If you’ve been on a boat charter in the Palm Beaches, you know every diver is required to bring along a brightly colored “Safety Sausage.”

The “Safety Sausage,” officially known as a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) or Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB), is an essential tool for every drift diver.

Surface signaling devices are also required pieces of equipment for many dive destinations around the world.  We’re here to tell you why.

DIVERS BELOW:

We put our regulators in our mouths and lift our LPIs above our heads.  The hiss of escaping air fills our ears as our BCDs deflate. It’s the last thing we hear before we sink beneath the surface.

The above-water world melts away.  We’re washed beneath the waves, caught up in the aquatic world.

Somewhere close by, an engine revs, a boat propeller whirs.  The bottom of a hull speeds overhead, leaving a trail of whitewater in its wake.

Okay, so the world above hasn’t completely disappeared.

Scuba divers aren’t the only ones in the water.  Fishermen troll by, hooks and lines in tow.  Watersports enthusiasts whiz around near the beach.  Sailboats cruise past, pulled by the wind.

The problem is, many boaters on the water don’t know or understand what it means to be a scuba diver.  They don’t recognize our breath bubbling on the surface.  Which makes ascending from a dive in a high-traffic area a potentially dangerous situation.

DSMB DIVER SPECIALTY:

The best way to prepare for this kind of scenario is with proper training and equipment.  Becoming a DSMB Diver ensures you equip yourself with the right knowledge and gear to dive these areas safely.

DSMBs (or Delayed Surface Marker Buoys) are required on many dive boats, especially in Palm Beach County.  It’s a bright beacon on a vast ocean.  It’s what makes you visible in the water.

Being able to deploy a signaling device before you surface will make the end of your dive that much safer.  Alert boaters well before you poke your head above water.  Find out what it means to be a DMSB Diver.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

  • Types and uses for DSMBs and reels
  • Setting up and storing your DSMB and reel for diving
  • How to deploy the DSMB from mid-water and a stationary position
  • Practice handling the line and reel while towing the DSMB and swimming
  • Making a safety stop with the line, reel, and DSMB

COURSE MATERIALS:

  • Delayed Surface Marker Buoy – can be bright yellow, orange, or pink!
  • Line and reel

Pair your DSMB Diver Specialty with our Drift Diver Specialty and become a master at diving in Palm Beach County conditions.

Interested in becoming a DSMB Diver?  Sign up for the specialty and maximize your safety and preparedness in the water.  Contact us at training@puravidadivers.com or call 561-840-8750 for more information.