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