Questions on towing a dive flag.

[The Chairman]

From the Commonwealth of Massachusetts law book: General Law - Part I, Title XIV, Chapter 90B, Section 13A

Section 13A. Every scuba diver or group of scuba divers while swimming on or under the surface of the waters of the commonwealth shall display for each diver or group of divers as a warning device to boat operators, a diver's flag, so called, constructed of rigidly supported material at least twelve inches by fifteen inches in area of red background with a white diagonal stripe. Such diver's flag shall be displayed on a boat or surface float and shall extend a minimum distance of three feet from the surface of the water. Divers shall remain in an area within one hundred feet of such displayed diver's flag while at or near the surface of the water. A boat operator within sight of a diver's flag shall proceed with caution and within a radius of one hundred feet of such flag shall proceed at a speed not to exceed three miles per hour.

GTS! Google that Sh*t! I will often clip a flag to me if I'm hunting, gathering or in a less trafficked area. This is especially true at places like Blue Heron Bridge or at Venice Florida on a Shark Tooth Dives. I also dive with two z-knives and a shorty just in case it becomes a problem. The only time anyone has played with my flag was FWC. They couldn't believe my 2+ hour dive on a single tank. However, I did a quick scoot down the Santa Fe from the Eye to the Grand Ballroom run, and was given a warning by FWC. The flag went far quicker than we did. No ticket: just a warning.

 

[boulderjohn]

It is not just non-diving boats that are the danger.

A couple of years ago, I was doing a drift dive in South Florida, where flags are also required. There was very little current as we drifted with it along the edge of the reef. We were surprised to be passed by a hunter with his speargun swimming the opposite direction without a flag. He was clearly in violation of the law, but that was not our business.

The story now switches to what was happening on the surface.

Our dive boat was following the flags of the different groups from our boat, and they were surprised when the hunter popped to the surface in the middle of them. "Where is your flag? Where is your boat?" The hunter pointed off into the distance, downcurrent, to where there was both a distant boat and a distant flag beside it. The crew tried to contact the boat, but its radio was not on. They then drove to that boat and told them where their diver was. They also told them they needed to have their radio on. That boat took off at high speed to pick of the hunter, running directly over their own flag and then going at high speed through our flags to get their hunter. While they were picking him up, our boat caught up with them, reprimanded them for going so fast through our flags, and again told them to turn their radio on.

The boat went back to pick up their flag, which their hunter had attached to the reef with a reef hook. By then our divers had drifted to that area. They hurriedly grabbed the flag, and when it did not pull loose easily, they gunned the engine in order to rip off the part of the reef to which it was attached. They paid no attention to the blowing horn and loudspeaker of our boat, which had no other way to contact them, since they still did not have their radio on. Our boat was trying to tell them that they had the wrong flag.

Now back to me.

When I felt the first tug on the flag, I was puzzled. There was no wind and little wave action, so I did not know what was causing it. I looked up and saw the boat sitting next to it. "What's going on?" I wondered. Then the boat engine roared to life, and I was suddenly heading for the surface at high speed. Since I was not hooked on, I just let go and was OK. I doubt I could have pulled a knife quickly enough to cut the line before I was in serious trouble if it had been attached. I pulled out a DSMB and deployed it. My alert buddy never knew what had happened, and he was surprised to see I no longer had a dive flag when we surfaced.

 

[scubadada]

I've had my flag snagged by a boat on a couple of occasions, both times a surprise. As I have my flag on a reel, I was able to let out line quickly. On both occasions the pull ended before I ran out of line and I was able to recover. You never know what's going to happen, be prepared.

 

[rhwestfall]

I have my reel (to my flag) on a large bungie loop on my wrist. It is released quite easily and rapidly....

 

[scubadada]

I have my reel (to my flag) on a large bungie loop on my wrist. It is released quite easily and rapidly....

I'm generally holding on to a single prong reef hook attached to my reel, release could be instantaneous if necessary.

 

[CT-Rich]

Watch from 1:30 onwards. Imagine getting snagged by this tool

The seatbelt analogy is apt, you wear a seatbelt to protect you from @sshats that aren’t responsible. This dipstick in the video was not driving in a responsible manner and there is nothing you can do to stop him. With a flag, he SHOULD avoid killing you. With out the flag, he will just wonder what that thumping noise was. Even with 100’ visibility, you would have had just a second or two to react.

I suppose if manatees were towing dive flags, they might still get hit by boats, but it would be a lot less frequent....