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WINTER 2014
GEAR
E
mergencies are rare in diving, especially when
divers follow established safety practices, dive
in environments for which they are trained
and dive within the scope of their skills,
physical fitness and experience. There are countless
diving opportunities around the world that present
an enormous range of conditions. This environmental
diversity leads to emergency situations that require
different responses and different equipment.
Many popular diving locations such as South Florida,
Cozumel, the Puget Sound and some parts of Fiji have
strong currents. Drift diving is popular in these places.
Occasionally divers are separated from their group or
boat in the currents. In these environments, all divers
should carry both visual and audible surface-signaling
devices. Many training organizations now require their
instructors to carry both types of devices at all times,
which demonstrates how critical they are to safety.
Audible signaling devices include whistles and air-
activated horns such as the DiveAlert. Visual signaling
devices include surface marker buoys (SMBs, or “safety
sausages”), signaling mirrors and even marine flares.
A slight ocean swell or some surface chop can make it
very difficult to find a lost diver without one of these
important yet relatively inexpensive safety devices.
Night diving is another popular diving activity. Divers
participating in night or limited-visibility dives should
always carry, in addition to their primary light, a backup
light, an emergency lighting system such as a glow stick
(also known as a Cyalume or chemical light stick) and a
surface strobe. The strobe is critical for recovery should
a diver become lost or separated on the surface in rough
seas or a strong current. Disorientation is fairly common
in night diving, so an easily readable depth gauge or a
large-display dive computer can help divers monitor
their depth and their rate of descent and ascent. A
compass, another important night-diving safety device,
could also become indispensable for finding and safely
returning to shore when diving in some temperate
locations where fog could roll in.
Most divers don’t think of boots and gloves as
safety equipment, but they can be. Obviously, these
afford thermal protection in cold water, but they also
provide protection from other aspects of the marine
environment. In some areas the use of dive gloves has
been discouraged in an effort to protect the reef, but
gloves can protect divers’ hands from cuts, abrasions
and irritation as they descend or ascend on anchor
or mooring lines. Gloves can also prevent cuts from
sharp metal on wrecks. A diver left behind by a boat
or carried away by a current might have to swim to
shore and walk across a reef or rocky terrain to exit the
water; foot protection could make a real difference in
the outcome for a diver stranded in a remote location.
A cutting tool is probably the smallest and least
expensive piece of safety equipment that could make
Equipment
for Dive
Emergency
Prevention
and Response
B Y M I C H A E L S T E I D L E Y
STEPHEN FRINK
