Rich Keller
Contributor
I have been diving for 41 years and in all that time I have never seen the Coast Guard, state or local police ever enforce this rule against a boater. Has anyone ever seen this happen? If so what was done?
Dive Flag Enforcement
- Thread starter Rich Keller
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GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
I have seen it 2x. Once in Maui, once in Mass. In both cases, the shore based LEO (Fish and Game types) waited in shore for divers to come in and check their catch, writing a ticket for the lack of dive flag was a bonus.
I subscribe to the start and end the dive with a flag. I may choose to park it someplace mid-dive and rely on my SMB if I have an unexpected need to ascend away from the flag. Not an approved practice and could be dangerous in some locals, but I do it.
I subscribe to the start and end the dive with a flag. I may choose to park it someplace mid-dive and rely on my SMB if I have an unexpected need to ascend away from the flag. Not an approved practice and could be dangerous in some locals, but I do it.
My partner was doing some salvage work in Waukegan Harbor one day. He had a flag in the water where he was working. While he was down a boater came in and tied up right over him. The local sheriff gave the boater a ticket.
DennisS
Contributor
Florida is getting serious. The marine patrol has radar that also measures distance. They have a boat fly the dive flag and they can now document speed and distance. "You were 182 feet from the flag doing 32 mph, here's your ticket". It's been moved pretty high up on their priority scale due to several recent accidents.
They've given the advice, go out, go over come in, instead of following the reef line to your dive spot. They are also getting tougn on flying the dive flag properly.
They've given the advice, go out, go over come in, instead of following the reef line to your dive spot. They are also getting tougn on flying the dive flag properly.
I'm from Reno, Nevada. Our dive club lobbied the legeslature about 15 years ago to have the strictest dive flag law in the US made law. The requirement here is NO BOAT within 100 ft of a flag and no wake 100 to 200 ft from a flag. The diver is restricted from cutting off an inlet or harbor with their flag. The law backfired. The rangers and sheriff's at Tahoe followed your bubles so they could give you a ticket if you were not displaying a flag.
Unfortunately I have not seen any boat cited, only divers for not flying a flag.
Unfortunately I have not seen any boat cited, only divers for not flying a flag.
OP
Rich Keller
Contributor
That was exactly what I was asking.
GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
That's what I get for posting before coffee. My bad. You were clear, my mind was not.
OP
Rich Keller
Contributor
DennisS
Contributor
I don't know what the statistics are, but they said a lot of the boaters they ticket, for going too fast near boats flying the dive flag, are divers in private boats. The advice they gave was go out, go over, come in, instead of cruising down the reef line to the dive spot.
They also showed dive flags displayed where no one could see them. One boat even had a dive bag with the dive flag logo up on a pole.
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