Diver-down Flag use.

Has anyone been fined or warned by the Coast Guard about not using a dive flag - or improperly displaying it?


According to the Ontario Underwater Council:

" The Red and White diver down flag which all sport divers should be using is a courtesy flag and requests that boaters keep a safe distance and the Canadian Coast Guard suggests 100 feet. The blue and white Alpha Flag is recognized by the Canadian Coast Guard and carries regulations that boaters MUST stay clear at least 100 feet. This flag is to be displayed in a way that it can be seen from all directions. "

I haven't seen any alpha flags used where I dive - does anyone use them in Ontario (or North America)? and anyone know what the laws are for New York state - will be diving there this summer.


There is an interesting thread on diver-down flags: Diver-down

If you dive in Fathom Five in Tobermory without a dive flag you can get fined, it is the only place I know that a fine has actually been given and if memory is right I believe it was $75. You also have to have a plastic little badge that clips on to your bc with a number on it that is good for the year. ( cost $8) Weird that the gov makes you pay to dive in public waters. I am waiting to get taxed to breath.

is actually for a vessel, and means that it has limited mobility... stear clear. It is not used specifically for diving, but any time that a vessel has limited mobility, like when attending divers, or if they are experiencing engine problems.

The Diver's down flag, while not specifically approved by all of the navies of the world is still almost universally recognised and has only one meaning... a diver is in the water.

........actually means the vessel has limited mobility because it is conducting underwater activities. It is not used by divers, but is used by vessels.

We have both rigged to run up a halyard... but the only time I've had a problem with the authorities was when I was heading out of the harbor and the red~n~white flag had been left up.... they felt the need to come along side and tell me that the flag needed to come down and could only be flown when a diver was actually in the water.... I smiled and said, "OK." and pulled it down.

We fly both the diver flag and the alpha flag when on station and it means different things to different boaters....

To some it means... dive boat ~ stay away... and they do....

To others it means... dive boat ~ let's ask them to get our anchor... and they do...

To still others it means... dive boat ~ they will scare all the fish... and they cruise by slowly & glare at us as we suit up...

To others it means... dive boat ~ when they splash let's board the boat and steal their stuff... so far they haven't...

And finally to others.... usually Bayliner drivers at max wake angle trailing tinsel streamers and twirling spinners from their radio antennas... it means.... nothing at all... and they plow right on by as close as possible... oblivious to the chaos their wake causes behind them... pressing on in their relentless pursuit of *the destination*... afraid to deviate from *the course*... refusing to see anything along *the way*... including our boat or our divers in the water.... or our little flags...

Originally posted by Uncle Pug
To still others it means... dive boat ~ they will scare all the fish... and they cruise by slowly & glare at us as we suit up...

Click to expand...

We have that sort of thing in New England, but it's slightly different...

dive boat ~ they will break into all the lobster traps and steal our catch... and they pull up and threaten to shoot us if they see us come up with any bugs.

It means :
"Hey check out the flag!
,Let's buzz around it or use it for a slolum course,
just for the hell of it."!

There's just something about a jetski,
that magnifes the ******* factor in a person.

Mike D

You also have to have a plastic little badge that clips on to your bc with a number on it that is good for the year. ( cost $8) Weird that the gov makes you pay to dive in public waters.

Click to expand...

Toby is not exactly "public waters", it's actually Fathom Five National Marine Park; one of the few freshwater sanctuaries on the planet. There is a similar tag policy in effect in Bonaire, which is also a Marine Sanctuary in the Netherland Antilles.

Divers are not the only ones paying fees. There are regular park fees, camping fees, mooring fees and the like. However, divers' fees go towards a number of things:

1) The nice scuba-friendly docks that were built in the Tugs/Harbour for divers to use. (These are the ones that are across from the Cheecheemaun dock).
2) Restoration of wrecks, esp The Sweepstakes, which was made more "diver friendly".
3) Moorings so dive boats wouldn't have to put down anchors or otherwise damage wrecks.
4) The hyperbaric chamber.
5) Ongoing research into flora & fauna studies (above & below the water) such as the zebra mussel scourge.

I could go on...

Here's a link to the official Parks Canada Website for Tobermory

http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/ontario/fathom_five/fathom_five_e.htm

BTW, my Bro In Law was a diver for Parks Canada. He was one of the people who worked on the Sweepstakes.

~SubMariner~

Originally posted by SubMariner


Toby is not exactly "public waters", it's actually Fathom Five National Marine Park; one of the few freshwater sanctuaries on the planet. There is a similar tag policy in effect in Bonaire, which is also a Marine Sanctuary in the Netherland Antilles.

Divers are not the only ones paying fees. There are regular park fees, camping fees, mooring fees and the like. However, divers' fees go towards a number of things:

1) The nice scuba-friendly docks that were built in the Tugs/Harbour for divers to use. (These are the ones that are across from the Cheecheemaun dock).
2) Restoration of wrecks, esp The Sweepstakes, which was made more "diver friendly".
3) Moorings so dive boats wouldn't have to put down anchors or otherwise damage wrecks.
4) The hyperbaric chamber.
5) Ongoing research into flora & fauna studies (above & below the water) such as the zebra mussel scourge.

I could go on...

Here's a link to the official Parks Canada Website for Tobermory

http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/ontario/fathom_five/fathom_five_e.htm

BTW, my Bro In Law was a diver for Parks Canada. He was one of the people who worked on the Sweepstakes.

~SubMariner~

Click to expand...

when you put it that way and educate us on what the money goes for it makes us feel good to pay knowing you are getting something. The sweepstake is done nice now and your right I was at the dock where the tugs are last summer and was also very nice.

I have a few Bonaire tags and many toby tags, and don't mind paying at all. In fact I think more places should have the same policys as long as the money was going to the enjoyment of the underwater areas for the future. It is also a bit of a keep sake from the area to remind you of diving there.

As for dive flags, I have a good story about jet skis. There was a bunch of us out diving when along came two jets skis. For about 5-10 mins they went around our dive flags like pylons in an obsticle course. There were several people on shore who were with us that went after the Jet Skiers. They met them at the place where they rented the jet skies that was not far from where we were diving and asked them if they had any clue what those things in the water were. Of course they did not. It goes a long way to promoting this new boating licence they have. The more edjucated people on the water are the safer everyone will be!