Surface Detection Equipment

After reading docmartin's recent post what would you have done? I considered how minimal emphasis, with all due respect, is given to emergency surface detection equipment in the PADI OW course.
Should surface detection equipment be mandatory for all divers? I would think so. It seems concomitant with being an independent diver.
If it is necessary equipment then shouldn't we be trained to check for such equipment during a buddy check?
It seems that it can never hurt to be safer both underwater and at the surface. If so then then maybe this should be better reflected in diver training.

I was on a wreck dive last weekend and our shop had an AOW class going along with the wreck dive. One of the students was in a drysuit and buddied up with a guy in a wetsuit.

The student in the drysuit had an inflation problem with his drysuit and came to the surface involuntarily (not too rapidly, thank goodness). The buddy didn't see this happen and continued on. The drysuit student was picked up by another boat (which happened to be a private boat with one of our shop's instructors on board, by coincidence) as the surface current would not allow him to swim back to our boat.

The reason that the drysuit student was spotted with minimal stress on everyone's part was whichever surface signalling device he was carrying (I forget which one.).

My point is that if only one person is carrying the marker device, they may get into trouble and not be able to deploy it. In poor visibility it is possible for buddies to get separated, especially with a current in the picture.

It doesn't take much room for both divers in the buddy team to carry their own signalling device and use only one if they wind up lost on the surface together.

...a couple months ago which involved me getting separated from my buddy and the wall in <20' viz with a deco obligation in a tidal current that was taking me away from the the cove where the boat was.... Yep, I am now an advocate for a visible surface marker. Lucky for me the alert boat captain got in the chase boat and found me. I had already started very slowly progressing against the current, but it would have been at least hour or more before I got back to the boat. My endurance is not a problem - I would have eventually got there. The biggest concern was being a hundred yards out into Resurrection Bay in a channel that is frequented by many weekend warrior boaters, local wildlife and glacier cruise ships, ferries, fishing charters, commercial fishing boats and barges that may not see a diver's head before it thunks on their hull!! I now keep a sausage clipped to my rig on EVERY dive! My buddy skills (unless otherwise planned) have also improved since then...
On the other hand, I don't believe in mandatory personal safety requirements for recreation. I don't use a helmet when I ride my horses. I use a seatbelt every time I'm on a road in a moving vehicle and use a helmet when I ride a motorcycle, but I strongly disagree with seatbelt and helmet laws. I believe it should be personal choice.... Hey - if nothing else it's job security for me

diverbrian once bubbled...
It doesn't take much room for both divers in the buddy team to carry their own signalling device and use only one if they wind up lost on the surface together.

Click to expand...

My buddy and I each carry 2 big, bright orange markers and 2 reels...

We mount the marker tubes rolled up on the bottom of the BCs in the back with surgical tubing loops. This way one is always reachable by either hand. They are completely out of the way but easily reachable when needed.

The larger reel gets cliped to a right side bottom D-ring and the small reel goes in the opposit side pocket.

Admitiedly, we are tech divers but I always carry at least one of them and my small reel even on shallow rec dives now as well. It goes centered in the back between my tank and my behind using the middle tubing loops leaving the two end loops empty (my old jacket BC only has 2 loops for carying one bag this way).