Dive Flags

[Freedive WI]

When freediving, and especially for spearfishing, I always have a flag within 25' of me. It actually clips off to the end of my speargun, in case I spear a fish I cna drop everything and not worry about loosing it. Since my float is torpedo shaped it makes it easy to pull through the water. I know of some diver who convert old Boogie Boards to carry all of their stuff, like fresh fish, while diving. Other times, when we are going deeper, we will use a larger surface float and line to practice our dives with. Under those conditions we are all within 10' of the flag. When we want to move to a new area we just drag the float with us.

For other types of diving, like deep diving in Lake Wazee, I don't know of a single diver who carries their flag with them. It would be such a pain in the @$$ to have a 200'-300' flag and float line dragging along above you as you swim through the water with doubles, stages, rebreathers, ect on. Everyone I have ever seen, or dove with, just ties their flag off where they know they will exit and go about there dive as planned. If there's a problem, they shoot a bag and come up under it.

For wreck diving we have flags on the charter boat, but people don't carry flags with them under water- even though some of the wrecks are over 300' long and they are technically in violation of the law. Most of the time they come back up the mooring line and there's not a problem. Once in a while there's a problem and they have to come up away from the boat. If they know what they're doing they will shoot a bag, if they don't they just pop up and wave to us to come and get them.

It's not always as cut-and-dry as it seems.

BTW: wasn't the dive flag, the red and white one and not the Alfa flag, invented in Minnesota back in the 60's?


Jon