Have you ever been diving and afterwards felt like something didn’t go quite as it should?
When diving, all divers are supposed to trust their dive professional whether that is a Divemaster or an Instructor. Divers trust that they will only do what is best for them and only take them wherever their certification level allows them to go. Even though, we do hear scary stories from divers, so know what you should be doing and don’t just blindly trust your guide.
During your open water course you learn all the basic rules about diving, and you get certified to go diving just you and a buddy if you like. Did your instructor teach you properly, but then you found yourself diving with a divemaster who keeps breaking safety standards and good diving practice – you easily forget the right way to dive and this is when accidents might happen.
So as we are always aiming to help you be a better diver, we’ve put together a few reminder points to make sure you are always on form –
Yes, it takes training
One of the more common things we hear is divers being brought down deeper than their certification recommends or going into wrecks, caves and so on without being trained to do so. Get your training before you play around where you’re not certified to be. No, it might not seem like a big deal, but there is reasons why we need extra training to expand our certification level. Top of that list might be the fact that your insurance will not cover you for dives beyond your certification.
Don’t touch!
To take good pictures and make it easier for divers to spot critters, we see dive professionals touching, moving around and picking up the aquatic life. Nowhere is this behaviour okay – we are only here to observe and get the best sight of the aquatic creatures naturally.
Share nothing but memories
Yes, we would all like to give our divers the longest possible dives, but the sad truth is as soon as you’re low on air, its time going up. Don’t go on your buddies or dive professionals alternate air source to get a longer dive – it’s there for emergencies and that’s it!
Not having the right equipment
Have you ever heard “when we end the dive the boat will see our bubbles” and then the boat is nowhere to pick you up? Or, “No I don’t need a dive computer, I know the dive site in and out, it’s okay”! As dive professionals there is certain equipment that we need. We have this to keep everyone safe during the dive. So make sure your guide has a surface marker balloon, dive computer, light or whatever else they need to keep you safe.
Keep yourself safe
It’s the dive guide’s job to make sure the divers exit the water with 50bar reserve, haven’t gone into decompression, and are getting the best possible dive.
We do hear stories about divers who felt like their dive guide didn’t pay any attention to them and divers ending up with an empty tank or in decompression by accident. So we suggest you take some responsibility for yourself and watch your own gas, to make sure you have plenty to end the dive safely.
If you think you need a refresher then don’t hesitate to ask one of our experienced instructors; or have a chat with us about classes you can take to improve your skills, awareness and overall safety.
