Why the red and white "Diver down" flag?

[Sam Miller III]

@kathy V
Do you think it would help if the flag included the silhouette of a diver, or would that just draw boats in to look at it more closely?

Sometimes the Dive Flag floats have large printing that says "Diver Below" but that would only work if you are in an area where English is widely spoken.

This flag certainly brought back memories ...

I was contacted about 20-30 years ago by a flag company in Kentucky about manufacturing a dive flag. After I was contacted I became a consultant and we jointly developed as series of as I recall three flags -- the normal red & white flag,, a flag with a manta ray on it and the one with the diver on it .

I was unaware; that any of these flags were still being produced -- or still around -- Have you had your long ? If new where did you purchase it?

inquiring minds would like to know

Sam Miller,111

 

[KathyV]

...This flag certainly brought back memories ...I was contacted about 20-30 years ago by a flag company in Kentucky about manufacturing a dive flag. After I was contacted I became a consultant and we jointly developed as series of as I recall three flags -- the normal red & white flag,, a flag with a manta ray on it and the one with the diver on it.I was unaware; that any of these flags were still being produced -- or still around -- Have you had your long ? If new where did you purchase it? inquiring minds would like to know Sam Miller,111

Sorry, I don't own that flag, I merely did a Google search for "Diver Flag" and then clicked on "Images" and this is one of the images that was displayed.

But I like it a lot! I think that a picture would be more helpful in communicating the situation than just a red and white flag or a blue and white flag.

 

[The Chairman]

You guessed it; none of that mattered to a massive moving wall of rusty steel that ran over our buoys and chased us off site.

Do you think a flag would have helped? Idiots will be idiots.

 

[Storker]

Use the right tool for the job.

Which in my waters is the A flag. In your waters, the right tool may well be another one

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I had one of the diver silhouette flags from Pacific Wilderness in San Pedro, California. It was great, but they no longer carry them. I haven't found another supplier.

 

[Akimbo]

Do you think a flag would have helped? Idiots will be idiots.

Apparently not, we were flying both flags. It was a clear and sunny day, seas were fairly flat, and their autopilot was no-doubt on. Our 85' steel-hull support boat also had a large radar reflector on the mast so apparently nobody was monitoring their radar either.

A private boat owner with a few too many beers onboard is on thing but you would think a professional maritime crew on a multimillion vessel in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world would be a little more diligent. Hitting us would have put us alongside the Doria, but cost of repairing damage to their ship and lost time would have dwarfed the cost of our boat -- and scuttled that Captain's career.

 

[Dan]

Apparently not, we were flying both flags. It was a clear and sunny day, seas were fairly flat, and their autopilot was no-doubt on. Our 85' steel-hull support boat also had a large radar reflector on the mast so apparently nobody was monitoring their radar either.

A private boat owner with a few too many beers onboard is on thing but you would think a professional maritime crew on a multimillion vessel in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world would be a little more diligent. Hitting us would have put us alongside the Doria, but cost of repairing damage to their ship and lost time would have dwarfed the cost of our boat -- and scuttled that Captain's career.

Reminding me of this:

 

[boulderjohn]

Just a couple minutes on google. Flags in use in each case.

Boater found guilty for running over diver
Diver survives getting hit by powerboat off Hollywood
Snorkeler seriously injured when hit by boat off Key West
Key West The Newspaper - Diver Hit By Boat Off Key West's White St. Pier [video: Warning! Graphic Content] -

 

[The Chairman]

The problem is that the fine for violating the flag is only $50 for a boater and twice that for the diver. Make it a $1000.00 and watch those boaters learn respect PDQ.

 

[Rred]

If you dropped a standard danger marker buoy, as prescribed by ColRegs, that said "MINEFIELD - STAY CLEAR" you'd still find all the beer crowd zooming in to see what the fine print said. The purpose of the flags is to establish liability in court. Divers still need to be aware that they are in a hostile environment, and even in a quarry, you can't assume someone isn't kiteboarding over you.