In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we discuss why the common diver down flag is not good enough.
Welcome To The Show!
Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.
The U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Resource Center reports that from 2005 to 2013 boat-propeller strikes caused 636 injuries and 38 deaths of people engaged in water activities (boating, water skiing, swimming, snorkeling, diving, tubing, etc.); 442 of these injuries and 29 of these deaths were caused by a person being struck by a vessel.
Within the Asia-Pacific, DAN World has reports of 31 known scuba/snorkeling fatalities between 2009 and 2018 resulting from boat strike/propeller fatalities; however, this figure is likely to be significantly higher as not all cases are reported for incidents occurring within our region.
With divers this is significant and there are laws on the books for both divers and boaters requiring the use of a dive flag. Now there are all kinds of technical specifications about the colors pattern, rigidity, height, and dimensions. But here’s the problem – if a boat is traveling in the same direction as the wind – whether with it or against it, the flag is not visible. It’s just a stick on a float. And even if its not about the wind direction, other factors such as the sea state and glare of the sun reflecting off the water, or rain or fog, can all affect dive flag visibility.
The Need For 360 Degree Dive Flags/Buoys
For this reason there is a new push to create a three dimensional dive flag. Now in 2014 it was passed into law that 3 d flags and buoys would be allowed. But recently due to a tragic boat strike on a freediver on Thanksgiving Day of 2019 there has become a greater awareness of the need for a better diver down flag.
So, today I have invited Robert Carmichael CEO of Brownies Marine Group to have have a discussion on this topic since his company engineered the Brownies 3D Buoy. In it we talk about the false sense of security of the common dive flag and the need for improvement. But don’t think this is an infomercial for the Brownies 3D Buoy, Robert is quick to point out that if new legislation comes down the pike for a better dive flag all industry stakeholders must get together to design something for everyone.
You’ll see he’s not pushing his product, he’s pushing the need for a better dive flag and law. Now me on the other hand, I’m actually unashamedly pushing his product because Ive used it and am totally converted on it. And I will tell you all the reasons why.
Items In This Episode
- Brownies 3D Dive Buoy
- DAN Dive Flag Guidelines
- Fish & Wildlife Commission Dive Signaling Device Law (Florida)
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Thanks For Listening!
That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com . There you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.
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