In an incident report published by the Divers Alert Network (DAN), a diver recounts an ascent he had not planned. At 13 meters, the trigger of his reel breaks while he is deploying his self-inflating surface marker buoy. The spring hooks his glove like a fishhook, and he shoots to the surface at a speed peaking at 72 meters per minute over 7 meters.
He gets away with it. His own question remains: what if it had happened at 30 meters, after 40 minutes at the bottom?
The diving surface marker buoy, which clubs call a safety sausage, signals your position to the boat. Poorly deployed, it can also pull you upwards. So let’s go back to basics: what it is for, what the French rule says, how to choose it, and especially how to deploy it without getting dragged away.
What is a safety sausage used for in diving?
The safety sausage, which English speakers call a DSMB (delayed surface marker buoy), is a brightly colored inflatable tube attached to a line, which you send to the surface before ascending. According to DAN (2022), it is most often used to mark your position while you are still underwater and to warn passing boats.
The classic surface buoy, or SMB, inflates once at the surface or is towed throughout the dive at the end of a line. The DSMB adds a valve. This overpressure valve lets air escape as it expands during the ascent. You can therefore deploy it from the bottom without damage. It is especially useful during the safety stop, when the boat pilot looks for bubbles amid the chop. On a drift dive, the boat follows the group, and the orange tube is often the only marker it sees.
And in rough seas, a diver’s head barely protrudes above the waves.
If you are preparing dives in current, our page on drift diving training and safety rules details the associated procedures. A group surfacing far from the planned point must be spotted quickly.
Is a safety sausage mandatory in France?
In France, federal training materials summarize Article A322-80 of the Sports Code as follows: in natural environments, each dive group must have a safety sausage. The obligation applies to the group, not necessarily each individual diver. Check the current version on Légifrance, as these decrees are occasionally updated.
Abroad, the rule depends on the country, the marine park, and especially the operator. Some centers organizing drift dives require one for each diver, while others are content with one sausage per dive guide. For a specific site, it is impossible to decide from here.
Ask the center in writing before booking, and keep their response with your booking confirmation.
But the obligation says nothing about competence. A sausage stowed at the bottom of a pocket and never deployed in a pool is not very useful the day the current pulls the group away from the boat. The briefing must specify who deploys the sausage, when, and what a different color means if the team uses them. If it doesn’t mention it, ask. A serious guide will answer without annoyance.
With a buddy you know little, agree before entering the water, and note the agreed signal on a dive slate if your gestures differ.
Which safety sausage to choose: size, valve, color?
Outside of training frameworks, DAN recommends a sausage at least 6 feet, or 1.8 meters, because it is more visible from the boat. Choose a closed model equipped with an overpressure valve, in a bright color. According to the same article, orange and yellow remain the most visible hues.
The previous version of this page gave 1.50 meters as the minimum size and assigned orange to overcast skies, yellow to rough seas. We found no source for this distribution, so we have removed it.
Thus, some divers assign a color to a specific message for the surface team, notes DAN. The code only applies if the boat knows it.
Keep the line. The DAN summarizes the debate in one sentence: a crank reel deploys more easily, while a spool (the small spool you unwind with your finger) jams less easily. Each camp has its loyal followers. We won’t decide for you, but check that the length of line covers the depth at which you plan to send the parachute. For small cartridge self-inflating models, the incident mentioned above reminds us that an additional mechanism can also break at the worst moment.
No prize here, no brand tested.
How to deploy a parachute without being pulled to the surface?
The main risk lies in a DAN instruction: never clip the reel or spool to yourself during deployment, because if the line jams, the excess buoyancy can cause a rapid ascent. Keep the line taut, away from your body, and let go of everything if it gets stuck.
The typical sequence:
- Stabilize yourself at the stop, neutral buoyancy, buddy within reach.
- Look above you: no boat, no line from another group.
- Unhook the parachute and unwind just enough line to move it away from you.
- Inflate it with your exhaled bubbles, your octopus, your mouth, or your inflator, the four methods cited by DAN.
- Let the line run without tightening the reel, fingers off the spool.
- Rewind during the ascent to keep the line vertical and taut.
Yet, most difficulties start before inflation. A line trailing around the arm or the bottle valve turns the parachute’s ascent into a pull on you. DAN advises having a cutting tool easily reachable at every deployment, and our page on the diving knife and where to wear it details the options. If the parachute runs too fast, let go of the reel: you might recover it at the surface, and if not, too bad for the equipment. Your ascent comes first.
A lost parachute costs less than an uncontrolled ascent.
Sending the tube requires a few breaths of gas. So don’t save this gesture for the very end if your dive pressure gauge already indicates the reserve, and do it at the stop rather than during the ascent.
How to train and maintain your safety sausage?
DAN insists on practice: becoming comfortable with a parachute takes time. Start in a protected environment, in a pool or a pit, with a buddy who knows what you’re doing, then move to the sea in calm conditions and with an instructor familiar with the exercise. For maintenance, rinse with fresh water, dry in the shade, and check the valve and line before each outing.
The line deserves more attention than the tube. A knot, a poorly rewound loop, or a seized carabiner is enough to block the deployment at the worst moment. Unwind it fully on land from time to time, then rewind it under tension. Test the valve by inflating the tube by mouth then pressing on it. But all this is useless if the parachute sleeps in a pocket you can only reach by contorting yourself.
At night, the tube alone is hard to see.
A dive light or a glow stick attached to it helps the crew, provided the center planned it during the briefing. The real cost of the parachute is a few pool sessions and a line checked before each outing, versus an ascent you no longer control.
FAQ
Is a safety sausage mandatory in France?
According to federal training materials, article A322-80 of the Sports Code provides that in natural environments each group must have a safety sausage. A center may require more, for example one parachute per diver on drift dives. Check the current text and ask the center.
What size safety sausage should I choose?
DAN recommends at least 1.8 meters (6 feet) outside of training, to be better seen from the boat. A closed model with an overpressure valve allows you to send it from the bottom.
What to do if the reel jams during the parachute’s ascent?
Let it go. Never attach it to yourself during deployment and keep a cutting tool accessible. Then finish your ascent at the speed and stops indicated by your computer, and signal yourself at the surface by another means, such as a whistle.
Can a safety sausage be used at night?
Yes, but it is hard to see without light. A lamp or a glow stick attached to it helps the crew. Check during the briefing how the boat spots night divers.
Sources
- Popping the Question: What is a DSMB? (Divers Alert Network, Alert Diver, 2022)
- Rapid Ascent Due to Broken Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) (Divers Alert Network, 2020)
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