Get Some Smoke!!!

scubagit

I have always been of the opinion that we as divers should share experiences (good or bad) so that others may learn something.
Anyway, just got back from a weekend in Baltimore with aquaventures. We were diving Kedge Island and included in the brief was head south for depth and North towards the Island for shallower water.
We (3 of us) wanted some depth as we were to dive the U260 the following morning and asked to be dropped in to 35m and we would work shallow.
When we reached the bottom we were at 38m and when we started to fin North, we realised that there was a strong current (we were going backwards) and that the only option was to abandon the dive.
So after a nice controlled ascent we reached the surface and noticed that we had drifted quite a distance and that there was a fairly large swell building. In between troughs we could see that the boat had not yet seen us despite having SMB's and was getting further away fast.
So anyway, we linked up so as not to get separated and made the decision to use red smoke to signal our position to the skipper.
After a few seconds we could see the boat on it's way and even though there was no panic, it was a great relief to be seen.
When back on board we asked the skipper how far we had drifted south and he said it was approx 1 mile, and that he would not have seen us in the swell but for the red smoke.
So for the sake of a relatively cheap piece of kit (approx €50) we avoided a very nasty experience not only for ourselves, but for everyone in the group.
I would therefore encourage all divers to carry a surface kit of some kind as we did, and to include a day/night flare which has a flare on one end and smoke on the other and some snap lights etc.
You never need these things until you need them and after last weekend, there are a boat load of people who will be buying them for starters.

Scuba.ie

Glad to hear you were all ok! So where did you buy your flare/smoke signal?

aodhu

This may be a silly question but would a whistle have worked in this situation or would you have been to far away?

Pigeon Reaper

There was a SAR operation a few weeks ago near Dalkey which could probably have been avoided if the divers had smoke/flares. It not easy spotting people in the water at the best of times so I would always welcome anyway of increasing visiblity.

Pigeon Reaper

Two divers were picked up on Tuesday evening after becoming seperated from the boat. I was out training in some ribs when the call came through. Weather conditions where excellent with a force 2-3 blowing, visibility was over five NM. Wave height was aound 2-3 feet ie less than a metre. The boat crew was correct in calling the coastguard when they couldn't locate the divers but this could have been avoided if the divers had smoke with them. Conditions where good and a number of other boats including kayaks where in the area none of which experienced difficulties. A simple smoke flare would have meant that the boat could have found the divers without tasking helicopters and lifeboats. It would also have meant that the divers would have been out of the water quickly and without as much anxiety.

patto_chan

Some useful hints here on how to avoid being abandoned.

As well as SMBs I have a folding (telescopic) flag and a personal locator beacon (PLB).

Where did you get your smoke flares?

Peace

patto_chan wrote:

Some useful hints here on how to avoid being abandoned.

As well as SMBs I have a folding (telescopic) flag and a personal locator beacon (PLB).

Where did you get your smoke flares?

That link was good reading patto, cheers!

scubagit

Apologies folks,
I completely forgot to check for replies to the post. You can get the pains wessex day/night flare for about €50 in Western Marine in Bullock harbour lat time I checked or go to www.pwss.co.uk and they will give you a list of stockists.
Thanks for the interest.