I now live in Massachusetts. Like many states in the US, divers are required to carry a dive flag. Mine is on a stick connected to a big yellow lobster buoy. There is a simple hand spool attached to it. Yay boats can see me, but is also hard to give away one hand to hold a spool while you shoot tiny things on the bottom of the ocean.

After a couple of incidents where I had to surface and chase my dive flag because it tried to run away, I stopped in to my local dive shop (Undersea Divers in Danvers) and asked if they had any advice. The answer that I got was to use a dog leash screw. They use them with open water students to “anchor” the dive flag and practice ascending and descending along a line. Pretty cool and cheap solution for me.

These look like a giant corkscrew and they are used by screwing into the ground and then attaching your dog’s long leash to it. It keeps your dog from running away, it should also keep your dive flag from running away. The one thing is that they’re obviously not made of stainless steel so they do rust out over time.

The “albatross” I have to carry on every dive. There is a different type that is a big round insert tube with a storage space in the middle.

Giant corkscrew with a bolt-snap connected via zip-tie. Also works if you meet up with a huge bottle of wine in the middle of your dive.

Pet supplies store packaging. Well-grounded!

For pet use only. Why do I have images in my head involving staking out your children at the park?

See you underwater!!!

–Mike