More often than not when we go Technical diving we will end up having to make decompression stops. This is a result of staying at depth for so long. These decompression stops vary in lengh, as a tech 40 diver you can make 10 mintues of “deco stops”. However as you get more advanced you can make longer and longer dives which means more deco time. Now it is not always possible to come back to your ascent line. This means that you have to make a “hang deco” which means no line, just mid water. If there is a current running it can easily carry you quite a distance if you have a lot of deco to do. Which is why it is very very important to have some surface markers and signalling devices.
Suitable Signalling Equipment
As a standard you should have 2 seperate DSMBs or Liftbags. SMBs are preferrable as they stick higher out of the water and don’t create much drag. One of these should be orange or red, and this is your standard one. The other is yellow which which divers use for emergencies only. As well as this you should carry an audible device such as a whistle. Many technical divers in areas with strong currents actually carry something called a “drift kit”. This has various items in the event they get caught in a current and need to signal the boat. This might include a mirror, a phone, flares or even an EPIRB (electronic position indictating radio beacon). As a bare minimum you need 2 DSMBs/Liftbags and a whistle.
There are many options available, however ideally they fold up into a small bundle, easy to inflate and are easy for boats to see. There are even some that we have here for sale at the DJL shop that only take one breath to fill up. Then once they are up they self seal.