SMBs getting pulled away...

[richies]

Hi

Apologies if this has already been covered...

Does anyone have any evidence for SMBs/DSMBs getting snagged by passing boats?
Or does anyone know of anything else that has caught an SMB and/or line, thereby causing the reel to be swiped out of their hand?


thanks

Rich

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I had someone on a personal watercraft pull mine up once. I was a little ticked and he was very surprised when I surfaced.

 

[CBulla]

My dive instructor had his SMB run over by a careless boater to which the line got snagged on the outdrive and he was pulled from 25' of water to skipping on his back behind the boat very quickly. He was with a group of 6 divers, so you can imagine how that went over with everyone in the water.

 

[HammerNoMore]

CBulla once bubbled...
My dive instructor had his SMB run over by a careless boater to which the line got snagged on the outdrive and he was pulled from 25' of water to skipping on his back behind the boat very quickly. He was with a group of 6 divers, so you can imagine how that went over with everyone in the water.

You should look for a new instructor. Someone who has reached instructor level without learning that you should not attach a SMB to yourself is dangerous IMHO.

James

 

[runvus4]

Hmm, all I was thinking when I read the story is that the DI needs to put a water-resistant boom box on his float and have a CD blasting "You are boating too close to this dive marker. Please sail away."

 

[richies]

Come to think of it, can anyone think of any reason to attach an SMB to you?


R

 

[blackice]

richies once bubbled...
Come to think of it, can anyone think of any reason to attach an SMB to you?


R

This thread has prove to be informative and has opened my eyes to the danger of attaching the SMB to my BC.

Currently our thinking was that it would ensure that the SMB was not lost and floated away, and it seemed to be the right idea - we have 7m of cord attached to the SMB, we figured that at 5m we put it up and have an extra 2m incase something happens.

But now I am thinking that this may not be the best way of doing it. My firend an instructor sugested doing this but I have been trusting him less and less as he says DIR is crap and doesn't like me buying a BP and harness.

I tend to think he is stuck in the PADI mentality and is not open to different ways of doing things.

Bottom line I'll be thinking about if a reel is better for the future.

 

[pasley]

blackice once bubbled...


This thread has prove to be informative and has opened my eyes to the danger of attaching the SMB to my BC....

I tend to think he is stuck in the PADI mentality and is not open to different ways of doing things.

Bottom line I'll be thinking about if a reel is better for the future.

His affiliation with PADI has nothing to do with it. Bottom line is that he has simply not done an adequate risk analysis of the situation and considered what could happen and what response could be.

This topic has been covered before and many sotries of people getting pulled up by someone thingking it was "lost" or snagging the line. Do not attach anything to you that will be an entanglement hazard or float on the surface.

As for DIR, I don't buy into it, but that is me and my diving. Other people are free to chose there own technique. The last DIR dirver I was out with had lots of problems, and was the only one that had to abort the dive, That does not mean DIR is bad, just that he was either having a bad day, or is not doing it right.