The one statement that I found interesting in the whole article was this...

>In fact, the only thing both men agree on is the Coast Guard's discovery of
>Rubin's air tank some 28 miles from the dive site, and at least one of two
>inflatable locator devices, known as "sausages."
>
How long after they were missing did this appear?  Knowing this would at
least give them an
indication of the average current, although surface currently is
typically greater than currents
underwater or near the bottom.

The big question is - why would anyone separate from their "sausage"?
 That would be the
LAST thing I would let go.  That and my BC.  Ditch the tank - sure I
might drop that if
I thought it was providing too much drag and I was trying to swim
against the current
toward land or something like that,  I MIGHT even ditch the BC, but the
sausage
provides excellent visibility.

Divers in this environment should consider something like the Halcyon
Life Raft.  With
something like that you can crawl onto it and have a much better chance
of being
seen at sea.

The following would probably make WAY too much sense but I'll through out
the idea anyway.

The other thing that I'm suprised some of these fleets haven't purchased
is a
set of EPIRBs.  Put them in a sealed, pressure resistant capsule and clip on
onto each diver.  That way, if they're on the surface they can at least
turn on
the EPIRB and locating them wouldn't be a problem.  What am I missing here?

Carl