-way radio if I got swept away on the northern reefs. Southern reefs - I think my compressed air whistle will get someone.

 

[Mike]

When I lead hikes locally, I take my PLB, If I am in an area where there is no cell phone coverage and a serious injury occurred, I would have no problem activating the PLB even though I am not lost.

Hi Ron, are you a CMC trip leader?

 

[Ron Lee]

No Mike, Outdoor Club of Colorado Springs (Meetup group).

 

[Mike]

Cool. Here is mine - Australian Shepherd Meetup Group of Denver (Littleton, CO) - Meetup

 

[DandyDon]

I'm getting ready to go play Soccermom for a few days with the grandkids while their parents go to a retreat. My group....