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10 Diving Tips I Learned the Hard Way
08/27/2008 - By Melissa E. Malka Tips and hints that they don't teach during your certification class.
1 Don’t Drink and Dive.
This one should be fairly obvious but sometimes you get carried away and forget that you have to be at the boat at 7am the next day. Plus, drinking alcohol dehydrates you leading to the oh-so-fun hangover and queasy stomach the next day. That’s not something you really want to deal with, especially if the boat’s rocking. Just save it for after the dive.
2 Learn to throw up INTO your regulator.
If you decided to ignore Tip #1 and go out on a lash the night before and you can feel your stomach in your throat after you’re in the water, DON’T take your regulator out of your mouth. In fact, hold it in your mouth as you throw up into it and enjoy the fish swarming your face as they discover their lunch. Not kidding, this has happened to me. Keep in mind that the first thing we do after vomiting is involuntarily gasp for air, do you really want to do that without your reg in place?
3 Keep your BC pockets zipped shut.
I always keep my gloves in my BC pockets. Correction, I always used to keep my gloves in there until I forgot and realized they’d floated away when I descended with my BC pockets open. (This happened twice, and I lost the same hand both times…sigh) Gloves are one thing but if you’ve got your super expensive thingamajig or a goody from the ocean floor that you don’t want to lose, make sure they’re closed.
4 Use as little weight as you can get away with.
When I first started diving, I ended up using more weight than I could possibly ever need and I felt like a stone in the water. Once we’d reached our max depth, I felt slow and lethargic and it just made for an overall uncomfortable dive, not to mention shorter, as I was expending so much energy to keep myself neutrally buoyant.
5 Know the ins and outs of your gear.
Make sure you can adjust your own BC underwater and on dry land. Can you reach your tank valve? Know to tighten your mask and fins in as little time as possible? Being comfortable with your gear just helps and ensures a safer dive too.
6 Peeing in your wetsuit.
Ok, so I’ve included two somewhat gross yet necessary tips out of ten! My instructor once said, “There are two kinds of divers; those who admit to peeing in their wetsuits and those who don’t admit it.” He also taught me to “flush”, basically let some water in from your neck (provided you’re using a reg and not a full face mask) and then let it out from your ankles. Good tip, thanks!
7 Play nice with the dive master.
Most dive masters are friendly, cool people incredibly passionate about diving. In some cases, they work really hard and only make tips. Even a few bucks help. Dive masters: always say thanks!
8 Pony bottles are for emergencies ONLY, not to extend your bottom time.
For those divers that carry the little pony tank “just in case”, don’t use it to extend your bottom time, it kind of defeats the purpose of having it for emergencies only.
9 A good dry bag can save your phone (or other electronic goody).
Two months ago, I drowned my Blackberry during a dive trip. I think it had just gotten splashed in my non-dry bag. A $30 dry bag can protect your $400 phone, wallet, keys, picture of your cat, or whatever it is you carry on the boat (besides the obvious).
10 Don’t forget your towel, sunscreen (if you’re in the right climate for it), water, and snacks. Aside from the obvious dive gear you’re going to need, if there’s anything I can insist you bring on a dive trip, it’s those things. Sunscreen helps protect against “mask tan” which I’ve gotten probably just from floating for a total of ten minutes over the course of a dive trip while wearing my mask. It’s awkward looking. Snacks are good too, especially during your surface interval. Bring some to share. Water’s probably the most important item on this list and as for towels, I like the microfiber ones.
---Mel
E-mail me: melissa@diveshops.com