SMB etiquette

[Sharkbait88]

Like everything else, this is subject to conditions. That being said, I carry a large SMB now, current ripped my group away and the boat lost us on a fun dive, could see the driving around for 45 minutes before they saw us with the guides dinky little SMB.

 

[Cumulo-Nimbus]

First I'd like to apologize for digging up an old thread. Yet I see very different approaches to smb and like to share this observations with ya'll...
I started diving in Australia and New Zealand around 2012, and there was no real need for tourists to carry them, although it was of course known to be useful when being lost. A rather funny add-on in the owd for those who were interested but not necessarily trained more than once.

Fast forward a couple of years and living in Germany by now: many landlocked divers in lakes around here insist to carry and use a personal smb. A very different mindset to my early learning times...
When travelling to Egypt, two different live aboards (of those companies with better safety mindset) demanded every diver to carry them and deploy on the first dive for training. Guided dives after this didn't need to deploy the SMB, it was usually the guides responsibility and redundant buddy teams assigned one diver amongst them to deploy, BUT everyone had one. Just in case.

During my ITC in may earlier this year it was a mandatory part to the OWD Student to practice this skill. Now imagine my surprise, when two days ago a newly certified OWD told me while fun diving in Germany, they didn't even talk about smb deployment in her course in Thailand

 

[Nemrod]

Paleo thread.

Especially Cozumel, or southeast Florida drift diving, the DM will send up a SMB or pull a float. I have deployed mine on numerous occasions when I got left behind taking photos. The DMs and captains know me and do not worry. I send up my buoy and they come get me if I cannot rejoin. As to practice deployments, again, check with and okay with your captain or DM or boat crew.

I make most every effort to be a good scuba guest and stay with my group but ya know, a shark in formation with a turtle and a huge school of barracuda, hmmm, ah, uh, sorry guys .

Most Keys diving is from a mooring. Aside from practice, discuss with captain or DM, there is really no reason to deploy a SMB. In the case that one cannot get back to the mooring due to getting lost or straying too far away or an emergency, sure, send it up.

Not remembering clearly but pretty sure in Egypt we had to do a practice SMB deployment and then thereafter it was only used if separated for some reason.

Diving in freshwater lakes, due to low viz, if I cannot come back up my anchor or mooring and have to make a free ascent then I would send my SMB up to prevent being run over by a boat, well, assuming they even know what it might be. Unlikely.