
By Mark Lewis
1st June 2021
Setting The Scene
Two Sickies
Oh! And Rule Two
This was a skill I learned on my PADI Tec45 course, being the concept of a failed or leaking DSMB. Simply, you take your backup DSMB and with a double ended bolt snap, shoot it up the line. In essence and this circumstance, diver one would deploy his primary DSMB by reel, the second diver shooting his backup DSMB up the same reel and voila, two DSMBs to alert Chris that there are two divers below. Simples!
Dive Planning
How Things Unfolded
I can’t remember the time, but around 45/50 minutes after the divers descended, up popped a DSMB. Right on time. Then another, another and indeed another. Four DSMBs only, not five as we would expect. As all four started to drift off from the wreck site, Chris expressed discontent that “they should know better”. Those being the regular divers A and B, that there was two sets of bubbles on one DSMB. Rule two has been broken!
The Ghost Blob
Becks had alluded to the fact that Piers had a 1 metre tall “one puff” Halcyon DSMB and that the floating ghost blob was not Halcyon. We should have listened to Becks and saved some time, but I think we were more concerned with diver B’s positive confirmation whether it was his or not. Rattled perhaps that a diver didn’t know what his DSMB looked like, rather than the fact that Becks stated that Piers had a different brand altogether?
About Turn
Situation Review

Lessons Learned
I have always wondered why divers write their names or initials on their DSMBs and as of now, I know. Mine is now marked with my initials and I will suggest others do too. For Piers and Becks, they will be investing in much larger DSMBs to be seen clearer in larger swells. Great as YouTube instruction videos in a swimming pool, but these one puff 1 metre designs just don’t cut it in UK waters. And for Piers, an additional consideration to research and invest in a Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS AIS device for perhaps when, the shit really hits the fan. I know of some club members who already have one and maybe we can haggle a deal for a bulk order? Anyone game?
