Deco divers and yellow emergency SMB

[tursiops]

....the training agencies need to standardize on a color.

I'm really holding my breath on this one!
Yeah, I know, I should never hold my breath.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

That's the problem, there is no standard, so unless you've explicitly made prior arrangements that a yellow SMB means send more gas, it's a no go. If a skipper sends gas anyway without any prior arrangement, he'll be finding his own way back to his own boat. Where the boat is may either be at the top of the ladder, or back at the dock, depending on how apologetic he is for potentially killing a diver. It's not his life on the line, and I don't know any divers who would be ok with a captain randomly throwing tanks down a line because he thinks he knows.

Next time you're hanging from a bag, imagine getting hit in the head with a tank on the way down. Maybe nothing would happen, maybe your buddy gets knocked unconscious, reg comes out, with a 2 hour deco obligation. If a captain assumes a diver wants gas, what's to keep him from assuming they want it fast and throw 20 pounds of weight on it to sink it fast.

Again, SINCE THERE IS NO STANDARD, PRE-DIVE COMMUNICATION IS A MUST. I don't ever foresee a situation in like this in my diving as I explicitly state any communication protocols before any technical dive. If a captain wants a certain set of communications protocols before a dive, he needs to state them. Assuming is what gets people killed.

Or, as an industry, the training agencies need to standardize on a color.

What the heck are you talking about? If the diver needed a deco tank, I would assume the captain would be having a swimmer or diver bring the tank down 20 feet, or lower it carefully on a rope if you are drifting... I don't think too many captains are gonna start chucking tanks over the bow because they see red (or yellow) on an SMB..

Seriously, I have no idea where you are coming from with all this crap about 20 lbs on a tank.. etc... Do you actually engage in this kind of diving or are these scenarios hypothetical? Also a diver with a 2 hr deco should not have an immediate problem. The impending low on deco gas situation would evolve SLOWLY since he should be able to go to back gas, would presumably know he is running low way, way before he actually runs out, not to mention he may well be able to share other diver's gas while on deco,

 

[JohnnyC]

What the heck are you talking about? SNIP ....share other diver's gas while on deco,

You are exactly right, I am simply exaggerating for effect with a hypothetical situation. However as has been mentioned several times, in some places, some captains apparently assume a yellow SMB means "send more gas," and action occurs. I'm simply pointing out the dangers of assumption where no standard exists. If you don't think captains are willing to do something as silly as what I've mentioned, I would believe that while you may have lots of experience underwater, the location of that experience is probably limited in location, as I've seen some captains do some seriously "interesting" things, especially in other countries where local law requires local staff.

Again, unless you've communicated procedure with the boat beforehand, assuming that someone will swim a tank down as opposed to chucking it over the side attached to your SMB is just as dangerous as assuming they know that you're having an emergency based on the color of your SMB. You're doing an awful lot of assuming, and that's not the type of diving I do. Assumptions and dives where serious emergencies could occur should never mix.

The whole big message here is that you need to communicate with the boat staff well before you get wet, and everybody needs to be aware of what's going on, and the procedure when something does happen. It can be as simple as, "if there's a slate on the SMB, read it," to as complicated as "orange means fine, yellow means emergency but we can deal, two means we need gas now, two and a slate means call the coast guard, and blah blah blah blah etc." COMMUNICATE and it doesn't matter who screws up whatever imagined protocol they've invented.

And yes, I do those kind of dives that require extended deco obligations, and am qualified to do so....