Looks like if you dive in Florida, you’ll now be able to use something else other than the traditional “Diver Down” flag on your boat.
State lawmakers have changed the classification of the dive flag, now calling it a “divers-down warning device” in the hopes of getting entrepreneurs to come up with innovative ideas in safety equipment.
If a dive flag is blowing directly at an oncoming boat, chances are the driver of that boat won’t see it. A different device like a three- or four-sided bouy with the same red and diagonal stripe would help make it more visible.
Robert Carmichael, chief executive officer of Brownie’s Marine Group Inc., told the FL Keys News:
“We all know the dive flag simply does not work when it gets blown parallel to the wind. A lot of other boats can’t see it. There’s nothing good about that.”
For more info and background, check out this DeeperBlue.com interview with Sarah Bingham, a vice president with 3DBouy which collaborated with Brownie’s to develop just such a “divers-down warning device.”
