Diver rescued after drifting 16 hours near Bali

[Peter69_56]

John,

Been there in your situation to a much lesser degree and that was my main driver for a PLB and a lifeline as well. If you dive in any areas that have any chance of current you would be crazy not to get one. As I said to my wife (and minister for finance), it would be a nice thing to be floating in the water realising you may die with no way of telling people where you are thinking, gee I am glad I saved that $800.

 

[Mr. Black]

Do you know if these are a good investment outside of North America and the Caribbean? I'm not certain the authorities here would respond to one of these systems.

I carry an affordable small strobe on all my dives. It's handy for a lot of underwater marking opportunities, doesn't take up much space in a side pocket, and can be seen from very far away (especially from search aircraft).

For global applications and countries where you don't have a super advanced coast guard at your disposal you can get this canister: McMurdo Dive Canister - Star Marine Depot and house this unit InReach in it. That is truly global and goes to the GEOS Alliance coordination center GEOS SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) who will work out whom to involve to get you rescued (public and private sector) based on where you are located. It uses the Iridium satellite network which is truly global and as a bonus you have 2-way communication where the rescue coordination center will confirm receipt of your distress signal. In the water you would only have the device itself so you couldn't have an actual text conversation with them but they can confirm that rescue has been initiated and the device will show this by flashing your message light.....

 

[Peter69_56]

The PLB I have will trigger an alarm at the Australian Search & Rescue centre in Canberra, Australia. They then contact authorities near your location anywhere in the world and start the rescue process. At least I know no matter if the Fiji navy are not operating on weekends, that I have SAR people in OZ who know I am lost and my position. Hopefully they are making an effort to get someone out there to rescue me (compared to hoping the LDS is organising someone to come and look because the boat staff have said they lost a diver). The PLB is supposed to be accurate to 50 metres position.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

Those with a PLB take this additional step. Find out the contact phone number for the SAR monitoring center for the area you will be diving. Give this number to the dive boat and dive operation. It is now a very simple rescue. You trigger the PLB. When the boat recognizes your missing they call the SAR center on their SAT phone, or cell phone or contact the land based authorities to make the contact. The SAR monitoring center is interested in effecting a rescue as quickly as possible and will provide the dive operation with your GPS coordinates. The dive boat which is probably the closest method of rescue can then come and pick you up. No need then to get the Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard etc involved.

John

 

[MalibuJerry]

I carry a Nautilus Lifeline. It sounds like many people are recommending a second device. Given that I already have the Nautilus, which one would be the best to add, or is it even necessary?

DandyDon I use a Spot Tracker in the backcountry. It has the advantage that if you are delayed for some reason or need to bivouac overnight, but there is no emergency, you can signal the person who is supposed to report you did not return that you are okay. Also, if you put it on tracker and happen to become disabled (hit by a rock or fall and are unconscious) your contact can see exactly where you are.

 

[DandyDon]

Those with a PLB take this additional step. Find out the contact phone number for the SAR monitoring center for the area you will be diving. Give this number to the dive boat and dive operation. It is now a very simple rescue. You trigger the PLB. When the boat recognizes your missing they call the SAR center on their SAT phone, or cell phone or contact the land based authorities to make the contact. The SAR monitoring center is interested in effecting a rescue as quickly as possible and will provide the dive operation with your GPS coordinates. The dive boat which is probably the closest method of rescue can then come and pick you up. No need then to get the Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard etc involved.

John

Now that's a very interesting idea. I think my NOAA registered PLB is going to get them involved anyway, wherever I might use it - but still, providing the respective contact agency for the area could certainly help. I looked for a worldwide list...?

This claims to be worldwide, but while it does have numerous listings in the US and a few other countries, so many to cause confusion in my opinion, it's an interesting list: http://www.the911site.com/911sar/sar_25.htm

Wikipedia actually seems to have a good international list, if correct and up to date - a good place to start anyway: Search and rescue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or one can just google Search and Rescue (name of country)

 

[supergaijin]

It would be difficult for me to determine who to shoot first, the S**T for brains dive master/instructor or the S**T for brain dive operator.

Both should be banned from the profession

Seeing as everyone was eventually rescued, it seems the operator helped save lives. The ocean can be a beast- plain and simple. Those people who don't think it can happen to them are simply ignorant of the power and utter indifference of the ocean.

 

[JohnN]

Seeing as everyone was eventually rescued, it seems the operator helped save lives. The ocean can be a beast- plain and simple. Those people who don't think it can happen to them are simply ignorant of the power and utter indifference of the ocean.

Agreed, however the rescue as described, was pure dumb luck, not the result of any planning and the operator had no role in it.

There was no mention of a dSMB carried by either of the divers, it strikes me that a simple piece of equipment would have made this all a non-event.

 

[tracydr]

I've become sold on PLBs & Dive Canisters! I got the ACR 2881 more for inland adventures, off trail hikes, roads less traveled, out of cell range - and carry it in my car, easy to carry on hikes, etc. I know that most depend on their cell phones, and they make headlines everyday - even if they bodies are not always found.

For my last trip, I rented a Dive Canister and hung it from a D-ring - no problem. The ACR 2881 is buoyant & waterproof on the surface, and I'd hate for one to sink just when I needed it. It cannot withstand dive depths, but the canister protected it well.

Oh, the PLB is only $40/year - free replacement if needed! $250 including shipping (be careful as many sites charge much more!), $200 after rebate, good for 5 years, and if you ever need to use it - send it in with a good story for free replacement. ResQLink+ 406 Buoyant Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) | ACR ARTEX

I'm not sure it would have helped the two women stranded in the ice storm on Longs Peak recently but at least rescuers would have known where to look. Their cell phone batteries went dead shortly after the storm started and they were stranded above 13,000 feet. Thankfully, they survived and made it to safety.

 

[Shasta_man]

<<a simple piece of equipment would have made this all a non-event.>> Since we are talking Indonesia response times, I'm thinking you'll be spending some time drifting, which isn't going to feel like a non-event, but yeah, you'll get rescued quicker.