Are those the quackers you put on the lp host to the bc inflator?
Diver Missing in the Florida Keys
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diverlady
Contributor
There's more than one kind but yes, that's where they go. There are some that "quack" that work both above and below the surface and then some just for above. Apparently you can stack them too.
here's one
Diverlady
pufferfish
Contributor
Dive Alert
I also have an orange safety sausage and old CD for visual signaling in an open ocean environment. The Dive Alert has come in handy several times and as Genesis says produces an incredibly loud sound that can be heard over long distances on open water.
I also have an orange safety sausage and old CD for visual signaling in an open ocean environment. The Dive Alert has come in handy several times and as Genesis says produces an incredibly loud sound that can be heard over long distances on open water.
also work underwater, although they don't say so in their literature.
Try it sometime - it works. The sound is very muted, but two or three short blasts underwater sounds distinctive enough that it should get a buddy's attention reliably.
Try it sometime - it works. The sound is very muted, but two or three short blasts underwater sounds distinctive enough that it should get a buddy's attention reliably.
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Edited piece from my "Dive Workshop" column in Jul '00 issue of "Rodale's Scuba Diving":
"What safety devices should I carry? Tom Douglas, Santa Fe, NM.
I am a firm believer in safety devices, and recommend that you carry devices which emit auditory and visual signals, and can be used both day & night. Fortunately, there are good quality devices of both varieties readily available at reasonable cost. At a minimum, these would include:
1. Safety sausage/signaling marker buoy. These are brightly colored tubes designed to make you visible in the water. Do not purchase or rely on cheap plastic models which tend to spring leaks & cannot be inflated firmly enough to stay extended in a stiff wind. Select a model made of sturdy material which inflates through a valve that securely opens & closes. Make sure you have adequate length, like 5-6 feet. Even a high quality sausage which is only 3 feet long will be difficult to see in swells or from a distance. These can be carried in a BC pocket or rolled up & clipped to a BD strap or D-ring. Day-glo yellow is in general the most readily visible, followed by day-glo orange/red. Some such devices come with both colors.
2. Dive Alert with back up whistle. This small device mounts between the BC inflator hose and BC inflator valve. It works above water, but not below, and can be very loud, so you must take care not to sound it in your ears or those of others. It is designed to function as long as you have at least 100PSI left in your tank, although mine does not seem at full volume at that pressure. Also recommended is a back up whistle which can be blown orally when there is insufficient cylinder pressure to activate the Dive Alert.
3. Strobe. This is important as the safety sausage & signaling mirror are of minimal utility after dark. It should be bright enough to be seen from a reasonable distance & have sufficient battery power to remain activated for at least one full night. These can be fastened to areas such as the tank valve or shoulder straps where their light is plainly visible.
Other safety devices include a signaling mirror. These area small devices with a hole in the center which can be carried in a BC pocket. They are aimed toward the source to be signaled through the small sighting hole. Some frugal divers instead use a CD, and these in fact work well.
A few divers carry dye packs which can be released at the surface and color a large area of water. These are effective even in rough water & make you very visible from the air. On the downside, they are slightly bulky in the BC pocket and may leak due to the pressure changes inherent in diving. Others carry small launchers/pistols which fire aerial flares. Again, these can be slightly bulky and can be difficult to maintain due to frequent submersions in water. They also cannot go with you by air, even in checked baggage."
I highly recommend carrying both visual (for both day & night) & auditory devices. You'll be unimaginably glad you do if you ever need them."
Best regards.
DocVikingo
"What safety devices should I carry? Tom Douglas, Santa Fe, NM.
I am a firm believer in safety devices, and recommend that you carry devices which emit auditory and visual signals, and can be used both day & night. Fortunately, there are good quality devices of both varieties readily available at reasonable cost. At a minimum, these would include:
1. Safety sausage/signaling marker buoy. These are brightly colored tubes designed to make you visible in the water. Do not purchase or rely on cheap plastic models which tend to spring leaks & cannot be inflated firmly enough to stay extended in a stiff wind. Select a model made of sturdy material which inflates through a valve that securely opens & closes. Make sure you have adequate length, like 5-6 feet. Even a high quality sausage which is only 3 feet long will be difficult to see in swells or from a distance. These can be carried in a BC pocket or rolled up & clipped to a BD strap or D-ring. Day-glo yellow is in general the most readily visible, followed by day-glo orange/red. Some such devices come with both colors.
2. Dive Alert with back up whistle. This small device mounts between the BC inflator hose and BC inflator valve. It works above water, but not below, and can be very loud, so you must take care not to sound it in your ears or those of others. It is designed to function as long as you have at least 100PSI left in your tank, although mine does not seem at full volume at that pressure. Also recommended is a back up whistle which can be blown orally when there is insufficient cylinder pressure to activate the Dive Alert.
3. Strobe. This is important as the safety sausage & signaling mirror are of minimal utility after dark. It should be bright enough to be seen from a reasonable distance & have sufficient battery power to remain activated for at least one full night. These can be fastened to areas such as the tank valve or shoulder straps where their light is plainly visible.
Other safety devices include a signaling mirror. These area small devices with a hole in the center which can be carried in a BC pocket. They are aimed toward the source to be signaled through the small sighting hole. Some frugal divers instead use a CD, and these in fact work well.
A few divers carry dye packs which can be released at the surface and color a large area of water. These are effective even in rough water & make you very visible from the air. On the downside, they are slightly bulky in the BC pocket and may leak due to the pressure changes inherent in diving. Others carry small launchers/pistols which fire aerial flares. Again, these can be slightly bulky and can be difficult to maintain due to frequent submersions in water. They also cannot go with you by air, even in checked baggage."
I highly recommend carrying both visual (for both day & night) & auditory devices. You'll be unimaginably glad you do if you ever need them."
Best regards.
DocVikingo
I have only seen the short reports on this but will venture a guess as to what *might* have happened.
The buddies surface in rough conditions and start swimming toward the boat.
The missing diver fails to establish positive bouyancy, removes regulator and/or mask, sinks under the surface and gets a lung full of water. The buddy on the surface turns and does not see her because she is underwater.
Dive alerts, safety sausages and the like don't help in this kind of case, except perhaps for the diver still on the surface to call for help while he goes to look for his buddy.
It is also possible that the lady diver went back under the surface for an easier swim back to the boat and then had other problems.
The published reports give more questions than answers.
The buddies surface in rough conditions and start swimming toward the boat.
The missing diver fails to establish positive bouyancy, removes regulator and/or mask, sinks under the surface and gets a lung full of water. The buddy on the surface turns and does not see her because she is underwater.
Dive alerts, safety sausages and the like don't help in this kind of case, except perhaps for the diver still on the surface to call for help while he goes to look for his buddy.
It is also possible that the lady diver went back under the surface for an easier swim back to the boat and then had other problems.
The published reports give more questions than answers.
baenglish73
Registered
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were both abandoned off of Key Largo a few years ago. They surfacee and saw the boat steaming away. They drifted for an hour or so before being picked up by a fishing boat.
I'll have to find out which dive-op it was.
I'll have to find out which dive-op it was.
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Search called off for missing diver
By Craig M. Douglas / News Staff Writer
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The search for a Framingham woman who disappeared while scuba diving off the Florida Keys has been officially called off.
Tatyana Smirnov, 29, an employee at Fidelity Investments in Marlborough, was reported missing Sunday after she and a friend, 35-year-old Alexi Elinson of Allston, drifted from their tour boat, the "Tropic Vista." Elinson, who was later rescued by a search crew, said Smirnov vanished as the two struggled to swim back to the skiff.
The two divers were part of a 12-person trip to Crocker Reef, which is located off the southwestern tip of Key Largo.
After combing the area from helicopters and search boats, members of the Monroe County sheriff's office, U.S. Coast Guard and the Fish and Wildlife Commission stopped the search for Smirnov yesterday.
"We just weren't finding anything. You can only look for so long," said Becky Herrin, a Monroe County spokeswoman.
Herrin said there was no indication of foul play in Smirnov's disappearance. She said the sheriff's office investigates diving accidents "periodically" and "generally recovers the person or body very frequently."
"We'll certainly be keeping (Smirnov's case) open until perhaps we recover her or her body," Herrin said. "It's a tough case to talk about."
At Fidelity Investments in Marlborough, where Smirnov worked for the past four years, the situation has been unsettling. The company said support services are available for any of the site's 3,800 employees affected by Smirnov's disappearance.
Smirnov joined Fidelity's information technology department as a temporary employee in 1999 and was hired as a full-time systems programmer in December 2000.
"We're just hoping the outcome is all right," said Frank Crocetti, Fidelity's vice president and general manager at the Marlborough site.
Out of respect for Smirnov and her family, Crocetti declined additional comment.
Smirnov is a member of the Russian Diving Club, a group of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who share a love for diving, according to its Web site.
Ordered my Dive Alert today...
don
By Craig M. Douglas / News Staff Writer
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The search for a Framingham woman who disappeared while scuba diving off the Florida Keys has been officially called off.
Tatyana Smirnov, 29, an employee at Fidelity Investments in Marlborough, was reported missing Sunday after she and a friend, 35-year-old Alexi Elinson of Allston, drifted from their tour boat, the "Tropic Vista." Elinson, who was later rescued by a search crew, said Smirnov vanished as the two struggled to swim back to the skiff.
The two divers were part of a 12-person trip to Crocker Reef, which is located off the southwestern tip of Key Largo.
After combing the area from helicopters and search boats, members of the Monroe County sheriff's office, U.S. Coast Guard and the Fish and Wildlife Commission stopped the search for Smirnov yesterday.
"We just weren't finding anything. You can only look for so long," said Becky Herrin, a Monroe County spokeswoman.
Herrin said there was no indication of foul play in Smirnov's disappearance. She said the sheriff's office investigates diving accidents "periodically" and "generally recovers the person or body very frequently."
"We'll certainly be keeping (Smirnov's case) open until perhaps we recover her or her body," Herrin said. "It's a tough case to talk about."
At Fidelity Investments in Marlborough, where Smirnov worked for the past four years, the situation has been unsettling. The company said support services are available for any of the site's 3,800 employees affected by Smirnov's disappearance.
Smirnov joined Fidelity's information technology department as a temporary employee in 1999 and was hired as a full-time systems programmer in December 2000.
"We're just hoping the outcome is all right," said Frank Crocetti, Fidelity's vice president and general manager at the Marlborough site.
Out of respect for Smirnov and her family, Crocetti declined additional comment.
Smirnov is a member of the Russian Diving Club, a group of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who share a love for diving, according to its Web site.
Ordered my Dive Alert today...
don
on my way wanda
Registered
This is a important piece of equipment, the liveaboard you mentioned above,a diver on one of our dives actually did use it, good thing he had one. :holycow:
SCUBAMedicBill
Guest
Did the boat realize that the two divers were missing, and if so, did they search?
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