survival equipments for sea diving

[sergeibn]

We all know about survival gear carried in the woods or edc kits for the urban environment. But how about survival equipment for diving. We all hear stories of divers getting lost or being disoriented underwater only to surface and find that the boat left them behind. Most are left for dead. I am a diver myself and like camping and trekking in the mountains and woods, i carry a survival kit. However the diving survival kit will differ altogether from the survival kit carried on land. So i wanted to know for you divers out there, what do you carry as a survival equipment and why.
This is my list:

One small knife attached to my low pressure hose
Big titanium knife attached to my leg
whistle also attached to my low pressure hose
wrist computer
wet suit
booties
gloves
compass
1 surface marker buoy
1 signal tube
40 m line reel
4 chemical llights
1 beacon light
1 strobe light
underwater slate plus pencil

plus all the normal dive gear including swim suit plus swim shirt, fins, mask + snorkle, bcd, underwater pressure gauze, regulator, octopus and the cylinder.

I do not carry a signal mirror becasue they are not good and doesn't last long in sea water.

[crashdive123]

Back up regulator for your dive partner because buddy breathing on the same one can be less than optimal.

[Faiaoga]

Everything described would be useful and important. The only other items that I might think of would be a Personal Locator Beacon that can withstand salt water (is there one? I don't know) and any method of delaying dehydration. Left behind by a dive boat, a person will quickly become dehydrated and might die unless the person has a water supply or a means of desalinating water.

Faiaoga
NAUI certified SCUBA diver
Pacific Islands

[sergeibn]

Crashdive 123, Do you mean the octopus?

Faiaoga, i tried to look for some personal locator beacon but couldn't find any that is underwater worthy. Some of them are waterproof, but only for the ocassional drops or rain. However for diving, i didn't find any. Maybe there are some on the market but i don't know where to look. Also, i've tried to find different systems for hydration if the boat does leave accidentaly you behind. They have some different water purification systems on the liferafts and boats, but they are bulky and cannot be with you while diving as in a pocket or something. There are also some life straws, and other means, but there is nothing that i've found for hydration that could be put inside a pocket of the bcd while your diving and if you found yourself alone because the boat left you, you could use. I was thinking of a desaltination device that could go underwater with you. But nothing is on the market. Let me know if you know of any systems that is worthy to look into.

Sergei

[Geek]

The backup regulator is the octopus. I recommend a 7' hose for it. You also need lighting and alternative flotation devices for each diver, e.g. Liftbag. Emergency locator beacons are available but are not common. If there is interest in this topic, I'll post some links. Check out technical diving equipment.

Most important is training. To get really good at this you should be taking courses in overhead diving, whether you ever do any overhead diving or not. It is vital that you practice with a reel and liftbag so you can secure your location and not drift away if you find the boat has abandoned you for whatever reason, e.g. Medical emergency with another diver while you are submerged.

[sergeibn]

Hey Geek,

thanks for the input. If you do have some web links, that would be awesome. I am a PADI divemaster and as you said, training is everything. I try to dive every single days if i can and practice my skills all the time. But sometimes, its difficult with bad weather or the dives are simply cancelled. But even with that, i do my own research at my own will and try new stuff. I do have torches but i don't carry them all the time. I only carry them when i am doing wreck dive, deep dive or night dive. But i do carry chemical lights, one beacon light and one strobe light all the time. I do carry a lift bag but not all the time. Instead i carry a surface marker with a reel and a signal tube.