REEF HOOKS DO YOU USE ONE?

After my first trip to Palau, I made a bridle for my BC. Two small clips and a short length of parachute cord, doubled for strength. Clips from D-ring to D-ring across the chest. Two knots help center the clip of the reef hook but still allows the clip to slide, if needed, to turn sideways. I spent several hours this last weekend digging in my closets looking for it, as I’m headed to Palau in two weeks. I finally found it in my old BC that was replaced last year. I also found a lost Do-Rag and pair of gloves. Woo-Hoo I’m set to go.

 

If you ask me...this one looks like one of those golf "swing trainers".    I'm not sure I'd be that comfortable if this puppy started to dangle from its stowage..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can see your "point"

I don't actually dive with it hanging like that I just wanted to show how it is used. I do hook the bridel across on dives that may need the hook, but the hook is kept stowed in my left brest pocket untill needed.

I just got back from Palau and used this setup on only two of ten dives, the rest of the time it stayed stowed.

On the subjects of flags, mine was seen from SIX miles at Cocos by the divers on the other panga.

Herriott Watt University did a study and revealed that YELLOW is more easily seen than ORANGE and that a flag is more easily seen than a sausage due to the eye identifying horizontal shapes better than vertical ones from a long distance.

However, if you want to use a Mother Buoy that's your business. Just be sure your crack-bottle is always full because mine takes a full one to inflate it. The flag is joyfully low-tech and low-tech has advantages in emergencies. I also used mine to sail across the lagoon at Aldabra to join the owner of IOE. He ordered a dozen immediately he got to shore!

And john got to use it a lot in the Tuamotus as well... didn't matter how often we tried to lose him, some guest would spot his flag and we had to go get him! Damn!

hahahaha

You really know how to hurt someone, Mike. I am a person just like you, you know. (Ha Ha)

(PS. I liked your shark-feeding article in Diver Mag. Stand by for one with proper BIG Fiji sharks in the June issue.)

Hi John,

six miles sounds very good...

drifted once from Peleliu (Palau) for quite a while...

Who makes your mega flag pole assembly?

I'm very interested to get a couple of them...

Cheers

Torben

http://www.divernet.com/gear/dtst0400.htm

# Much bigger than my head!

Bowstone diver's flag Be seen or be lost. That is the rule for divers waiting to be picked up at the surface.

The sea is a big place and a diver's head is very small. It is easily made invisible if there is the smallest disturbance to the surface.

I learned long ago that a tall safety sausage or a flag was an essential item of equipment. The problem with the safety sausage is that it usually requires two hands to deploy it, and underwater photographers like me rarely have two hands free. A flag needs only one.

The Bowstone diver's flag comes attached to a mast that folds in sections, so that is easily stowed under some elastic cords sprung round the aqualung cylinder. Once unfolded it is 1.8m tall. The flag measures about 55cm square and comes in day-glo yellow. Following the recent HSE report (Can Anybody See Me?, January), our own tests in the middle of the Pacific have shown us that this is indeed the most readily noticeable of colours.

The Bowstone Diver's Flag is essential for the serious diver. It costs £18.

# Bowstone Diving Products 0044 161 442 0272

John,

Are you the John who took pictures of Scarface the day she came back after a few months of absence ??? If so and you have a picture of her in the June article, I need to subscribe ASAP. A friend of mine was there too but did not get to see her as it was his degas day that day. So if you have a picture he is about to suffer (again !!!!) and I'm about to be cussed at, LOL !!!!! Don't you love (friendly) competition between buddies, it keeps things quite exiting and interesting (if done in a nice way of course) :-) :-) :-). The story behind this is that because of all of the wetpixelers I thought we should go see tiger sharks in the Bahamas but oh no he was going to go see Scarface in Fiji and see one up close and personal before me !!!! Well you know the rest of the story, LOL :-)

I saw that you dove Sudan. Which boat were you on, I was on the Don Questo last October. To all the wetpixelers diving the red sea in Egypt, take a look at Sudan, it is well worth the effort and not crowded at all.

I think I also saw that you dove Aldabra, I was considering doing so on the IOE. How was it and would you recommend the IOE (not that there is many other choices)? In the past it was a nasty boat in a great diving area but I know the boat was bought back a few years ago so I was wondering if it was any better now.

I'm also interested to know about your yellow flag (just making sure they won't loose me if I go dive in YAP, LOL !!!!!! )

Thanks

Sylvie

Hi Sylvie.

Yes Scarface will be in the June edition of Diver Mag (on-line in July).

I hear IOE is a bit of a shambles since David Rowat withdrew but it is a choice of one!

Here is a quick pic of Scarface to wet your appetite. She is a REAL shark, not one of those little nancy-boy jobs!

Thanks John, She certainly is a big Babe !!!!!!. It gives a new meaning to the word divemaster !!!!!

Sylvie