Safety Sausage or Dive Alert

[milehi]

I was on a dive in St. Marteen last month and surfaced about 200 yds from the dive boat in fairly heavy swells . Had plenty of air left , but got me to thinking about if I was low on air or needed assistance . So I'm thinking of purchasing a signaling device . Which would be the better device , the Safety Sausage (visual only) or the Dive Alert (audible only) ?

 

[wishihadgills]

I would recommend that you get a safety sausage and a simple whistle to attract attention. The whistle doesn't take up much space and can be hung on the bc and the deco. buoy, well, that has a lot of usefulness, besides making you more visible on the surface.

 

[scubakat]

-kate

 

[devjr]

What is a "safety sausage"?

 

[Green_Manelishi]

it is a sausage with no nitrites or nitrates, filler, or
meat-by-products. It is meat and spices through and through.

think SURFACE MARKER BUOY (bouy?)

 

[devjr]

Thanks, I figured it was a floater of some kind. How is it inflated? What size. What keeps it inflated? Maybe similar to a Riffe's trailing line float for spearfishermen?

 

[TexasMike]

Inflated by sticking your 2nd inside the opening and pressing the purge button (like adding air to lift bag). Length varies by manufacturer and model, but 5 to 6 feet is suggested so it can be seen over swells. Like a lift bag, it is somewhat impermeable to air.

 

[TexasMike]

What would you folks think about adding a wide band (or three of reflective tape to the end of your sausage to aid in spotting it during a night situation when the boat is using a spot light?


Also, do you think it might be a decent idea to add a small tube of sunscreen to your BC pocket? I'm thinking of the instance when for some reason, it takes a while to get picked up by the boat and with the reflection of the water, your chance of getting charred would be pretty drastic.

 

[cwtan]

Shine your torch into the 'sausage' when it is fully inflated. This will illuminate the entire 'sausage' like a giant cylume stick (or light stick).

 

[large_diver]

http://www.halcyon.net/mc/07a_mc.shtml

Here is an example of a safety sausage/marker. Not all require inflation via second stage -- some are inflated orally; others have a special valve you can hook your LP BC inflator hose to.