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Peter Steinhoff wrote: > When do I need a strobe? (Or is strobes for strokes?:-) > I've searched the archives for this one but no luck... Peter, I use them sometimes to clip off on the anchor line on wreck dives, especially when the vis is mediocre and the layout of the wreck is difficult to see from one spot. Sometimes the anchor line can be very difficult to pick out in the gloom, especially if the sun is low on the horizon. We do all our diving off private boats not charter boats so it's only us on the wreck most of the time. I mostly just do this now when I'm diving with friends who I know aren't as familiar with the wreck. Some of the can be pretty confusing if you don't know the layout. More importantly I carry a strobe for surface rescue. If you're not worried about ever being lost at sea in the dark then you probably don't have much use for a strobe. Alaska is wild country with unpredictable currents and weather. There's always the risk of being swept away from a dive site by the current. There's hardly any place we dive where you couldn't theoretically swim to shore because we mostly dive in interior fjords. But up here, getting to shore still doesn't mean you're rescued. 99.9% of the shoreline is wild and undeveloped so you still need some way to attract your boat or a rescue helicopter unless you want to spend a week on some uninhabited beach eating berries and hiding from bears. For six months out of the year it gets dark very early and fast up here in the north country. Obviously you could use your dive light to try to attract a rescuer. But if you've just finished a dive the batteries may be low and backup dive lights are pretty dim. A good flashing strobe just does a much better job of attracting attention and you don't have to aim it. It can be seen from all directions. That's important if you're hurt or tired or don't know which direction to aim. I also carry flares, a whistle, and a 6' OMS lift bag/safety sausage to which I have affixed a 1 ft strips of SOLAS-grade reflective tape on each side to cover the OMS logo ;-) and to make it more visible to a searchlight. -KL -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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