Nautilus Lifeline in Bonaire

[DiverVince]

Having been diving Bonaire's coast for many many years, personally I think you should just save your money. Unless you're planning on doing some wild type diving, ie the extreme tips of the island or unguided on the eastern shore, I think I'd rather spend my $$ on a good massage & nice meal afterwards.. But..that's just me...

[Waterskier1]

Check again as they did get everything approved. There is a thread in their section of the board that covers it.

Don't know about the rest of it, but I will go back to the saying go ahead and cite me as long as I am alive!

Peter, respectfully, I did look at the thread on this board. They have not shown they are approved. Only that they can't see why they shouldn't be allowed. There was a consensus that this unit should be okay - or the user didn't care as long as they were rescued, but nothing from the FCC. They relied upon the fact that a voluntarily equipped vessel did not need a license in USA waters, but a diver is not a vessel. And the FCC does not run on consensus. BOAT US did create a category for the EPIRB portion of this, but that portion doesn't allow chatting....it's strictly position location and personal information transmitted to the satellites.

Note the the reference to the fact that a licensed amateur radio operator may broadcast on any frequency in an emergency only covers licensed amateur operators in the USA.

And none of this means anything in foreign countries. Penalties in foreign countries can be much more sever than in the USA.

Beyond all this, Dr. Rich and Vince have the best responses....it is really not needed in Bonaire.

[blue sky]

Note the the reference to the fact that a licensed amateur radio operator may broadcast on any frequency in an emergency only covers licensed amateur operators in the USA.

And none of this means anything in foreign countries. Penalties in foreign countries can be much more sever than in the USA.

Who cares! Better to pay a fine than to die lost at sea. Sorry to be so harsh, but which has more value, money or your life.

[Waterskier1]

Who cares! Better to pay a fine than to die lost at sea. Sorry to be so harsh, but which has more value, money or your life.

First, you're not being harsh....at least I don't interpret your comment as such. I didn't post to ruffle any ones feathers.

As far as "Who Cares!", maybe someone who doesn't make the decision to use it based upon facts and law. Just as many choose not to obey the speed limit, many may choose to use this device. But, if they don't know there is a speed limit, their decision may be flawed.

I'll use the analogy, from my perspective. YMMV.

There is a consensus on a baby forum I read since I'm about to become a father (this is an analogy-I'm not becoming a father!). The consensus says that it should be legal to run red lights and speed on the way to the hospital if the baby seems to be coming early. After all, this could be a life or death situation. This idea is passed along enough times that many consider this to be fact. Therefore, many expectant fathers delay good judgement in favor of running red lights and speeding. They believe they are within the law to do so. But, as we all should know, this is not true, at least in the USA. Will you be ticketed? Will you be fined? I can't answer. You may not be caught. But I think we all know the answer is you collide with someone running that red light.

I feel the same situation is true here. Many think this is legal, and profess it is. I simply am stating that you should do your homework, especially if traveling outside the USA, before you decide to use it. You may decide the risk of using it is worth the risk of rescue. You may decide to mitigate the risk of being lost at sea instead. But to make a good risk analysis, you must know the facts, not wishes or conjecture. Many people will still choose to use it, whether in a dire emergency or just to chat with friends while waiting for the boat to pick them up. The choice is always your.

[DiverVince]

Who cares! Better to pay a fine than to die lost at sea. Sorry to be so harsh, but which has more value, money or your life.

The OP questioned whether it was advisable to use it on Bonaire. I tried to inject a bit of humor in my response. Between you & me, I really can't imagine how you're going to "die lost at sea" in the placid waters surrounding Bonaire. Yes, accidents can always happen, but they can generally be solved by a visit to the local hospital, or aided by other divers at a dive site, or the use of a cell phone which is fairly ubiquitous on the island.I work in the risk management field and always try to ID potential problems.

My advice however is to focus more on wearing protective gear in the water, practicing good dive techniques, being very careful where you place your feet on entering & exiting some of the shore dive sites and to wear an effective sun block. Those are the things that have the highest probability of hurting you when diving.

[midas6t6]

As far as not being "needed: in Bonaire, It's probably not really needed 99.99% of the time but there's always a chance. I was on Bonaire last September and heard of a diver lost doing a boat dive - several Bonaire natives in town told my wife and I about it but didn't have much detail about it. Didn't hear anything after that day, so who knows if true? If true, it would have come in handy I'm sure.

[nautilusmike]

Peter, respectfully, I did look at the thread on this board. They have not shown they are approved. Only that they can't see why they shouldn't be allowed. There was a consensus that this unit should be okay - or the user didn't care as long as they were rescued, but nothing from the FCC. They relied upon the fact that a voluntarily equipped vessel did not need a license in USA waters, but a diver is not a vessel. And the FCC does not run on consensus. BOAT US did create a category for the EPIRB portion of this, but that portion doesn't allow chatting....it's strictly position location and personal information transmitted to the satellites.




Note the the reference to the fact that a licensed amateur radio operator may broadcast on any frequency in an emergency only covers licensed amateur operators in the USA.

And none of this means anything in foreign countries. Penalties in foreign countries can be much more sever than in the USA.

Beyond all this, Dr. Rich and Vince have the best responses....it is really not needed in Bonaire.

Hi,
Mike Lever here from the Lifeline. I am the inventor of the unit
If I understand your question properly, you are wondering if the unit is FCC approved???
If so, yes absolutely. The Lifeline has FCC, IC, CE and ETSI approvals (so far). It is also Rohs compliant and WEEE certified.
The US Coast Guard senior staff in Washington DC have examined the unit to their satisfaction. With several small changes to the firmware (v.58 update available on our website) the Lifeline is also fully compliant with the Rescue 21 initiative.
The unit is a no holds barred fully approved and certificated marine VHF radio that is DSC compliant
I hope this info is helpful??
No operator licence is required to use the unit in the U.S. and many other countries around the world (regulations vary)
No station or base unit is required to use the unit in the U.S. and many other countries around the world.
The Lifeline is being distributed and sold in Bonaire and the authorities there have been fully briefed to their satisfaction on the unit.
Safe diving!!
M

[Mossman]

As far as not being "needed: in Bonaire, It's probably not really needed 99.99% of the time but there's always a chance. I was on Bonaire last September and heard of a diver lost doing a boat dive - several Bonaire natives in town told my wife and I about it but didn't have much detail about it. Didn't hear anything after that day, so who knows if true? If true, it would have come in handy I'm sure.

And I can personally attest to the claim of broken ankles at isolated sites after J broke her ankle heading back to the truck at Old Blue (the ground shifted as she was walking up a slope with full gear/tank, she fell but her boot had good traction and kept her foot in place = spiral ankle fracture). Fortunately some other divers came by soon enough and helped me get her into the truck, but before they arrived I sure was wishing I had some way to call for help. Cell phones work great on the island, but they're not very helpful if you can't leave them in the truck lest they be stolen.

[Doctorfish]

Accidents happen when we are too complacent. I think that although rare, an untoward and unexpected event can occur on any dive at any time, including on Bonaire. The new Lifeline, in my opinion, is a valuable piece of safety equipment, even if it never comes out of the holster. Relying on other divers on shore, who may or not be there, and probably won't have a cell phone anyway ( because they get stolen if left in the truck ), is risky. Much better to be prepared and self reliant. I've had a few near misses over the years where a Lifeline would have been very handy to have clipped to my BC.

[Mike]

Has anyone used or considered the Nautilus lifeline in Bonaire

I am looking at purchasing a Nautilus Lifeline for my diving in general but would like to know if it is something that would be useful in Bonaire. On the one hand given that the diving is often isolated and with just a buddy pair with sometimes difficult entries and exits and unpredictable currents I can see how it might be very beneficial to summon help both onland and in the water. Does anyone know if it is legal in Bonaire and also given that boats are definately a secondry mode of diving would the channels even be monitored or would calls fall on deaf ears.

Thanks

My opinion is the Nautilus has very slim benefits as a rescue device. The range is so small, you're talking about basically a radio antenna less then 36 inches off the water, I've seen real world numbers of less then a 3 mile range with it. I don't know what 'authorities' are going to be monitoring channel 16 being close enough to pick that up. The most reliable function I see with that unit is being able to hail your dive boat if you're still in line of sight with it to tell them where you are. That's counting on them actually monitoring channel 16 on their VHF. If you have two you can talk to the other person as a personal walki-talki. But for relying on it as a real last ditch rescue device. I wouldn't stake my life on the Nautilus. You need a real PLB for that which will send out a distress call via satellites. 3 miles, 6 miles line of sight...that's a pretty small window of opportunity, once you're beyond it, you're alone.