AOL Provides Diver Safety Devices

[Gary H]

I'm sure this has been posted before, but I always carry a CD in my BC pocket on every dive. The one I use is one of the "Try AOL for Free!" discs they are always sending out.

It works great as a signaling device because it has a reflective surface and a built in sighting feature (the hole). If you use the sight hole to aim the reflection, you can flash your pick-up boat. The reflection is very difficult for the people on the boat to ignore.

My BC pocket is too narrow to hold the CD, so I just ground the edges down to allow it to slide in. Important Safety Tip: Don't try to cut a CD with a power saw! It will shatter and fly like glass!

[Stodelle]

This is a great tip!

[LuvMyRedDog]

Gary,

What do you think about Dive Alert? Seems to me your cd method might be difficult to aim if there are any seas to speak of.

[Gary H]

The Dive Alert is a great signaling device. I carry a dive alert as well as a whistle. I just added the CD as a back-up to the back-up. In addition, a dive light and swinging the hell out of your speargun over your head is usually a good visual aid as well.

I've read that airplanes report that the reflection from a mirror on the water surface stands out very distinctly from the random glare that comes off the waves.

Several years ago, I was diving in 5 foot seas off Port Canaveral, and surfaced down-current from the boat. The dive plan was for me to go North from the marker, and another diver to go South from the marker. The boat was to stay near the marker and watch North and South for the 2 divers to surface.

When I surfaced, I saw the boat immediately. I started waving my bright orange 5' pole spear back and forth above my head (this was pre-speargun days for me). The boat came about and I thought they had seen me. Then the boat turned away and I knew they didn't see me. So I started blowing on my whistle. Being down-wind from the boat, no one on board heard me. In the meantime, I was swimming against the current, but the current was winning. About that time, the other diver must have been spotted, so they took off South to pick him up. Obviously, after they picked him up, they came North and found me. In the meantime, I was stroking it downstream to a bottom fisherman I had spotted. :)

The important lessions learned that day - get a Diver Alert, and make sure a second one will be on board for those that might not have one. A little older and wiser, we don't split divers if the seas are rough. We may not cover as much ledge as we used to, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone anymore.