What is the bottle they trow off the side of dive boats?

[NJ Wreck Diver]

I was just wondering what the Marker is that they trow off the side of Dive boats that has the line and the wieght attached to it when you pull up ontop of the wreck? Does it have to due with marking the the exact position where the captain wants to anchor in at? I have always seen this but never bothered to ask the crew what it was for?

 

[ChrisA]

I was just wondering what the Marker is that they trow off the side of Dive boats that has the line and the wieght attached to it when you pull up ontop of the wreck? Does it have to due with marking the the exact position where the captain wants to anchor in at? I have always seen this but never bothered to ask the crew what it was for?

I think you have answered your own question. What you do is drive the boat over the spot where you think the dive site is. The GPS can help and so can a depth finder or "fish finder". Anyways once you think you are dead exactly over it you throw a weight overboard and it sinks fast. and marks the spot.

 

[Don Burke]

I was just wondering what the Marker is that they trow off the side of Dive boats that has the line and the wieght attached to it when you pull up ontop of the wreck? Does it have to due with marking the the exact position where the captain wants to anchor in at? I have always seen this but never bothered to ask the crew what it was for?

Many boats toss a marker when the electronic navigation system says the boat is at the wreck location. The boat then searches around the marker for the wreck using the depth finder. The marker gives the captain a visual reference to make it easier to get back to the item found with the depth finder to set the hook.

Sometimes the searching is done off the navigation system and a marker is dropped when something is found on the depth finder. The boat then anchors right at the marker.

I have been told of boats that do both, but I have never seen it done that way.

 

[Cudabait]

I was just wondering what the Marker is that they trow off the side of Dive boats that has the line and the wieght attached to it when you pull up ontop of the wreck? Does it have to due with marking the the exact position where the captain wants to anchor in at? I have always seen this but never bothered to ask the crew what it was for?

I use them for many reasons. To initially mark the underwater structure when it is located on GPS or even still, loran c. They buoy can be placed right in the middle of the structure and serve as a visual reference for anchoring purposes. It will also give one a good idea of current direction. Anchoring can then be done in the sand so the boat will lay in a favorable position for diving or fishing. I also use a marker on underwater structure for drift fishing a spot. It serves as a visual reference so repeated drifts can be made over a productive fishing spot.

Regards,