What to know about a DSMB and Why you should have this in your tool box.

Ron Willis   Sep 03, 2026

A DSMB is short for a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy.  Essentially its is adding air to a flexible tube and sending it to the surface so that the boat or surface support can see where you are and that you are potentially going to surface.  This is a very important skill to have as it can potentially avoid boat traffic in dive areas.  Around the world dive operators are asking their divers to deploy their DSMB's and finish their dives on a safey stop hanging at that critical 15-20ft under their DSMB.  Another great reason to learn this skill and have your own DSMB and reel is if perhaps you and your buddy have gotten separated from your group or your guide and need to be spotted.  Remember that even in a light chop, your head and position can be hard to see from even a short distance and these "Safety Tubes" almost always have a reflective tape and are of a bright color to assist your efforts to be seen when properly deployed.  At West Shore Scuba we are committed to bringing you the latest and most relevant training and thus will immediately start incorporating this skill into ALL our Advanced Open Water diver courses and offering this to all divers as a PADI Specialty!