The boating community awareness (or more accurately, concern) for divers is not necessarily the best. Things get worse with go-fast boats and jet skis, not to say the drunk boaters out there. That being said, many people do know what a flag means and can behave. One issue is flag visibility. The Florida statutes regarding dive flags say that they should be 3 feet above the surface. That actually is quite a bit higher than most buoy flags.
There is a need for greater boater awareness. Shore diving is taking off in popularity and there are lots more divers out there that in years past. Boaters might not be fully aware of this or expect to see flags hundreds of yards offshore, and so they might not be looking and a small flag only makes things worse.
Still, things are not going to improve until there is boater licensing.
This is not to excuse what happened, or to excuse the sailboat incident at the blue heron bridge a couple of months ago.
I hope Perry recovers fully, and that he keeps on diving.
There is a need for greater boater awareness. Shore diving is taking off in popularity and there are lots more divers out there that in years past. Boaters might not be fully aware of this or expect to see flags hundreds of yards offshore, and so they might not be looking and a small flag only makes things worse.
Still, things are not going to improve until there is boater licensing.
This is not to excuse what happened, or to excuse the sailboat incident at the blue heron bridge a couple of months ago.
I hope Perry recovers fully, and that he keeps on diving.