There are few things more frightening for a scuba diver than ascending from a dive to discover that your dive boat is nowhere in sight. It is at this time that emergency dive flags and other devices designed to signal to any potential rescuer are vital.

It may seem like an unlikely scenario yet it is one that was the basis for the recent blockbuster film ‘Open Water’. The film itself was based on the true cases of Tom and Eileen Lonergan who were abandoned by the Queensland based Great Barrier Reef dive boat ‘Outer Edge’ . The dive boat skipper discovered their belongings two days after they had been left behind and a five day search proved fruitless. Some of their equipment washed up on a beach a few weeks later but their bodies were never found. In 2007 four divers were left behind by a UAE dive boat and 2008 saw a party of French and British divers drift for 12 hours and two days on a desert island before being rescued.

Worryingly this phenomenon is increasingly common and divers would be well advised to ensure that they carry the appropriate equipment, such as emergency dive flags and SMBs to give potential rescuers the best chance of locating them. Many professional diving operations carry equipment such as high-powered binoculars and radios to enable and co-ordinate searching for missing divers. Yellow dive flags, whistles, SMBs and strobes used by divers can greatly increase the chance of being spotted and rescued.

In some cases it is the negligence of dive boat operators that leads to lost divers. However, there are a multitude of other circumstances that can leave divers out in the ‘Open Water’. Dive boat engines can fail, as in the case of the ‘Palau Six’ who were never found. They could see boats looking for them but did not have a portable emergency dive flag to signal with. Alternatively it may be the weather that puts the diver at risk. Whilst diving in the Red Sea and Caribbean I have done drift dives where the surface current was running in opposition to the underwater current. This resulted in the safety boat waiting at the wrong location for our group. It was my trusty dive flag that, eventually, ensured that we were picked up rather than left to drift alone and wondering whether rescue would come.

The important thing is that divers must be prepared for the unexpected. All divers should carry emergency signaling devices to aid rescuers to locate them. When divers go missing there is inevitably a thorough search and it is incumbent upon those lost to be equipped correctly. With this is mind small compact items are best as they are easy to ALWAYS have with you. Collapsible dive flags (preferably the more visible yellow flag) can be carried easily in BC pockets along with safety sausages and signal mirrors.

Until you have waited on the surface for what seems ages, whilst you boat is a speck in the distance, it is hard to understand how effective an emergency flag can be and the relief that one feels when you realize you have been spotted.

The Author Steve Hooper is a PADI qualified dive master.With well over 25 years experience of scuba diving he has been one of the driving forces behind the development of Dive Flag.

[tags]dive flag, yellow dive flag, telescopic dive flag, dive safe, scuba flag, scuba safety[/tags]