How do you anchor your dive float, and how do you retrieve it.
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How do you anchor your dive float, and how do you retrieve it.
Hi everyone.
I was just curious how everyone goes about anchoring their dive float and how you go about retrieving it after a dive.
This may sound like a basic question but after talking to a few people i havent heard the same answer twice.
Let me know how you do it.
I am not really concerned about towing a flag because i wont do it. I have seen people entangled in their own line and have heard of other people getting entangled in others lines while swiming by. i will take the fine over hazard any day.
The one time I truly thought I was going to die underwater was many years ago when I was a new diver and I was towing a float with thin nylon string and got myself hoplessly entangled in the stuff.
I have noticed a trend lately of sport divers using reels for towing flags. It looks "cool' because it is "techie." Reels are intended to be used for cave and wreck diving by technical divers. A significant amount of training and practice is actually required to use reels safely. Small diameter line that is not kept tight is prone to get tangled around everything, including divers and their equipment. For towing a float in open water a larger diameter cord or rope will work better. Polypropylene will float away from the diver. Using a large (10 to 18 inch) frame flat reel similar to those used for electrical cords will simplify deployment and retreival.
I use cheap polypro line, which and have the majority of it wrapped around the buoy secured with a couple of half hitches so that it won't unravel whilst swimming. Once at the dive site I look for an appropriate place to tie it off and then up wrap the line from the buoy, submerge and tie off. You can also use a small mushroom anchor if you are diving in an area with a sandy bottom, but I have never had a whole lot of luck with these. Remember some times you have to tow a buoy if for no other reason then staying within the law in your jurisdiction about being within X number of yards/meters of your flag. You can also, with proper training, learn to shoot an SMB from depth and this will allow you to leave your dive flag in one place.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE DANGER: Scuba diving is a dangerous sport, and can lead to injury, disability or death. Always dive within the limits of your training, skills and experience. ... You can die while diving. (stolen from LV tech manual)
My favorite dive float I made using a boogie board and I clipped a small lobster bag to the bottom to hold anchor and line during transit in and out of the surf to the dive site. The leash gave me something to hold onto to tow it and you can actually ride it back in
Here in my state the law requires that the dive flag be anchored. I have a reel with 150 feet of line attached to the float. When I swim to the place where I am going to anchor the float, I dive to the bottom and wrap the line around and around a BIG rock and then clip off the line to the reel.
Usually the tie-off location is somewhere easy to find. For instance, on a slope at a fixed depth, or a dive platform, etc. At the end of the dive I just navigate back to the flag, un-clip, un-tie and head home.
Sometimes the visibility is only 1 or 2 feet, and it becomes difficult to find the reel. On those days, I merely ascend to the surface (carefully listening for boat traffic) to find the float. Usually it's not too far away if my navigation has been correct. Then it's easy to swim over the the float and descend along the line to the reel.
Dive flag is not required in Oregon, but it is recommended. Also, instructions to boaters about the dive flag is included in the boater manual.
I use a small anchor and polypro line attached to the buoy-flag and let out what line is needed from a "plastic rope wrapper". When I finish my dive I go to the anchor and free it from whatever it has got itself hung-up on, wrap the rope up and clip it to the buoy and tow it in to the rocks.
Obviously, when diving from my boat, I fly a dive flag and sometimes even 2 flags - including the international one. I will also, sometimes, leaving my small anchor in my boat, cast off my portable buoy-flag and let it drift a bit down current from the boat. This gives some extra warning to the surrounding boats.
For local (fresh-water) diving I increasingly favor a screw-in anchor. Much easier to swim out and back to shore, holds great.
When retrieving the anchor I unscrew it and gather the line into generous loops as I slowly ascend, keeping tension on the line so it's in front of me and can't get caught on me or my gear.
I use a short piece of clear plastic tubing to cover the very sharp end of the anchor when it's not deployed.
If leading dives is herding cats, is leading training dives herding Schrodinger's cats?
And the SB Politeness Award goes to . . . Doc Vikingo, for "I find this assertion not compelling." The measure of a good dive plan is its impermeability.
Poor dive plans, on the other hand, tend to be water-soluble.
I use a 8 lb lead weight I cast with an eye hook in it. My line is a polypropelene glow in the dark 1/4' line 30' long with clips tied on each end. When setting the buoy in shallow water I just tie a loop under the buoy.
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