Resort operators all have their tales of divers rocketing to the surface in a panic over broken fins straps, often resulting in a trip to the nearest recompression chamber. Cave and wreck divers face the opposite problem: trying to propel themselves out of an overhead environment after losing their means of propulsion. The first instinct is to kick like crazy, elevating consumption of precious air supplies. Such exertion is doubly threatening to deep-diving explorers who could black out from the resultant rise in Co2. And certainly a team member’s ability to help his or her buddies is compromised when a diver loses a fin. One afternoon after the August 1997 loss of a diving colleague, Rob Parker, I looked at my fins and wondered if the outcome of that dive would have been different had Rob’s buddy not lost his fins while trying to assist him at 250 feet/76 metres depth in a blue hole in the Bahamas. That drove home the seriousness of losing fins and inspired the fin emergency safety strap.

Cave divers carry redundancy to the extreme bringing three lights, spare masks, extra air - but almost never spare fins, because they are so cumbersome. So why not just carry extra straps? They’re tough enough to change while sitting comfortably at a table with good lighting. Try changing one in a low cave passage with current and lots of organic material to stir up; it’s just not practical. Nor are the innovations announced with fanfare every year by manufacturers. They make fins in bright colours; they tout the efficiency offered by design improvements. But none has yet introduced a backup system to keep fins from being lost. Adding this homemade safety strap will cost a little time and about $15 US , but, to paraphrase a well-known hair colouring ad, “You’re worth it.”

(1) Drill two holes in the fin near the top of both sides of the foot pocket. In one hole attach a piece of cord long enough to allow full extension of the foot with the fin on. Then, either splice a snap shackle onto the cord or secure it with tie wraps. In the other hole, affix a piece of bungie cord by feeding both ends of the cord through the hole in the boot and secure the ends back onto itself with tie wraps. (2) Install a small ring on the inside side of each bootie. Clip the bungie cord from the fin onto the ring, then adjust the cord’s length so it is taut when the foot is extended with toes pointed in a fin-kicking position. This attachment alone will be enough to keep a fin on a foot while travelling a short distance. (3) For longer distances, detach the snap shackle from the ring on the bootie, pull it around your heel and attach it to the bungie cord. This should feel as snug as if you had the original fin strap in place. This arrangement will keep a fin on while travelling an extended distance to safety.

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