SMB Education Motivation

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O2BBubbleFree

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Cedar Park, TX
A couple of years ago I got an SMB that could be deployed from depth. I've been carrying it as a 'surface-only' marker, and hadn't yet gotten a spool or learned to deploy the SMB from depth.

Then a couple of months ago I was doing a popular drift dive, and was really surprised at how many boats were in close vicinity. Our Captain was really good at tracking our bubbles, and staying with us, but still... Oh, and on the way out to the dive the Captain 'slammed on the brakes' when he almost overran diver's bubbles. He then had a heated discussion with the Captain of the diver's boat, who was way too far from his own divers.

Yesterday I was talking with a co-worker that just got back from a trip. At the end of his drift dive the DM was very close to the surface, and had to kick down just as a boat passed overhead...

I was discussing my coworker's incident with another co-worker, and he told me that on a recent vacation he was doing his safety stop when a twin-screw commercial dive boat passed overhead, then dropped anchor way too close for comfort.

I gotta get that spool, and learn to use it.
 
Carrying a spool or reel is not necessary. You can attach a light fishing weight to the bottom and just fill it about half way before reaching your safety stop. I wind the rope around the SMB with the weight attached via a knot on the end and put it in a BCD pocket for storage. It takes a bit of practice but something on the surface whether fully inflated or partially is better than nothing. I would remain negatively buoyant when doing this. Let it go and you can hang onto the weighted end during your safety stop. Regardless if you get a spool or not it is a great thing to get into the habit of deploying.

AZ
 
I prefer a reel to the fishing weight technique. As I am often diving with less-experienced divers, I prefer to be able to send my SMB up from about 10-15m, ie. before ascending to the safety stop. I do this in case any one should lose control of their buoyancy going from 10m up to 5m. I deploy my SMB on every dive, and also try to surface close to the reef, where possible, so that I know the boats will not be overhead (depending on the topography).
 
That's what dive floats are for, so boats will know where you are. :confused:

John
 
John_B:
That's what dive floats are for, so boats will know where you are. :confused:

John
In many places it is used to create a safety zone for divers that are doing their safety stops and about to surface, also allows the boat to keep their proximity to your party.
 
John_B:
That's what dive floats are for, so boats will know where you are. :confused:

John

It would have been nice, I suppose, if the DM had a float, but I have yet to be on an ocean dive where the DM pulled along a float. However, I would still want to carry an SMB just in case.

There were six divers on this dive. Each diver can carry an SMB, but six floats would have gotten ugly, fast.
 
Most of my drift dives are in the Lauderdale area (fairly good current) and each team has one dive float. I agree one float per diver could turn into a cluster fairly quickly. :)

John
 
Bubble Junky:
I prefer a reel to the fishing weight technique. As I am often diving with less-experienced divers, I prefer to be able to send my SMB up from about 10-15m, ie. before ascending to the safety stop. I do this in case any one should lose control of their buoyancy going from 10m up to 5m. I deploy my SMB on every dive, and also try to surface close to the reef, where possible, so that I know the boats will not be overhead (depending on the topography).

I agree that a reel would be better, but it should not stop O2BBubbleFree from deployment of an SMB if one is not available. It will make things a lot easier. It is the next item to add to my gear.
 
Given that I often dive in limited visbility and may launch a bag from mid water with minimal visual references I have gotten into the habit of inflating the SMB from gas vented from my wing through the low pressure inflator. Bouyancy wise it is a zero sum operation until you release the bag, and then with the inflator in hand, it is very simple to add gas to the wing to get neutral again. So as long as you start the operation neutral it is relatively easy to maintain depth during the evolution without visual or instrument references.

I hold the bag with my index and middle finger while I hold and operate the inflator with my thumb and other fingers which leave the right hand free to hold the spool and every thing stays clear of any entangelment.

It works well though with what ever you use as you stay neutral right up until bag release and even if something hangs up you are still neutral (at least until the bag ascends several feet).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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