- Proper Preparation Means Safe and Fun Diving - Lea Miller
Problems in scuba diving can escalate quickly. One small issue can turn into a couple of slightly bigger issues and those can turn into disaster. Learn to pay attention to the small things ahead of time so you can deal with them and minimize the chance of a major problem. One day when you have hundreds of safe and wonderful dives in your logbook, you'll be glad you did.
How Do You Feel?
A day of diving can easily be ruined by illness. It only takes a little congestion to prevent equalization, causing the most common diving injury, ear barotrauma. If you are tired, hung-over, or dehydrated, you're more susceptible to decompression sickness and less ready to deal with unexpected situations underwater. Even if you're on holiday and you've been looking forward to the trip, give yourself a break and wait for the next day. As great as diving can be, it's not worth health complications that are easily prevented.
Do You Have All Your Equipment and is It Working Correctly?
Whether you're leaving your house or a hotel room, take a few minutes to check your dive bag before you leave. Verify that you have all the things you need for your dive. It's easy to walk out the door without something small but essential like your dive watch or dive computer. Once you arrive at your dive site or you're on the boat setting up, check the function of your equipment as you put it together. Don't ignore potential problems. It's a good idea to carry a small kit with spare parts and basic tools so you can make simple repairs on the spot. If you're diving with a commercial operator, they probably have parts and tools with them also. If you have an equipment issue and you can't fix it or rent or borrow a replacement, know when to cancel the dive.
Diver training organizations teach buddy checks. Once you're ready to go in the water, take a couple minutes to go over equipment with your buddy. Each one makes sure the other has all the necessary gear in working order before the dive begins.
How Will You Communicate and Where are You Going?
If you're diving with a buddy only, agree on hand signals and a dive plan before you hit the water. If you're diving with a dive guide, listen to the briefing before the dive. It's inevitable that the person who is not paying attention during the briefing is the one who jumps in the water and swims in the wrong direction. A professional divemaster or instructor leading a group will review hand signals and dive procedures before every dive.
Does Someone Know Where You Are?
If you are diving on your own with friends, have you told someone where you are and when you'll be back? If you're diving with a commercial operator, do they have a method for accounting for all the divers in the group? Were you asked to take a tag with you and return it when you return to the boat? Did they do a roll call before the boat left the dock? The movie Open Water was an exaggerated Hollywood story, but it's up to you to be comfortable that the dive operation knows where you are so nothing like that ever happens.
Once you're in the water, do you have a way of signaling someone if you have a problem? Are you carrying a whistle, mirror, or safety tube so you can get someone's attention?
Does Your Dive Match Your Training and Experience?
Be smart. Don't try a dive that's way beyond your level. Gradually increase your skill level. Try a dive with a more experienced diver that's slightly more advanced than what you're used to. Sign up for a class to experience new types of dives. If it's been a while since your last dive, take a refresher class or dive with a guide the first dive or two.
If something unexpected happens, remember to stop, breathe, think, and then act. If you are still breathing, you have time to handle the situation. All the preparation you've gone through makes it less likely there will be a problem.
This may seem like a long list, but once you make it a part of every dive it will become routine. Committing to careful preparation results in safe and fun scuba diving. And isn't fun what diving is supposed to be all about?
Lea Miller - Lea is a former accounting professional, with a B. S. degree in accounting from the University of South Florida. For twenty-five years, ...
