| A basic concept in most rescue diver courses is self | | | | Snorkels |
| rescue to keep your self from being lost at sea dive, | | | | You want to get me worked up try telling me why you |
| training is important but should it happen having 4 | | | | are such a pro that you don't need a snorkel! What a |
| pieces of scuba diving equipment with you will make | | | | load of smelly poop, with the exceptions of night |
| you chances of being rescued significantly higher and | | | | manta dives, or penetration dives on silt layered |
| they are useful tools on most adventure scuba diving | | | | wrecks or caves, I always have my snorkel attached |
| trips. Like the Boy Scouts say be prepared! | | | | to my mask! I have been in flat seas more than once |
| Plastic Whistles, Safety Sausages, Snorkels and a | | | | with no wind, and came up with a thunderstorm that |
| Light. | | | | was over the horizon at the start of dive, whipping up |
| The 4 best things to have are a loud plastic whistle, a | | | | 2.5 meter seas in 45 minutes. If you come up away |
| long safety sausage, a snorkel and a light. The good | | | | from the boat or the boat can't see more than 100 |
| thing is this dive equipment will all fit in a dive pocket | | | | meters, you could be in for an exhausting 20 minutes |
| quite easily, and are relatively cheap dive gear to buy, | | | | or more fighting for breathe while swallowing and |
| so there is no reason not to have them. | | | | puking Neptune tea. |
| Plastic whistles | | | | A Pocket Light |
| Plastic whistles don't rust and they don't run out of air | | | | A LED pocket light is very handy for looking in holes in |
| to sound them until it becomes moot. Sound carries a | | | | the day time for pipe fish and crabs and nudibrachs. I |
| real long way on the water, especially at night. Most | | | | am especially drawn to extended battery life that the |
| modern "BCD's" Buoyancy Control Devices have one | | | | LED's provide, most go almost 8 hours before you |
| built in, usually attached to the low pressure inflator, | | | | need to change the battery, this could be the |
| right next to where your mouth is. Another option is air | | | | difference that gets you found if you are a drift on the |
| powered horns also attached to the low pressure | | | | open ocean at night. They can be used in a couple of |
| inflator mechanism in a variety of ways. Air horns are | | | | ways, placed inside the safety sausage which will |
| even better at producing signal, put are not fool proof | | | | stand out as a beacon for a long way at night, again |
| as they are mechanical and can have any number of | | | | elevated, moving and out of place will get it seen. The |
| things make them non-operational, and you will | | | | 2nd way is to point it at boats, planes and helicopters |
| eventually run out of tank pressure to sound them. 50 | | | | and do the classic SOS, Save Our Souls, 3 long, 3 |
| bar of air will give you a lot of bursts, but as the | | | | short, 3 long. Remember do this by moving your hand |
| pressure in the tank decreases, so does the volume. | | | | over the lens, not by turning the switch on and off |
| Safety Sausages | | | | which heightens the possibility of an equipment failure |
| Safety sausages are mostly orange with some being | | | | when you need it least. |
| yellow. Searchers can spot these on the surface from | | | | Military, rescuers and commercial vessels, including high |
| a long way off for 2 reasons, one they are orange | | | | flying commercial flights will all respond to an SOS if |
| which instinct makes you pay attention to as it is | | | | they see it, if fact, are required by maritime law and |
| usually associated with danger in the wild. The 2nd | | | | tradition to respond if it does not put them or their ships |
| reason is that they are out of the water, in the air, and | | | | in danger. With the long burn time of a LED you should |
| can be made to wave which further increases there | | | | get one maybe even two nights or more out of the |
| visibility; again humans are hard wired in our reptilian | | | | batteries. A light turned on pointing at a boat in the day |
| brains to see things that move for food and safety. | | | | time can be seen for a long way off, and when the |
| The main draw back is that they can not be seen at | | | | batteries die you can use it as a mirror in the day time |
| night unless, they are illuminated some how. As they | | | | to flash people a long way off to bring attention to you |
| have no movable parts or batteries they are Kiss | | | | including planes and helicopters. |
| simple provided they don't have a leak, and even with | | | | As usual the best defense is a good offence, keep |
| a leak they will float so can still be seen from the air, or | | | | the software in your head engaged, stay within your |
| decks on boats that are elevated. It also a good idea | | | | dive abilities and training, be aware of strong currents, |
| as a diver to mark where you are coming up at so | | | | monitor local weather forecasts, keep your dive gear |
| boats doesn't run over you. Many safety sausages will | | | | in good order and plan your dive and dive your plan . |
| also have a plastic whistle attached to sleeve that | | | | These will always be your best bet from being Lost at |
| stores them, a good feature to look for when you are | | | | Sea. |
| shopping for dive gear. | | | | |