Dan
Contributor
Obviously we are not talking about diving in sink hole, lake, cenote nor cave. LOL
PLBs Can Save Your Life
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Obviously we are not talking about diving in sink hole, lake, cenote nor cave. LOL
Yet some people seem to think we must deal with absolute rules and never use human judgment.
A few months ago I was standing at the edge of that sinkhole and showing it to Mike Young, describing the features below the surface, as he prepared to dive it. Mike is a noted cave explorer and the owner of KISS rebreathers. He said, "I don't think I'll take my surface marker buoy," an item he had preloaded and ready to go. He used his judgment about the safety of the coming dive and his own skills and the equipment needed to dive it safely.
Some people would exclude that option for a diver.
Dan
Contributor
In addition to that, I won’t carry my snorkel either to dive in overhead environment
I would carry signaling devices that would help me reduce to the time spent in the event of me being lost at sea. I think this is the topic of the discussion here.
As recreational divers who dive mostly in the sea or open ocean, the odds of being swept by currents is there. Having various kinds of signaling devices to expedite us being found sooner is a wise thing to do.
PLB's last for 24+ hours. They're guaranteed. That's one of the reasons they limit you to a certain number of GPS tests before they say you need to send it in for a battery replacement. 24 hours when they KNOW where you are is a long time. Unless you're literally in the middle of the ocean, chances are somebody can get to you within 24 hours, even longer if you intermittently transmit. HOWEVER, I'd be reluctant to turn it off after a couple hours, since the first 24 hours are going to be the most important in terms of finding you.
Hypothetically speaking, IF Cameron made it to the surface, and IF he had a PLB, and IF he activated it, based on the cell phone coverage around the island, the command center could have literally talked a boat driver to his location on a cell phone.
I think we can all safely assume that there is SOME common sense involved when making a judgement call as to whether or not to carry something. I get it, we all want to be obtuse and whine about every exception to every situation, just like other people seek to shoehorn every situation into a finite rule. But the fact of the matter is the ocean is unpredictable as hell, and if there's a solution that allows us to mitigate some of that uncertainty, making lame excuses not to use that solution is silly. And for the record, if I were diving Lake Powell, I'd sure as hell take my PLB. It's huge, and there are a lot of places where there is zero traffic.
Hypothetically speaking, IF Cameron made it to the surface, and IF he had a PLB, and IF he activated it, based on the cell phone coverage around the island, the command center could have literally talked a boat driver to his location on a cell phone.
I think we can all safely assume that there is SOME common sense involved when making a judgement call as to whether or not to carry something. I get it, we all want to be obtuse and whine about every exception to every situation, just like other people seek to shoehorn every situation into a finite rule. But the fact of the matter is the ocean is unpredictable as hell, and if there's a solution that allows us to mitigate some of that uncertainty, making lame excuses not to use that solution is silly. And for the record, if I were diving Lake Powell, I'd sure as hell take my PLB. It's huge, and there are a lot of places where there is zero traffic.
True story: I saw someone pull a dive flag into the ballroom cavern at Ginnie. Well.. technically, the flag didn't' make it all the way in - but you get the picture.
No need there
MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
Situations vary. I dive the ocean at the Monterey Breakwater, the Coast Guard pier. It usually has people fishing and has two 47' Coast Guard life boats on the harbor side. If I flashed a light I would hit their building. I practice with DSMB there. I also dive a rugged part of our coast, where I could use a PLB, to summon the park service RIBs around the corner.
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Just carry it in the car. I doubt that there is cell service out there, and you just might have a need to call in the cavalry someday.
- Messages
- 53,673
- Reaction score
- 7,854
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Several. I remember when the hospital was just on the other side of the town lake from Blue Hole, but it's still close - and yeah cell service is good there, altho I do drive thru dead spots getting there.
I was talking about keeping your PLB in the car out at Rock Lake. Is there cell service out there? Yes or no, it's good to keep it in the car on any travels.
