Using Surface Marker Buoys

Searcaigh · Oct 7, 2011

Following the recent posts about divers being left behind, and also my own personal perception of divers that I have met over the years, I was just wondering how many actually carry a Surface Market Buoy (SMB) or Safety Sausage.

On some places I have dived this is mandatory, but certainly around the Arabian Gulf area it is rare to see anything like this attached to other divers' BCs.

Not interested in whistles (usually attached to most BCs anyway) mirrors or Dive Alerts, just SMBs

fisheater · Oct 7, 2011

Every dive.

Home and on vacation.
Shore and boat dives.
Drysuit and wetsuit.

Every dive.

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fjpatrum · Oct 7, 2011

I haven't actually learned to deploy mine (at depth) yet, but I will be carrying it on every dive now that I actually have it. (Got delayed in shipping before my last 3 dives or I would have already started.)

Rhone Man · Oct 7, 2011

For many years I didn't, but having found a convenient and inobtrusive way to secure it to my rig, I now carry it every dive. It just sits in their snugly and undisturbed.

I have only ever deployed an SMB once in anger though, and I have never used my Dive Alert.

raoulsttexas · Oct 7, 2011

Every dive. I'm still searching for a better way to attach it and keep it more streamlined. It's just slightly too big (with finger spool) to fit in the pocket. It dangles a bit more than I'd like.

TSandM · Oct 7, 2011

I carry an SMB on every boat dive, no matter where or what. I carry one on a lot of shore dives, too. I had gotten out of the habit of doing so, when we had a night where Peter thought he had bad gas, and we ended up sharing air and I thought we were going to do a direct ascent from 80 feet. A no reference ascent in the dark while sharing gas is within my sphere of competence but not really comfort; having a bag to shoot would have made the whole situation low-stress. So I went back to carrying one all the time. I keep it in my dry suit pocket.

Walt Stearns · Oct 7, 2011

When it comes to carrying a SMB, I look at it like carrying American Express, if it’s in the ocean don’t dive without it! As for finding away to carry one that is both out of the way till needed and streamlined ot my body, I currently favor Zeagle's little deluxe signal tube kit which can be easily be attached to most BCD's, technical harness and back plates.

Actually we ran a feature in the Underwater Journal (UWJ-issue15.pdf) that goes into detail what types there and why anyone who dives in the ocean should carry one.

drbill · Oct 7, 2011

I do NOT carry one when diving local waters, but do so when I'm traveling elsewhere. Our dive sites are almost all close to shore due to the steep dropoffs around most of Catalina Island's leeward coast where we dive (exceptions being Ship Rock, Farnsworth Bank, etc).

Jim Lapenta · Oct 7, 2011

It's in my pocket on every dive. Usually end up shooting it for nothing more than training purposes on every outing. I teach deployment of it from depth in my OW plus and AOW classes.
Not carrying one in in anything bigger than a quarry or small lake is just plain foolish IMO. Not only is it useful for ascents when the downline cannot be reached but it also lets boats know something is coming up and that can be a very good thing.

oldogre · Oct 7, 2011

Allways. I dive wet, SMB & 30m. spool connected, SMB bungied to backplate, spool clipped to rt. waist D ring. If not used in anger, practised regularly. It is great buoyancy practice!

Using Surface Marker Buoys

Do you carry an SMB

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Searcaigh

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fisheater

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TSandM

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