In memory of Doc
Today, the red “diver down” flag with a white diagonal stripe is instantly recognizable. It’s an icon and emblem for the North American diver community. But it wasn’t always…
It all began with Denzel James Dockery (aka Doc), who was discharged from the Navy in the 1950s. Doc and his wife were scuba diving fanatics who loved the sea. But in the 1950’s and 60’s, diving was a pretty dangerous hobby. There were few laws or regulations. Training was not as well developed as it is now. And overall awareness was low.
Doc and his wife changed that when they created the ‘Diver Down’ flag for the safety of scuba divers. They wanted the flag to let boats know to keep a safe distance from dive boats and scuba divers.
When it came to design, Doc was inspired by his time in the Navy, where red flags are used to indicate danger.
At first, Doc and his wife created a red flag with a white horizontal stripe.
But that flag was already being used as the national flag of Austria! Quick-thinking Doc simply moved the white stripe to make it diagonal.
With the design settled, Doc set about raising awareness. He started to sell the flags, eventually grabbing the attention of Ted Nixon from U.S Divers who bought the flags and distributed them nationally.
In 1962, an accident involving a boat, a diver, and the flag found its way into the courts. The court case marked the first time the dive flag was lawfully recognized as the flag for recreational diving.
Doc’s home state of Michigan became the first state in the USA to pass a diver flag law. His flag has now been officially recognized by the federal government and almost every other U.S state as the official warning of diver down.
DEEPLY COOL FACTS:
- The flag is primarily recognized in North America. Since the flag was distributed only in the USA it’s not a part of the International Code of Signal Flags, so many international divers may not recognize it.
- Doc also created a divers training centre at Vortex Springs in 1972.
- Rock band Van Halen used the flag as the cover art for their album Diver Down in 1982.
