July 2000
The seas were rough, the winds howled, the currents ripped. Well, I guess this may seem a little melodramatic but ideal placid diving conditions are not always a reality. Sometimes divers must make calculated decisions on whether to make a dive based on topside sea conditions. Often those decisions will be based on the diver’s own mental and equipment preparedness. Some of the best diving in the world can often be physically and mentally challenging. Then again, things can go wrong even in ideal situations.
A TRUE STORY - Forty minutes had passed, after dropping two divers in the water off a small island in Washington State, the first diver returned as planned. The boat pick up was simple, but where was her dive buddy? In this case, the recovered buddy was a photographer with a very small focus on keeping track of her dive companion. The scenario, often felt by dive boat operators, now takes place. Where is the other diver? Is the missing diver still underwater or is the diver somewhere on the surface waiting to be picked up? Does the boat and operator leave the dive site and expand the search outside the designated area? With currents and eddys, decisions are made more difficult. With a small surface chop, sighting a diver is tough.
One hour after the divers had entered the water the search was expanded outside the designated dive site. An additional forty-five minutes had passed before the diver was found safely drifting in the shipping lanes between the U.S. and Canada, over one mile away. It turns out that upon her initial descent, she was unable to clear her ears but spent several minutes trying. When she finally succeeded in clearing her ears, and again attempted her decent, she had drifted off the reef and into much deeper water. Consequently, she returned to the surface and tried signaling the boat with her whistle but found it impossible, chin deep in water with seas hitting her in the face. The dive boat remained at the dive site as she drifted farther away.
This turns out to be a classic example of necessity inspiring invention. How could this diver have signaled the boat more effectively? Certainly a signal tube (safety sausage) would have been an asset. But, a signal tube takes time to deploy and if the diver is in distress, sometimes impossible. The signal tube also requires surface support to look and see. However, with any remaining air inside the diver’s cylinder, there is a reliable power source. Why not tap into this power source by means of quick connect/disconnect hose couplings found on all buoyancy compensators?! The DiveAlert was born.
DiveAlert is a small, lightweight air horn that integrates by means of quick disconnect hose couplings into a divers existing equipment. No tools or modifications are necessary and connection only takes seconds. DiveAlert is made of injection molded plastics, stainless steel and chrome plated brass; just like the BC’s power inflator.
DiveAlert is the most effective and convenient audible surface signaling device available. Even in the most stressful of situations, the diver upon returning to the surface should be able to grab and squeeze the button on their DiveAlert and signal for surface assistance up to a mile away. It is loud. By being located just above the power inflator it is extremely easy to find and use.
Many professionals and dive operations around the world have embraced DiveAlert. The Pacific Aggressor Fleet, Peter Hughes Diving and Nautilus Explorer, to name just a few, now require DiveAlerts on their diving guests. These operations realize that most incidences occur at the surface and Dive-Alert provides them additional peace of mind for facilitating surface assistance.
Since the introduction of DiveAlert, Ideations, the U.S. manufacturer, has received numerous letters recounting near fatal incidents that have been averted because they had a DiveAlert. One diver wrote to tell his story of signaling the aircraft carrier, USS Eisenhower off Jacksonville, FL with his DiveAlert and credits it for saving his life. This story was later reenacted on the Discovery Channel’s, “Storm Watch” for the national TV audience. Another diver wrote that a fluke series of events brought a boat’s propeller down on top of him. His only viable means of signaling for help was his DiveAlert.
The DiveAlert is a powerful little tool. It is intentionally very loud and the manufacturer recommends that the diver simply tip his or her head back in the water so as to immerse the ears, thus making activation infinitely more comfortable. DiveAlert is a piece of insurance, which makes diving safer and more fun. DiveAlert is sold exclusively through dive stores worldwide.
