Your thoughts on PLBs

[cdiver2]

ANDY you are either a hard man or short sighted.

*you mean you don't check for yourself on the status of the anchor
once you get to the bottom and before setting off for the dive?*

Yes we did check the anchor it was there and hooked into the ledge when we went down the line.

*now, granted, most of the places we dive are wrecks, so the anchor
is secured to the wreck and it's easy to check...*

Ever hear about wrecks disintegrating and piece's falling off, maybe not now on the Fl artificial reefs but it doe's happen on the older wrecks.

*as i said in my earlier post, i don't object to the device as a last-ditch
safety measure. what i obejct to is thinking that you can rely on the
gadget and forego the responsibility that you as a diver must take for
your own safety.

Now who said anything about foregoing responsibility?. I never said or suggested that having one you could change your safe diving habits, did yours change when you got your whistle, sausage or mirror?.


*BOAT SINKS

Now, I admit, this would be a very good reason to have the device.
But, the boat should have one, bigger, and with more range, so mine
would be unecessary. If the boat don't have it, I don't dive with them.*

So you have never dived on a local boat that doesn't have a bigger one (Thats an Eperb) I would be very surprised if they do, Tell me of the local dive boats that you have used that have them, let us know. I am sure we would all dive with a dive op that is that safety conscious.

 

[mempilot]

Ok, having served in the AF and knowing some SARs guys, I'll tell you this. The AF and Coast Guard run mock SAR ops all the time. So going out to find someone really in trouble does nothing to their budget and they are happy to do so. A friend of the family flew up a box canyon in CO in his Bonanza. SAR's teams searched until they found him, deceased, at the top of a mountain 3 days later. His family was not charged for the effort. Where the problem lies, in when someone cries wolf, and SAR assets are pulled away from other duties that could have left someone else in a lot of trouble. The Ohio incident probably wouldn't have gone down the way it did if he hadn't done it twice in a row. You're supposed to learn from you mistakes. This guy didn't, so the courts will help him.

PLB's come with a responsibility attached. Use them to save your life, and not as a convenience. You'll get no grief that way.

I would wait about an hour before I gave up on the dive boat.

If you do start a search for no good reason the penalties are quiet stiff...ask the Ohio guy. A canoe trip through the Adarondacs,(spelling?) it got very cold and started to snow, the river froze over and snow was up to his thighs so he activated his PLB and they got him. Thing was he had a tent, food and the means to start a fire, some say he did the right thing others said no his life was not in danger. A week later he went back to get his gear and got lost so he activated his PLB again :11: . He is due in court and faces $25000 fine pay the cost of two searches and imprisonment.

 

[H2Andy]

ANDY you are either a hard man or ...

this is what we in the law call Res Ipsa Loquitur,

the thing speaks for itself



what? what??

 

[cdiver2]

this is what we in the law call Res Ipsa Loquitur,

the thing speaks for itself



what? what??

I only know a few words of Latin and dont know that one, but I can give you three for one.

Sero Sed Serio.
Virtuis Fortuna Comes.
Rutlenes Rosa Sine Spina

 

[cdiver2]

Ok, having served in the AF and knowing some SARs guys, I'll tell you this. The AF and Coast Guard run mock SAR ops all the time. So going out to find someone really in trouble does nothing to their budget and they are happy to do so. A friend of the family flew up a box canyon in CO in his Bonanza. SAR's teams searched until they found him, deceased, at the top of a mountain 3 days later. His family was not charged for the effort. Where the problem lies, in when someone cries wolf, and SAR assets are pulled away from other duties that could have left someone else in a lot of trouble. The Ohio incident probably wouldn't have gone down the way it did if he hadn't done it twice in a row. You're supposed to learn from you mistakes. This guy didn't, so the courts will help him.

PLB's come with a responsibility attached. Use them to save your life, and not as a convenience. You'll get no grief that way.

and applause

 

[cdiver2]

Andy I think after reading MEMPILOTS post another way to look at this is..it would make the job a lot easier for the SAR people to get you should the need arise to get them out. Instead of spending days looking for someone they can home right in, only time spent is getting directly to the victim and back.

 

[mempilot]

Andy,

The possibility of getting blown off a wreck in a moderate current at 200+ feet with a 1 hour decompression obligation in 4-6 foot 50 deg seas would be a great reason to own one. By the time you deployed your SMB to do your drift deco, the boat may not be able to spot you.

Just read some books about NE wreck diving and boating to see how many divers/boaters have been lost at sea, never to be found again. A diver just makes a conscience decision to leave the boat, whereas a distressed boater does not. When the poop hits the fan, they are both dead in those waters without a PLB or divine intervention.

 

[H2Andy]

well, let me put it this way.

given the kind of diving i do here in Florida, i am not going to rush out and buy
one any time soon.

but, as i have said, i can see how its uses (in a limited number of scenarios) can
be very....er...useful....

my biggest issue is the mindset (and i am not pointing fingers at anyone) that
opts for a gadget as a solution when the real solution is to change diving habits
and practices.

i would change those first before getting the gadget.

and yes... there ARE some (a few) scenarios where the gadget makes sense.

 

[mempilot]

...my biggest issue is the mindset (and i am not pointing fingers at anyone) that opts for a gadget as a solution when the real solution is to change diving habits and practices.

i would change those first before getting the gadget...

I didn't read any posts where anyone in this forum portrayed the mindset you speak of, so I guess we are all in agreement. I guess it's like the difference between what a Midwestern Pilot vs. a Bush Pilot takes with them for survival gear in the event of a crash. Regardless of whether the crash was pilot error or not, hindsight is always 20/20. Crap happens. When a bunch of Bush Pilot's discuss survival strategy and equipment, it will sound much different than when the weekend warrior speaks of survival equipment. Assuming they are all squared away in the basics.

 

[H2Andy]

When a bunch of Bush Pilot's discuss survival strategy and equipment, it will sound much different than when the weekend warrior speaks of survival equipment. Assuming they are all squared away in the basics.

my point exactly.

90% of recreational divers need good navigational skills, boat procedure
skills, and responsibility skills far more than they need the gadget.

the other 10% actually need both.

as i said in my first post, if i make all the mistakes it would take for
a PLB to become useful to me, i deserve to be dead (not really,
actually... i hope the CG finds me)