Dive buddy

[fabasard]

Rescue recovery Device.
I devised (20 years ago) a device that had an application as a diver rescue tool. Picture if you will, a 150' reel with a clip at one end (to clip to your BCD) and an inflatable balloon at the other (along with another clip). (The balloon has a one way valve on it so that it cannot over inflate. It serves two functions, one if you are trapped below water but your buddy can go get help, you clip in, inflate the balloon and let it rise to the surface. Your buddy goes up to get help and follows the balloon back down to find you. Second application is (it is a rare thing) when your dive boat leaves you, you clip in again and drop back to the bottom long enough to tie off to a rock. then go back to the surface. Now the tides will not move you from your location, so that when the boat realizes they left you and they return, you have not moved and are easy to find instead of having to searching hundreds of nautical miles for you.

 

[saxman242]

What's different about that than a dsmb?

 

[fabasard]

Other than i created it 20 years ago? The fact that my line was a metal designed not to break in current. And i had the thought to use it as a tieoff to a rock to keep you in place.

 

[SnohomishDiver]

Nice invention! You could substitute Dyneema cordage for the cable - lighter and stronger than stainless steel.

 

[Zef]

Other than i created it 20 years ago? The fact that my line was a metal designed not to break in current. And i had the thought to use it as a tieoff to a rock to keep you in place.

You assume there is a rock or even a bottom to tie off to. Also it may not be realistic from a safety standpoint for a diver to re-descend to make the tie-off as they may not have the air to support doing it, or the implication for DCS...they would then need to re-descend to unhook the device which could further complicate things or they would need to cut the line...if the line is metal as you stated, that could be problematic.

I am a bit adverse to tying my body or the gear attached to my body to anything in the water. I think it is much more prudent to plan a dive properly, communicate that plan effectively to the divemaster/boat captain, and then execute that dive plan with zero to little deviation, especially with regards to time to be on the surface and relative position to the entry point. Then the only time one should find themself stranded is if the boat needs to leave the area respond to an emergency. Any boat crew worth their salt should note the location the divers enter the water, the direction of the current, and the expected area and time the divers will surface....it is the responsibility of the divers, especially those not following a DM/guide, to be at the surface as planned and approximately where they indicated in their dive plan.

Plan your dive, dive your plan, and be responsible/accountable for your personal safety as it is your comfort/health/life that hangs in the balance.

-Z

 

[W W Meixner]

Rescue recovery Device.
I devised (20 years ago) a device that had an application as a diver rescue tool. Picture if you will, a 150' reel with a clip at one end (to clip to your BCD) and an inflatable balloon at the other (along with another clip). (The balloon has a one way valve on it so that it cannot over inflate. It serves two functions, one if you are trapped below water but your buddy can go get help, you clip in, inflate the balloon and let it rise to the surface. Your buddy goes up to get help and follows the balloon back down to find you. Second application is (it is a rare thing) when your dive boat leaves you, you clip in again and drop back to the bottom long enough to tie off to a rock. then go back to the surface. Now the tides will not move you from your location, so that when the boat realizes they left you and they return, you have not moved and are easy to find instead of having to searching hundreds of nautical miles for you.

Fab...

Clipping off any reel to yourself for any reason...with the line ''reeled out'' has never been an acceptable practice...

Get the line caught on a boat prop or skeg...and you'll understand why...real quick...

Having a wire rope line that is less likely to break if caught-up/snagged...makes the device that much more dangerous...

The clip...on reels that have them...is solely for transport...completely...''reeled in'' until needed...

Dive Safe...

Warren

 

[JackD342]

20 years later, this might be today's best choice, cost aside.
Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS - Free to use, Diver Rated to 425 ft. | Nautilus LifeLine

 

[Edward3c]

Apart from the issues already mentioned about going back down, anchoring yourself to the spot might mean you’re not found by the search party. Rescuers normally calculate the tide direction and strength and then search in that area. They don’t waste their time going to the spot where you would have drifted from.

You’d be better off carrying a surface marker or a EPIRB.

 

[fabasard]

True about the GPS, but the whole purpose of the wire is so that it doesn't break. I is designed to be coiled up, until needed then rolled out to save your life. If they became popular then it would be a logical thing for the boat to go back and see if they are where they were left, then searching outward from there. It is designed to be tied off to a rock at the bottom and then let out so that you can float on the surface attached to said rock. if it cuts away because the coral cut it, then it fails at its job of keeping you in place. That is the whole design of it, to keep you in place. You inflate your BCD fully and wait at the surface to be rescued and start your law suit. But I digress, yes, the GPS is a better solution now, or perhaps both....

 

[Zef]

Perhaps there are reasons this has adopted this in the years since you came up with concept. Perhaps those reasons are obvious. Good luck with this endeavor.

-Z