Dive flag / bouy and where to keep it

[scubadada]

If you mean SMB, as @scubadada has shown...

I call the above, a flag. For me SMBs, DSMBs are the tube things we use on the surface or from depth to mark our location . I use a finger spool with those.

Hi @Dennisrl84

You should become familiar with these. Very important for your drift diving should you become separated from the flag you are diving on. In Boynton Beach, every diver or group has a flag. In West Palm and Jupiter, there is generally one flag with the guide, not uncommon to ascend on your own on your SMB. It is always possible to get separated from the flag, if you are not carrying it.

 

[Zef]

Sorry, I am not familiar with the term SMB or DSMB?

Surface Marker Buoy / Delayed Surface Marker Buoy

DSMB is deployed from depth. SMB is deployed once one is on the surface

DSMB with over pressure valve (OPV) - as the air expands as the device rises in the water column air will auto-vent through the OPV.

DSMB with open bottom - the expanding air vents out the open bottom. tension must be kept on the line attached to this so that it stays upright at the surface or it will have tendency to tip over and deflate.

SMB - this is deployed at the surface as there is no way for air to escape as it expands while the device rises through the water column):

More info:
Surface marker buoy - Wikipedia

-Z

 

[Gareth J]

There may be slight differences in language between various parts of the world

SMB - Surface Marker Buoy. Inflated prior to the dive, attached to a reel. As a diver descends he pays out line from the reel. On ascent, he/she reels in the slack line. Provides permanent indication of the divers position throughout the dive.

DSMB - Delayed Surface Marker Buoy. Like an SMB, except, inflated underwater by the diver prior to ascent. Often used on a wreck dive, where the divers location is known under water, i.e. they are on the wreck. Deployed as they leave the wreck and drift clear. Especially useful if the diver will drift some distance prior to surfacing (high currents or decompression stops).

Flag - Generally a folding flag. Used for diver - boat separation. A divers head is a small object to see from a boat. A DSMB helps considerably, a flag is even better.

P.S. Experiments have been carried out to see what is easier to see when searching for a diver. The RNLI and Coastguard test concluded.
- Orange is easier seen when looking form a boat, i.e. when low on the water. Generally the orange stands out better against the sky. In bright sunlight it was often seen as a dark line against the pale / bright sky.
- Yellow was easier from the helicopter. i.e. when looking down form height. Generally the Yellow stands out better against the sea. A pale item, on a dark sea.

 

[scubadada]

Interesting, @Gareth J is from the UK, @Zef is from Belgium, I am from the US, some differences in nomenclature. I have never seen a folding flag in the US. I was given one to dive with on a liveaboard, they swore by them.

 

[Zef]

Interesting, @Gareth J is from the UK, @Zef is from Belgium, I am from the US, some differences in nomenclature. I have never seen a folding flag in the US. I was given one to dive with on a liveaboard, they swore by them.

Zef is from the US....he currently lives in Belgium.


-Z

 

[Gareth J]

A picture of a diver with a folding flag can be found in this article.

Remember, a torch, especially in poor light is a good signalling device if you are separated from the boat.

 

[Gareth J]

Zef is from the US....he currently lives in Belgium.


-Z

We all have crosses to bear, I'm not saying which is the cross

 

[NothingClever]

....I had one with a handle and I generally clipped it to the shoulder ring on my BCD because holding it was annoying. I would get wrapped up in it but found no good place to put it near my back.

Mate, I recommend you NOT clip off a line from the surface to you (your kit). The reward (avoiding an annoyance) is completely overshadowed by the risk (getting dragged or involuntarily entangled with something you can’t reach or control).

And if you’re getting snarled in line, that’s something you need to train past, especially in OW diving where you have relatively good-to-excellent visibility and mobility. For me, it’s easier to move my body around a lightly tensioned line while in good flat trim than it is to move the line around my body. I switch hands a lot to give one a rest and even just let go of my reel if I have to fiddle with a gas switch, etc (but that requires good buoyancy control to not get separated from your reel/spool).

Sounds like you could use some face-to-face coaching. The internet’s a good start for general orientation but consider heading to a high quality LDS to ask how the cool kids do it.

 

[rhwestfall]

two options come to mind, and they are as follows:

1. I have a loop of bungie attached to the reel. I can stick my wrist through it, and the reel is "attached" to my wrist by it. It very easily pulls off my wrist if I had an issue...

2. If I was to affix it to my person, I'd probably either use something like a snorkel keeper (easily broken), or a magnetic holder that can easily separate...

YMMV

 

[Zef]

We all have crosses to bear, I'm not saying which is the cross

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts...
-Shakespeare, As you Like it, Act II, Scene VII