Having snorkelled with and without a buoy, here are my personal observations:
W/o a buoy, boats just aren't aware that you are there and even when they are, they don't seem to care. Kayaks usually are aware but they come on over anyway. Kids dingies come over to see what you are up to.
With a large (11 litre), orange, flagged buoy, I was pleasantly surprised to find that boats and kayaks not only kept away but have even moved away
***. Kids (sometimes with parents) in dingies still come over to see what you are up to!
Not much of a danger. Sometimes they follow though (a firm but polite "I have a speargun, please don't follow" - has always been sufficient to turn them around).
Thankfully I have not yet encountered a jetski. 'Was surprised that no training is required for any leisure boaters, as a friend just took some yacht master RYA qualification -- seems like a sensible precaution. Maybe we need a flag campaign to aid recognition (it used to be fairly common to see A-flag diver stickers in cars), perhaps flyers/signs near beaches? [I would favour this approach over regulation. I suspect many of us are pretty sick of expensive, petty new regulations -- which would have the same problem: how do you let people know?
].
By the way, which flag are we supposed to fly now (no wonder boaters don't know -- seems like divers don't know either!)? UKDivers.com says the American-style red with white diagonal on floats & a
rigid British-style blue/white (international A-flag) on boats!
Seems like it might be good idea to choose one and stick to it (I see some floats come with a socket & one of each so you can choose. "Red today, to go with my new wetsuit"?
).
***That said, I have heard of even small RIBs and kayaks flying very large dive flags being approached by other boats. Curiosity, theft, ignorance and salvage are all possible. [One guy found some boatmen pulling his kayak onboard, before he scared them off!]
Suggest nobody spears a boat -- might loose your equipment. Powerhead? Knife hole?
Probably best to leave the road rage at home.
