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Carrying the right amount of weight to prevent yourself from being too buoyant is very important whilst diving. Getting the right weight is key to any successful dive as you need to counter act the buoyancy of your drysuit or wetsuit with the buoyancy of the rest of your kit to allow you to sink enough to part take in the dive. However, too much weight will prevent you from being able to rise again so a happy medium is essential.
These dive weights and weight belts can help you hone your buoyancy control so you can get your neutral buoyancy spot on. We have solid lead, soft lead, ankle weights, and weights that integrate directly to your BCD. We have versatile weight vests that are great for freediving and spearfishing. Quickly releasing your weights can even turn them into a safety device in an emergency.
For a helpful guide to choosing the best diving weight system, please see The Scuba Doctor's Dive Weights Buying Guide. For help on how to figure out how much lead you need, please see our Perfect Scuba Diving Weighting guide.
Marine Flag Signals
These are the marine flags signals you should know about.
Diving Operations Flag
Victorian law requires that any vessel with divers operating from it must always display signals by day and night to inform other vessel users.
The daytime signal for divers is an International Code Flag 'A' of size 6 being at least 750mm long and 600mm wide. It should be placed to ensure all-round visibility.
Divers operating without a vessel, for example from a jetty, should also display the International code flag "A". The flag should be at least 750mm long and 600mm wide. The flag may be displayed from a buoy. If displayed from a buoy, the flag must not be less than 300 mm in length and 200 mm in width. The flag must be clearly visible to all vessels operating in the vicinity.
Diving Operations Lights
During night diving, a vessel must show the international signal for a 'vessel restricted in its ability to manoeuvre'. These are three lights in a vertical line, top and bottom are red and the middle one is white. The diver's boat should also show other appropriate lights such as an anchor light.
People involved in night diving without a vessel should display a yellow (orange) flashing light that can be seen from a minimum distance of 200 metres.
Speed Restriction
In Victoria, Australia, a five knot (9.25 kph) speed limit applies to vessel operators and waterskiers within a distance of 100 metres (330 feet) of a vessel or buoy on which a diver below signal is displayed.
International Code Flags
Other than the alpha flag, these are rarely seen by divers, however they may be useful to know.
The International Code Signal of Distress is indicated by the Code Flag "N" flying above the Code Flag "C".
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