Clipping off an SMB/Flag

[DMDavid]

My dive flag is connected to a dive reel that has about three hundred feet of string, my theory is that if a boater snags it then I have a few seconds to release my grip on it.

I do have a strobe on it for night dives and that makes me feel a little better, even if it doesn't have any direct affect on the boaters IQ.

I did have my buoy snagged on a night dive once and it scared the chum out of me, but it ended up being some guy fishing from a near by pier at LBTS.




FB-Florida Scuba Diver

 

[g1138]

Sitting in the hotel lobby with a low battery and no plug, so this is just a quick post for now.

You should attach your reel or line to a Boat Snap Shackle then to your person. If your line starts tugging you, just pull your release on the Snap Shackle and you're free.
The releasable clasp should be on your BC, the line should be attached to the solid ring of the Snap Shackle.
Tie a lanyard onto the pull ring.

UCSC's Scientific Diving Program uses Snap Shackles when we're on a trapeze, doing Blue water work. We originally tied off our weightbelts to the trapeze.
We started using Snap Shackles after a diver got dragged to depth when the trapeze dropped from the boat and said diver was pulled down by the trapeze plus a ditched weight belt from the buddy diver.

 

[DevonDiver]

Having been pulled up by a bag, I wouldn't recommend using ANY TYPE OF CONNECTION.

The time it happened to me, I was at 36m and the reel got snarled up...I did a 5m ascent in the time it took me to react and simply let go of the reel I was holding. I've seen divers get pulled up more than that, just by delaying for a second or two longer. By that point, having released the reel/DSMB, hey had gained considerably personal buoyancy from air expanded in the BCDs...and took even longer to arrest their ascent.

It happens too quickly and you travel too far, too fast.... even to pull a pin (if you can get to the pin, if the pin works....)

As I stated before, it is contrary to any agency recommendation.

DSMB/Reels account for a high percentage of DCS incidents - the BSAC reports are FULL of them.

There is - quite simply - NO NEED to secure a reel to yourself when you are deploying a bag. NO need to take that risk.

I'm sorry g1138, but that idea gets the 'nice concept, but not clever in real life' trophy....​

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Sorry Andy ... I'm not a big fan of "never". Although I would agree with "almost never" in this case, breakaways like what I described previously work in "real life".

And FWIW - BSAC lost credibility with me when they came out with their "hog loop" position paper. Now they're just BS, to my concern ... another stodgy political organization ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DevonDiver]

Sorry Bob, I cannot think of one situation where the substantially extra risk of clipping a reel for DSMB deployment would be needed.

It's a matter of skill and training.

Clipping the reel after deployment is a different matter.

(was the BSAC remark referencing someone else??)

 

[Jax]

Excellent lesson learned, Andy!

In this case, the 'oh, **it!' may not be common, but the resulting injury opportunity makes the risk way too high to accept.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Sorry Bob, I cannot think of one situation where the substantially extra risk of clipping a reel for DSMB deployment would be needed.

It's a matter of skill and training.

Clipping the reel after deployment is a different matter.

Carrying the reel after deployment is the context of the conversation, since the OP is discussing towing the SMB or dive flag during the dive. I agree with you about clipping off a reel during deployment ... it isn't just a bad idea, it can actually make deploying the bag more complicated.

(was the BSAC remark referencing someone else??)

No ... it was referencing your comment in your previous reply ... "DSMB/Reels account for a high percentage of DCS incidents - the BSAC reports are FULL of them."

If the Hog Loop paper is any indication, BSAC reports are full of selective data that's manipulated to support a predetermined conclusion.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ian@1904]

Having seen divers beeing dragged up by their smb when the line becomes snagged on the reel, I cannot see any sensible reason to clip on. Likewise when ascending having nearly been run over by a boat with ten minutes of deco to do, that could have been messy.
I have a loop of bungy on my reel. The bungy hold the dsmb in place for during the diving. During dsmb deployment the loop hangs free on the reel. When doing deco stops the bungy makes a comfy place to place a hand without having to actually grip the reel.
On drift dives the bungy keeps the hand relatively free for other tasks, sich as keeping the scallop bag open

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I've probably done thousands of drift dives in strong currents while towing a float in depths between 60 and 140 ft depth or so.

The best place for the reel (and reef hook) is in your buddy's hands...

 

[DevonDiver]

No ... it was referencing your comment in your previous reply ... "DSMB/Reels account for a high percentage of DCS incidents - the BSAC reports are FULL of them."

If the Hog Loop paper is any indication, BSAC reports are full of selective data that's manipulated to support a predetermined conclusion.

The BSAC annual reports are akin to the DAN Incident Reports. They are primarily a published as a compilation of actual incident reports, received from all diving agencies in the UK, along with Coastguard, Hyperbaric medicine and other agencies involved in those incidents. They deal with any list incident, whether fatal, non-fatal, DCI or 'near-miss'.

Even skipping 'the conclusions' they are an interesting read. The reports themselves tend to be from first parties, thus not influenced by BSAC.

There's 10 years worth to download: Annual Diving Incident Report - British Sub Aqua Club