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DIVERS EMERGENCY SIGNALS

I recently had reason to fire a number of flares and found that none of them
worked.  I had been diving for a number of years, safe in the knowledge that
I always carried a flag and a waterproof flare should anything go wrong.

Wrong!, the flag fell to bits and all four flares failed to fire.

Happily it all ended without tears, but it has set me thinking.

In Britain, there are a number of waterproof flares available to divers, but 
only one which includes a smoke flare - waterproof to 30m.  This is not a lot
of use when diving regularly well beyond the 30m mark.

What I want to know is what other technical divers use.  I definitely need to
carry flares and flags to attract the attention of my boat if the occasion
ever arises again.

What are the other UK divers using?  Have you ever had reason to fire a flare,
and if so, did it work?

For interest, the flares were Pains-Wessex Day-and-night divers flares, 
commonly used by divers here.  To prevent them rotting/rusting, the caps had
been filled with vaseline which appeared to keep the flare in excellant 
condition.  A post-mortem of the failed flares showed that the vaseline had
been forced past the firing pin and into the det, preventing the pin striking
the det with sufficient force to set it off.
Everyone I know who has one of these flares has filled it with vaseline in the
same fashion.  Let my experience be a warning to those who use this method!

Rgrds
  Callum
-- 
Callum Beveridge                              International Computers Limited
Tel: +44 (0)344 472958                        Lovelace Road
Fax: +44 (0)344 473246                        Bracknell
                                              Berkshire
Mail: cb@oa*.ic*.co*.uk*                      RG12 8SN
      c.beveridge@br*.wi*.ic*.co*.uk*

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                     Life's a beach, then you dive!

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