Whether youre planning on coastal diving here in the UK or on your holiday, having a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) will increase your safety and comfort and will alert boat traffic and other divers to your location.
If youre ever involved in drift diving from a boat then a delayed SMB will allow your boat skipper to follow your dive and pick you up promptly upon surfacing. They are also a great visual reference on your ascents too.
The PADI SMB specialty course will teach you the safest and easiest techniques to efficiently deploy a delayed SMB whilst static underwater and also whilst swimming.