Palm Beach diver loses arm as group hit by boat - Florida

[Manatee Diver]

Not in this way. Boaters are fined far less for a flag violation than a diver... I think it's about half.

To catch boaters ignoring the flag you really have to setup a sting operation. While you can opportunistically ticket divers you see without flags.

We need a 3D flag that has no drag. Impossible? Probably.

What about having a smaller red and white truss system below the flag? Red plastic tubing in the rectangular shape with a white strip crossing it, maybe have that white strip have a red border to make it look more like a flag.

 

[KathyV]

Oh my God. He's a marine biologist.

His brother Levi posted this message:

Levi Viss on Instagram: “For those of you who don’t know, this is my brother Carter. He is a marine biologist who lives in Palm Beach Florida and he loves the ocean…”

leviv7
For those of you who don’t know, this is my brother Carter. He is a marine biologist who lives in Palm Beach Florida and he loves the ocean and all of the life in it. His full time job is rehabilitating injured sea turtles back to health. Yesterday on Thanksgiving he went out diving with a friend and he took every safety precaution possible and put a flag up where they were diving. He even noticed a boat was starting to get closer to them so he suggested they go back to the shore. On their way back, a reckless boat driver charged into their safe zone and unfortunately hit Carter. He is now in critical condition in ICU, and he lost an arm and broke both of his legs. All of his vitals are stable, however. My whole family is heartbroken but we are incredibly thankful he is still alive. Please keep Carter in your thoughts and prayers, he is the last person who deserves something like this. He’s incredibly strong and it’s a miracle he is still with us and we can only thank God for that. If you’d like to track his path to recovery there is a link in my bio to his Caring Bridge where updates will be posted. If you’re seeing this on Facebook I will comment the link below. We love you Carter.

 

[Steelyeyes]

 

[PBcatfish]

Some additional recent reports -
FWC IDs man injured while diving off Palm Beach

PICTURED: Diver who lost his arm when he was struck by a boat in Florida is identified | Daily Mail Online

http://cw34.com/news/local/diver-in-critical-condition-hit-by-boat-near-the-breakers

Diver who lost arm in boat accident ID'd

One is from as far away as the UK. Others are more local

 

[KathyV]

His Caring Bridge site confirms that he was snorkeling. Warning it includes a picture of Carter in his hospital bed.

Carter | CaringBridge

 

[CuzzA]

Not in this way. Boaters are fined far less for a flag violation than a diver... I think it's about half. The problem isn't the size of the flag, it's the phone they have their nose buried in. Distracted driving, whether in a car or on a boat, should be a felony. You should never be too broke to pay attention!

As for the flag, a bigger flag makes it even harder for the dive flag puller when there's a stiff wind. We don't need to discourage diving. The real problem is that if you the flag and the wind are in a line, then you're presented with only the edge of the flag. I had an FWC stop to chastise me because he never saw my flag until he got close. He was LOOKING too, but he didn't notice it until he got within twenty feet. We need a 3D flag that has no drag. Impossible? Probably.

The ensuing civil lawsuit here will be sufficient punishment, I think. Coupled with the fact the boat owner will have to live his life knowing he permanently ruined a man. It sounds like it was an accident, not a felonious assault.

From the report it didn't sound like he was distracted, rather just didn't recognize his surroundings and probably has insufficient boat and seamanship training. If you gave every boat owner a rules of the road test, I'd bet the majority would fail miserably. Should we hand out felonies for accidents to people who are nor required to have comprehensive training or require boaters to take recreational captain classes and then issue citations for their failures? Given the number of boaters already in Florida and the constant increase in boaters every year, I would favor the latter.

I agree divers also need to rethink how they can improve their identification in the water. We don't know what was used in this accident, but the news report showed a crab pot buoy with a tiny flag, in certain situations that would look like nothing more than a crab pot, not a diver down. I think we could do better too.

 

[CuzzA]

We need a 3D flag that has no drag

Not sure about the drag on this one, but for setting up a snorkel site this would be a big improvement.

3DBouy - A New Improved Diver Flag – DeeperBlue.com

 

[Manatee Diver]

Should we hand out felonies for accidents to people who are nor required to have comprehensive training or require boaters to take recreational captain classes and then issue citations for their failures? Given the number of boaters already in Florida and the constant increase in boaters every year, I would favor the latter.

Unless they repealed it, if you are under about 40, you are required to take a boaters safety class and get a boater's license to operate anything more than a couple of horse power in Florida waters. Of course it is a once in a lifetime class, and can be completed online with a book so the value is probably pretty minimal.

ETA: Looks like they changed the date in 2010. Now anyone born 1988 and later must take a boater's safety class and get the license.
Frequently Asked Questions for the Boating Safety Education Requirements

 

[CuzzA]

Unless they repealed it, if you are under about 40, you are required to take a boaters safety class and get a boater's license to operate anything more than a couple of horse power in Florida waters. Of course it is a once in a lifetime class, and can be completed online with a book so the value is probably pretty minimal.

Yes, born before 1988 you must take the boat safety course. I was not required so I can't speak to how comprehensive it is or if they go into much detail about divers in water. Given how people drive their boats, I don't think it's all that comprehensive and despite the course most would still fail a rules of the road test.

 

[PBcatfish]

...
I agree divers also need to rethink how they can improve their identification in the water. We don't know what was used in this accident, but the news report showed a crab pot buoy with a tiny flag, in certain situations that would look like nothing more than a crab pot, not a diver down. I think we could do better too.

The "crab pot" float with a flag on top is, by far, the most commonly used diver flag in this area.

A lot of boats fly a bigger diver down flag as a sort of status symbol, when no diver is present. Those flags are often ignored by local boaters because of this. The little flags on the little white Styrofoam balls are normally assumed to have a diver under them. They actually tend to get much more respect from the local boaters in this area.

Normally, I use the little flag on the little white ball when I am diving in that area, unless I am in a specific spot where I expect a lot of yahoos to be. In that case, I drag a RHIB with a big DD flag & an Alpha flag. ...& I come up under my RHIB when surfacing.

I did have one yahoo run over my line at high speed while I was down. I was able to hear him coming from a long way away. I did not surface until after he passed. He was not hard to avoid.