General safety information for divers
- 1. Methods of Water Entry for Scuba Divers
- 2. Scuba Tips: Streamlining To Reduce Drag
- 3. How To Complete A 5 Point Scuba Ascent
- 4. 10 Tips To Stretch Your Next Tank Of Air
- 5. How To Be A Better Dive Buddy To Yourself And Others
- 6. How to Clear Your Mask Underwater
- 7. 10 Tips to Equalize Your Ears When Scuba Diving
- 8. Flying After Diving: How Long Should You Wait?
- 9. 5 Things You Shouldn’t Do After a Dive
- 10. A Complete Guide to Night Scuba Diving
- 11. Pre-Dive Safety Check Guidelines
- 12. Drift diving: the essentials & the best dives!
Giant Stride Water Entry
The giant stride is the most common water entry method for scuba divers entering from a boat, pier, jetty, or any other elevated entry point. To execute this entry method, you must don all of your scuba gear, step onto the platform, and put your regulator in your mouth. Next, hold your mask and regulator in place with your palm, lift one leg out in front of you, and jump into the water. Once you surface, give the OK signal to your fellow divers or boat captain, fully inflate your BCD, and wait for all the other divers to enter the water before you descend.
Wading Water Entry
Wading is the appropriate water entry method if you’re diving from the beach or shoreline. To do this, simply don all your scuba gear (except your fins) and carefully wade out to deeper waters. Partially inflate your BCD and continue walking until you reach a depth fit for swimming. At this point, you may fully inflate your BCD.
The next step would be to put on your fins. Shuffling your feet helps stir up the bottom a bit so that any creatures within the substrate, like rays, will be scared off. Because shore entries are often rocky, it is advisable to wear dive boots to avoid injuries on your way out and back in.
Back Roll Water Entry
You may have wondered, “why do scuba divers dive backwards?” Since small boats, such as inflatable Zodiacs, don’t have platforms from which divers can jump, the back roll was developed for divers in this circumstance. To execute a back roll, don all of your scuba gear and sit at the edge of the boat with your back against the water. Put your regulator in your mouth and hold it in place with your left hand. With your right hand, hold the back of your head; this prevents your skull from smacking into the first stage regulator when you hit the water. Then, point your chin toward your chest and gently fall backwards. You’ll do a little somersault and pop right back up. Don’t forget to give the OK signal as soon as you’re settled.Seated Water Entry
The seated entry method is ideal for the following scenarios: when the water is too shallow for a giant stride, when your boat or platform is almost touching the water’s surface, and when the platform is unsteady. To execute this underwater diving entry method, you must gear up, put your regulator in your mouth, and sit on the edge of the platform. Use both hands to prop yourself up and then use both your arms and your legs to move forward. Make sure to give enough space so that your tanks don’t bang the platform on your way down. Next, you’ll need to pivot towards the water. Keep your pivot arm on the deck and keep it straight while pivoting. Place your free hand on your mask to keep it steady. Pivot around your straight arm, make a turn, and fall into the water. While this method of water entry for scuba divers is not as commonly used as the other three, it’s a good one for brand new divers who haven’t mastered the others yet.You’ve probably observed the difference between gangly awkward divers who shuffle and flap their way through the water kicking up sand and scaring away every creature in their path including other divers; and an experienced diver that effortlessly and gracefully glides underwater with only the slightest of movements. This comes from an understanding that less is more in diving. Unlike sky diving, scuba diving is all about creating less drag and streamlining both your gear and body for better hydrodynamics. By minimizing any resistance underwater you automatically minimize exertion and in turn reduce your air consumption, both important factors of diving. So how you streamline in diving?
The first aspect of streamlining involves streamlining your scuba gear and equipment. Start thinking about this when you’re out buying the diving gear. Make sure everything especially your Buoyancy Compensator is the right size and fits snugly. When looking for a BCD, if you intend on doing just some fun warm-water recreational diving and not a lot of cold water or technical diving, you may want to consider looking for a lightweight and compact travel BCD that fully functions and serves its purpose but is not as bulky or extra-rugged with multiple ‘D’ rings and attachments. Getting the right size BC is very important. A loose fitted BCD will allow water to flow between your body and the BC creating unnecessary drag. If the BC is too small you risk restricting your breathing when it’s inflated and you don’t want that either.
Scuba accessories is another factor to consider when streamlining your gear. If you aren’t much of a snorkel user when diving you may want to opt out of wearing one at all. Snorkels can increase drag (though not significantly) and sometimes pull at your mask causing it to flood. If you value a snorkel as a safety item, then opt for a basic light weight one or maybe even one of those new folding ones which you can put in your pocket rather than attach to your mask. Dive-slates too are better tucked into a BC pocket rather left to hang clipped to the BC.
The key with all your gear is to eliminate any extras and carry only what you need, tuck everything away (including alternate air sources, gauges etc.) and keep everything as close to your body as possible.
The Second important aspect of streamlining is to streamline your body and it’s movements. Flailing arms and bent knee kicking doesn’t do anything for your movement and only increases water turbulence and resistance. Firstly perfect your fining and style of kicking- your legs should remain straight at the hips, toes pointed and knees slightly bent or straight. Kick with a long, slow, wide motion which should easily propel you forward at a steady pace or you may employ a flutter kick. Either way get you fining down to a “T” and don’t use your hands in any way. A good way of stopping yourself from using your arms unconsciously is to fold them across your chest or hold your gauge along your torso.
Think dolphin- smooth, sleek and graceful and you’ll start feeling more hydrodynamic and streamlined which lead you to be a better diver.
One of the first things that is drilled into your minds when you begin scuba diving is the importance of a safe ascent from depths. And why?
It all boils down to the physics of diving and Boyle’s Law. While usually, nitrogen is expelled from a person’s body during an exhale and through their skin, when breathing compressed air because of the ambient water pressure, the nitrogen absorbed remains in the body’s fatty tissues and blood. The longer and deeper the dive, the more nitrogen is absorbed into the tissues. As long as the diver remains at pressure, the gas presents no problem. However, when the pressure around the diver decreases the nitrogen starts coming out of the tissues back into the blood stream. If the pressure is reduced too quickly, i.e when the water pressure decreases when ascending, the nitrogen starts forming bubbles in the tissues and bloodstream rather than being exhaled just like when you open a bottle or can of soda releasing the pressure which causes the carbon dioxide gas to lose its solubility and escape in the form of bubbles or fizz. This is what we all know as ‘The Bends’ or Decompression Sickness (DCS).
So what’s Qualifies as a Safe Ascend?
What seems like a trivial question is probably one of the most asked and debated about in diving. Some scuba organizations state that divers should ascent faster than a maximum of 18m/60ft per minute. However, this absolute maximum has still resulted in divers getting the bends in some cases. Today, a more generally accepted safe ascent rate by scuba organizations and most dive computers is 9m/30ft per minute. More simply put for divers without a dive computer (which we don’t recommend) is to follow your smallest air bubbles. That said, we believe you should always dive with a dive computer for each diver that allows you to monitor depth and speed and also alerts you when ascending too fast (a standard feature in most dive computers these days).
How to complete a 5 Point Safe Scuba Ascent
Remember the Acronym S.T.A.R.S (as taught in the PADI Open Water Course) and it get it wrong.
S-SIGNAL: Give the clear ready to start ascending signal (thumb up hand signal) and receive a confirmation from all divers that they are aware the dive is ending.
T-TIME: Look at the time indicated on your dive computer to make sure the No-decompression limit wasn’t exceeded. If exceeded prepare to make decompression stops at recommended depths and signal to your buddy diver for a confirmation. Time and fully complete your safety stop.
A-AIRWAY: Look up and make sure there’s a direct path to the surface. Search for obstacles (like boats you won’t want to bonk your head on).
R-REACH: Extend your arm above your head signalling the okay signal to the boat or fellow divers at the surface and to protect hitting your head on anything that may be above you. Turn around when ascending to keep track of anything behind you.
S-SWIM- Swim very slowly to the surface not using your BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) to ascend until you surface. Once at the surface you may inflate your BCD to help keep you buoyant.
If you’re deploying an SMB (Surface Marker Buoy) you should do so at the safety stop. For more on that read- How to Deploy a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB).
Conserving precious air and making the most of your limited supply on a dive is a constant pursuit for divers the world over. It’s definitely one of the most coveted scuba skills among divers and helps greatly to extend their bottom time to the maximum allowed time without having to cut short a dive because they ran out. You’ve probably heard of hundred tips of ways to conserve air when diving, and while some of these are nothing you haven’t heard of before, we’re bringing you Our Top 10 Tips to stretch your next tank of air:
1. Stop losing out on air before it even reaches your lungs. Check your O-rings, inflator hose and connection points carefully for any leaks before a dive. Even a tiny stream of bubbles from an O-ring or an inflator swivel can add up to a significant amount of minutes, and in dive time that can be a lot. Ask your buddy to take a closer look once you’re in the water to spot any leaks. Have all your Scuba equipment serviced regularly and by professionals. It’s a simple but important way to stop unwanted wastage of air.
2. Dive Slow. Slow and steady does it when you dive. Scuba diving isn’t about how fast you can swim, nor how much ground you can cover. In fact, divers tend to compete on who surfaces with the most air. If that’s the case the only way you’ll win those bragging rights is to slow down, relax and take the sloth approach when you dive. Avoid darting around, go with the flow and enjoy every minute.
3. Breathe slowly- both inhale and exhale deeply, but comfortably. Don’t consciously try to lower your intake, hold your breath or expand your lungs beyond their capacity. Practice breathing deeply at home (yoga style) to get used to this kind of breathing, as natural as breathing seems when you get underwater paying a little attention to this can go a long way.
4. Scuba diving is all about creating less drag and streamlining both your scuba gear and body for better hydrodynamics. By minimizing any resistance underwater you automatically minimize exertion and in turn reduce your air consumption, both important factors of diving.
5. Buoyancy, Buoyancy, Buoyancy. Not being able to control buoyancy during a dive results in a diver using extra energy, either fighting to keep of the bottom or from continually floating to the surface. The energy spent doing this directly relates to the consumption of air. Another reason that good buoyancy control helps make your air last longer is that you tend not to inflate and deflate your Buoyancy Compensator or BCD, which uses air from your tank, as much during a dive.
6. Dive Stress-free. Be well rested before a dive day. Fatigue is stress. If you start the dive tired, your body tends to work harder to overcome the extra burden, so you breathe harder. Pay attention to the dive briefing you are given before a dive so you are better prepared and calmer. Stress-free diving also includes diving with a dive buddy whom you trust and share good communication which includes everything from understanding each other’s hand signals, to facial expressions, gestures and feelings through eye contact automatically builds up your own confidence and comfort on a dive. Dive within your own comfort zone and limits.
7. Dive Shallower. It’s physics. Remember what you learned in your first Scuba course? – The deeper you dive the more air you consume and the shorter the dive. You can easily dive a few feet apart from the rest of the group or just above the coral shelf and see just as much, to conserve a bit more air.
8. Use the proper amount of weights and distribute them properly. If you’re over-weighted, you have to put more air into your BC to float it and be neutral. An inflated BC is larger and requires more energy and oxygen to push it through the water, not to mention can play havoc with your buoyancy control. Weight distribution however is not just limited to the weights you wear, it also includes the all the scuba gear and equipment you use on a dive and how it’s worn. It’ll determine your profile underwater and a horizontal swimming position which is always recommended will reduce drag and help in streamlining.
9. Were the right kind of exposure suits (wetsuits or dry suits) to stay warm enough underwater. Heat is energy that has to be replaced by metabolism, using oxygen to make it. Getting cold also creates mental stress which, often without your noticing it, increases your breathing rate.
10. Physical fitness is often overlooked as important for diving but actually it can make a big difference even in buoyancy and air consumption. Your fitness levels can affect how strenuous a dive is and your exertion levels which directly influence your breathing rate. A diver in better condition will have less increase in breathing rate when the workload goes up cause he’s in better shape, so he will use less air.
And lastly, if you are the first one to end a dive because of air consumption, don’t beat yourself up about it. People are different and each have their own metabolisms which dictates a persons need and use for oxygen. Being obsessive about air consumption can often lead to a diver’s downfall of the very same. Dive slow, calm and most importantly have fun and enjoy your dive and forget about the rest. That alone may spare you the extra air you crave for a longer dive.
Scuba diving is a sport just like any, that comes with risks. Anyone, no matter how experienced can have a bad day or have something go wrong during a dive. However as divers, we are first trained to deal with difficulties and different scenarios, relying on your dive buddy for help. That’s why you always dive in pairs right? But, in reality all too often you’re left wondering where your buddy is when things turn ugly.
Dive like your diving Solo. We’re not saying ditch your dive buddy and dive alone. By all means stay close to your buddy and be ready to help him. But, as far as your own safety is concerned, pretend he’s not there or… won’t be when you need him, in other words be self-reliant. In any emergency your most dependable rescuer is you!
Here’s how you can be a better dive buddy to yourself and others especially if you aren’t rescue certified yet-Sharpen your diving skills
Most times you’ve already been taught the skills you’d need to rescue yourself in almost any situation, but you’ve forgotten how or don’t have practice. Regulator recovery, mask clearing, free flowing regulator, controlling an emergency ascent, switching to your alternate, unbuckling weight belts and so on are some of the things that all divers are taught. They seem easy and don’t sound like much, but you’ll be surprised at how many divers forget the most basic of skills in an emergency situation.
Since probably haven’t needed to take your scuba unit off underwater since your open-water certification or use any of these skills, it’s important to practice and sharpen the skills taught to you in training. Diving skills develop and become second nature only with practice, so on regular dives maybe at the end at the safety stop if you have air to spare, sharpen your skills by practicing them. By reminding yourself how much you already know, you’ll gain confidence to perform them if needed without undue stress.
Go Over Emergency Scenarios
Rehearsing emergencies and other situations makes them more real. It helps you visualize what they will be like and what will need to be done. It’s a rehearsal of those emergency techniques you’ve learned and practiced that brings the correct response to the front of your mind before the need arises. Learn from your peers by asking your dive master, instructor or other divers for scenarios they might have faced and if you have an queries or situations you don’t know how to cope with.
Think solo, plan smarter and rehearse before-hand how you could deal with a situation so that if need be you know how to react without wasting time looking for a rescuer.
Gear up for emergencies
Keep at hand all the dive gear and equipment you may need if you were diving solo. For example: Have your own completely redundant air source, like a pony bottle, instead of relying on your buddy’s octopus. You may want several cutting tools instead of just one, mounted so you can reach at least one with either hand in case of entanglement. A surface signaling device is important when boat diving, in case you surface out of sight of the dive boat, you should also have a whistle to draw attention. Be prepared for yourself and carry your own backups.
Rescue Course
Lastly, we recommend that all divers get their rescue and emergency response certification as there’s nothing better to develop your own self-rescue ability than learning how to rescue someone else. The focus on emergency situations and practical training for the same will not only teach you a lot but it’ll also boost your confidence and increase your comfort levels underwater.
Mask clearing is one of the first diving skills you’ll learn in your Open Water Certification training. It’s quite essential to master, as the skill will help you feel more comfortable while you’re diving, even if you have a leaky or foggy mask. It’ll also come in handy if your mask gets knocked off by accident or if you need to remove it underwater for whatever reason.
If you don’t know how to clear your mask while scuba diving, don’t fret. Apply the following tips to successfully clear your diving mask:
How to Clear a Partially Flooded Mask
If you have a partially flooded mask, here’s how you can clear it underwater:
1. Inhale deeply through your mouth (regulator) and get a decent lung full of air.
2. Give the bottom seal of your mask on your left lens a gentle lift with your left thumb and index finger so a little water can come in, then place it back on your face.
3. Perform the same step on your right lens, but remember to use your right thumb and index finger when lifting the seal. Place it back on your face after removing it.
4. Press the top ridge of your mask firmly to your forehead while slowly opening the bottom seal and blowing hard through your nose.
5. Tilt your head back slightly, looking up while exhaling through your nose. This step should help the air you blow out to push the water out of the mask.
How to Clear a Fully Flooded Mask
If you have a fully flooded mask, the following steps will help you clear it underwater.
1. Do the steps in clearing a partially flooded mask to let water into your mask.
2. Fully flood your mask by opening its top seal and letting the water fill it.
3. Place your hands on either side of your mask and place its top ridge firmly to your forehead to open the bottom seal.
4. Exhale through your nose and let the air bubbles remove the water from your mask.
While some divers can quickly put their scuba diving masks back on and use the method outlined above to clear them, it sometimes takes more than one breath to completely clear scuba masks. Clearing a fully flooded mask can also be challenging because pressure can push it to your face once you put it back on underwater. This makes pushing the water out of your mask harder.
In that case, keep the following tips in mind whenever you’re clearing a fully flooded mask:
• Hold your mask to your face instead of putting its strap over your head
• Clear your mask once to get as much air in the mask as you can. A little air helps release the pressure in it.
• Secure your mask’s strap around your head, then start to clear it.
You can check out PADI’s short step-by-step guide to mask clearing below:
Other Scuba Diving Mask Clearing Tips
To make diving mask clearing a lot easier, we’ve rounded up more helpful tips below.
Close your eyes
You don’t have to open your eyes when you’re clearing a flooded mask. This tip applies if you’re wearing contact lenses or if your eyes are sensitive to saltwater. By closing your eyes while you’re clearing scuba masks, you’ll feel relaxed and avoid the uncomfortable sensation of saltwater in your eyes.
Pinch your nose
This tip will help keep water from entering your nose while it fills up your mask. It can also keep the uncomfortable sensation of bubbles away from your nose.
Breathe
Don’t forget to take deep and slow breaths as you clear your mask. You can count each time you breathe while performing this technique. It’s a perfect approach to clearing scuba masks since it helps you focus on removing the water. Taking deep breaths will help you relax, too.
Relax
Focus on each step slowly. You’ll feel less overwhelmed when you’ve got each step in mind as you fill your mask.
How to Practice Scuba Mask Clearing
While clearing scuba masks is relatively simple, some experienced divers can’t do it easily—and in many cases, this is understandable. If you’ve got a scuba mask that fits you well and you’ve never had another diver’s fins in your face, you’ve probably never had to use this skill at all. But like most scuba diving skills, a little practice can help you become confident in performing mask clearing.
Practicing this skill repeatedly in a controlled environment or swimming pool is the best way to perfect it. Standing in the shallow end of a pool, put your mask on and crouch down in the water. Pull the mask away from your face, let it flood halfway, and get practicing. Once you’ve gotten the partially flooded mask clearing down pat, practice taking off your mask completely underwater, putting it back on, and clearing it.
But if you’re one of those divers who feel uncomfortable clearing their masks, make sure that you’re negatively buoyant during practice. You should also deflate your buoyancy compensator completely and get into a stable position by spreading your knees apart on a flat, safe bottom composition. Once you feel comfortable, you can practice this skill while you’re neutrally buoyant.
Practicing mask clearing in the bathroom will also help you master it. Try filling up your mask with water and focusing on breathing through your mouth the next time you shower. By doing this, you’ll easily adapt to clearing a fully flooded mask in a safe and relaxing environment.
It’s normal for water to enter your mask during a dive, and tackling this challenge is part of being a confident and capable diver. Once you’ve mastered the PADI mask clearing skill, you won’t get irritated when water enters your mask on your next dive.
One of the first things you learn when you scuba dive is the importance of equalizing your ears. When you equalize your ears, you open up the lower ends of your Eustachian tubes allowing air to enter the cavity in your ears, to counter the pressure from the outside as you dive deeper. The most common way to equalize taught to you before your first dive is known as the Valsalva maneuver. The Valsalva method teaches you to pinch your nose so that no air can pass through your nostrils, and then gently “blow” your nose. This action forces air into your inner ear space, equalizing the pressure within to the outside pressure often with an audible popping or clicking sound.
As easy as it sounds to equalize your ears, even the best of divers can have trouble equalizing once in a while on dives. So, if you’re just having one of those days here are some great tips to help get your stubborn ears to pop so you can enjoy your dive with no worries.
1. Start equalizing before you get in the water
Listen for the pop and clicking sound when you’re on the boat or well before a dive. Do this by swallowing or by using the Valsalva method gently. Pre-pressurizing helps make equalization underwater much easier.
2. Descend feet first
It is said that the Valsalva maneuver takes 50% more force when you are in a head down position rather than head up. It’s also easier to equalize your ears when your head is closer to the surface when you first descend.
3. Equalize before you feel the need to
You’ll want to do this before you feel a squeeze. The deeper you go without equalizing the harder it is to equalize cause the pressure increases more the further you go. Look up when you equalize. Extending your neck tends to open your Eustachian tubes.
4. Use a descent line
This allows you to descend at a more controlled rate and if you feel the pressure you can stop the decent quickly.
5. Ascend a little if you can’t equalize
If you are having trouble getting your ears to equalize at a certain depth, ascend a little and try again.
6. Clear your mask of any water
Water in your mask often irritates your mucus membranes causing them to produce more which clogs up your nose and sinuses. This makes equalizing more difficult. So keep water out of your mask.
7. Never dive with a head cold
Head colds can make equalization very difficult or even impossible.
8. Avoid alcohol, smoking, and mucus producing foods
Foods like milk increase mucus production while tobacco and alcohol irritate your mucus membranes that can block your Eustachian tubes.
9. Try different techniques of equalization
For example try with your nostrils pinched or blocked against your mask skirt, swallowing. Swallowing pulls open your Eustachian tubes while the movement of your tongue, with your nose closed, compresses air against them. This technique is called the Toynbee maneuver. Another thing to try is wiggling your jaw from side to side to loosen up your Eustachian tubes.
10. Never force equalization
If you just can’t get your ears to pop, don’t go further. Ascend and try a little but to be on the safer side abort the dive. The risk of damage to your ears is too high to play with, for a dive.
Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to this question. It all boils down to the risk you are willing to take, as well as the maximum altitude you will be flying at and whether your dives involved decompression stops.
Nonetheless, to give you a rough idea of how long you should wait, several organizations have provided their take on the matter.
The U.S. Navy recommends that you wait at least two hours before you board a plane after scuba diving, while the U.S. Air Force says you should wait 24 hours. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) recommends a 12-hour minimum surface interval before flying, and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors’ (PADI) Flying After Diving guidelines say divers should not ascend to a high altitude within 12 hours of completing a single dive or 18 hours after doing multiple dives (whenever possible, wait 24 hours).
Organization | Recommended Surface Interval Before Flying |
Divers Alert Network (DAN) | 12 hours (minimum) |
U.S. Air Force | 24 hours |
U.S. Navy | 2 hours |
Professional Association Of Diving Instructors (PADI) | 12 hours (for single dives) |
These recommendations are conflicting, to say the least. So which guideline should you follow? The current winner of the debate is the DAN guideline, which states:
• After single no-decompression dives, a minimum pre-flight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.
• After multiple no-decompression dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum pre-flight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.
• For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little experimental or published evidence on which to base a recommendation; for decompression diving, a pre-flight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.
Note: The above info is for sports diving and should not apply to commercial diving or nitrox diving. Because of the complex nature of decompression sickness (DCS), and because decompression schedules are based on unverifiable assumptions, there can never be fixed flying after diving rules that can guarantee prevention of bends completely.
Whether you wait 12 hours or 18 hours (or more), there are no guarantees that you won’t get decompression sickness (DCS) when you fly. Of course, the longer your pre-flight surface interval time, the more nitrogen you expel from your system—which minimizes the risk of decompression sickness.
Using Scuba Dive Computers to Calculate Wait Times
As a diver, you most likely already own a dive computer. But if you don’t, it would probably be a good idea to purchase one. It would help take most of the guesswork out of the whole flying after diving dilemma, as some of the best dive computers available today should have the capability to make the necessary calculations and provide you with the most optimum “time to fly” based on your dive parameters.
Renting a scuba dive computer isn’t advisable if you plan to do multiple dives on different days. You’ll need to use the same computer during each dive for maximum accuracy—the computer will be using the information from all of your dives to be able to give you the right “time to fly” calculation.
If you must rent, make sure to rent it for the entirety of your trip (if possible) to ensure that no one else uses it, as this will obviously skew the calculations.
The Risk of Flying After Scuba Diving
Truthfully speaking, ascending to a high altitude immediately after diving increases a person’s risk of suffering from decompression sickness. Flying after diving increases this risk because of the decreasing atmospheric pressure as you ascend. Airplane cabins may be pressurized, but they only go up to around 11 or 12 pounds per square inch (psi) at cruise altitude. This is still a significant decrease from sea-level pressure, which is approximately 14.5 psi.
You might only have a few tiny bubbles in your body when you reach the surface after a dive, which should cause no problems at all. However, if you go flying immediately without waiting a sufficient amount of time, these small bubbles could expand (due to the reduction in pressure with altitude) and could cause the onset of DCS symptoms.
Recommended Pre-Flight Interval After Scuba Diving
There are many ways to avoid getting decompression sickness altogether, but we recommend you use your judgment and consider some factors before deciding how long to wait before flying after a dive. As previously mentioned, these include the number of dives undertaken during the trip, the type or types of dives (decompression, non-decompression, altitude dives, nitrox, etc.) you engaged in, your general health, body type, and your age.
The estimated DCS probability for the 12-hour flying-after-diving surface interval is about one percent. Of the 300,000 to 400,000 people who fly home 12 to 24 hours after their last dive, the estimated incidence of decompression sickness among these divers is about 0.004 percent, making the 12- to 24-hour rule the most followed among divers around the world.
If you’re still unsure and you just want to play it safe, the best thing to do is to plan ahead and allow one day (precisely 24 hours) between your last dive and your flight. An even better (and safer) option is to wait two whole days, particularly if you engaged in deep or multiple dives.
What You Need to Remember When Flying After Diving
Now that you have a general idea of how long you need to wait before flying, it’s important to educate yourself on some of the things you need to be aware of before you board that plane.
Here are a few key things divers need to remember, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):
1. Wait at least 24 hours between diving and flying.
2. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of DCS so you can monitor yourself and your companions.
3. You’re at risk of suffering altitude DCS whenever you fly in an unpressurized aircraft above 18,000 feet. If you went diving before the flight, you’d still be at risk even at much lower altitudes.
4. Breathing 100% oxygen at any time during the flight does not prevent altitude DCS. However, if you were able to perform oxygen pre-breathing before take-off, this should greatly help reduce the likelihood of suffering from DCS.
5. Even in a pressurized aircraft, you may still experience altitude DCS as a result of sudden cabin pressure loss during in-flight rapid decompression. If this happens, refrain from flying again for at least 24 hours. Also, make sure to watch for delayed DCS symptoms and seek medical attention at once.
6. If you experience symptoms in-flight and they go away during the descent of the plane, this does not mean that you are fine. It may actually be confirmation that you are experiencing altitude DCS, in which case you should get yourself evaluated by a medical professional immediately.
7. Refrain from flying again if there has been any indication that you experienced DCS. Get yourself cleared by an FAA medical officer, aviation medical examiner, military flight surgeon, or hyperbaric medicine specialist before attempting to board another flight.
1. Flying in an airplane
Firstly, and probably most importantly, you should not fly after scuba diving. The general rule is considered to be that you should wait a minimum of 12 hours after one no-decompression stop dive, or 18 hours after two or more. Some people like to wait 24 hours, just to be safe. Generally, 24 hours is also the recommended time to wait if you went over your no decompression limit on the dive.
Why? When we go on an airplane and the altitude increases, the air pressure is lower than at sea level. This encourages the nitrogen to expand too quickly (similarly to when we ascend too fast) and we could end up with DCS.
Dive computers have a “no fly” warning that shows up after a dive, it’s important to follow your dive computer and wait to fly until this warning turns off.
2. Traveling to high altitudes
If you have an action-packed vacation planned, with a mountain hike scheduled for after your dive, you may need to rethink the itinerary.
For the same reasons as flying, traveling to the top of mountains should be avoided after scuba diving due to the high altitude. If the altitude is more than 1,000ft (300m), it’s considered a risk for decompression sickness. This is because altitude this high creates an increased pressure difference between your surroundings and the nitrogen left over in your body from the dive. This causes the nitrogen in your tissues to expand, and that can trigger the DCS.
The general rule is considered to be to wait 24 hours after diving one time or more before traveling to high altitudes. It’s best to play it safe and wait a day before climbing that mountain.
3. Taking a hot shower/bath
After a dive or two, you might be feeling cold and wanting to jump into a hot shower or bath to warm up quickly. But when you are submerged in hot water, your body’s tissues get warm, and this can promote the formation of bubbles, which we know is a danger for DCS. The solubility of a gas is related to temperature. You witness this when you see boiling water — bubbles appear when the water gets hot enough.
There’s no set rules for this one, but DAN (Divers Alert Network) recommends waiting between five to 30 minutes before having a hot shower or bath or getting into a hot tub. They also suggest that if you really can’t wait, try to dive more conservatively to limit the amount of nitrogen in your body after the dive, and have a lukewarm shower rather than a very hot one. The same applies to hot tubs or Jacuzzis.
4. Freediving
If you have some training in freediving then you are probably able to dive down a few feet to swim alongside beautiful marine life. But if you’ve been scuba diving that day, it’s best to stay on the surface. There is still nitrogen in your body from the scuba dive and going to depth again and ascending quickly could affect the off-gassing and trigger DCS.
The general rules for this are the same as the rules for flying after scuba: wait 12 hours after one dive, and 18 hours after two or more.
5. Going for a massage
While there hasn’t been much evidence supporting this theory, many scuba divers believe that deep tissue massage straight after a dive, could cause DCS. Massage can increase blood flow, which could cause bubble formation if there’s a lot of nitrogen still in the body from the dive.
Another reason that deep tissue massage could be problematic for scuba divers is, if the massage is very strong it can cause muscle soreness. This is a symptom of DCS and could cause worry and mis-diagnosed DCS. It’s probably better to go for a gentler massage after a dive, just to be safe.
Avoiding these five things after scuba diving can reduce your risk of decompression sickness, and keep you diving happily and safely.
A night dive allows you to see and experience your favorite dive sites in a whole new light. It’s an entirely different experience compared to daytime diving—exhilarating, yet surprisingly calm and relaxing at the same time.
For divers who haven’t tried night diving, descending into dark waters with the beam of a dive flashlight as your only light source might seem a bit scary. But we’ve got some good news: there’s no reason to feel afraid of going on night dives.
We’ve put together all the information you’ll need to conduct safe and enjoyable night scuba dives. Once you’ve logged a few of these dives, you’ll be looking forward to diving at your favorite sites when the sun sets!
Advantages of Diving at Night
Scuba diving at night is a fascinating experience, to say the least. Yes, the minimal visibility can keep you imagining what creatures lie outside the range of your light beam. But the experience of weightlessly floating in complete darkness is the closest you’ll get to being in space, right here on Earth. Talk about adventure!
Also, a whole new cast of characters come alive after the sun goes down. Daytime marine life retires, only to be replaced by an array of exotic nocturnal creatures. From tiny, bioluminescent plankton to the fascinating phenomenon of coral fluorescence, you can only see these spectacles of nature on night dives.
You’ll also feel more focused as your vision is limited to that of your light beam. Brighter colors, bioluminescence, and nocturnal creatures make even a ten-meter square more interesting.
What are the Different Types of Night Diving?
The most popular forms of night diving are:
• Dusk diving
• Cave diving
• Diving in very murky waters or waters with limited visibility
• Deep cliff or overhang diving
Many divers consider dusk diving to be the most relaxing form of nocturnal diving. Dusk divers begin their plunge during dusk, then slowly shift into complete darkness. Cave diving, as the name suggests, is the exploration of underwater cave systems.
Should You Bring a Dive Buddy Along with You On Your Dive?
Yes. Always remember that you should dive at night with a dive buddy you feel comfortable with. It’s important that you stick close to each other to avoid dive buddy separation. If you want, you could use a short buddy line to reduce the risk of separation, especially if you’re very anxious about diving at night.
How Should You Plan Your Night Diving Adventure?
Most diving experts recommend that you dive a site you’re familiar with (and one you’ve already plunged into during the day) so that you can plan your dive well. Understanding the site’s terrain (whether it’s a wall, pinnacle, gorge, wreck, or other type of landscape), current condition (visibility, current, and overhead hang position), and other elements will prove useful when planning your night dive.
What are the Essential Pieces of Scuba Gear for Night Diving?
Night dive lights
The main piece of scuba diving gear you’ll need for diving after dark is a dive light or underwater torch. Diving lights are essential for seeing where you’re going underwater, and they’re a major means of communication at night.
Well-equipped divers carry at least a primary and a secondary dive light with them, so it’s extremely important to bring a backup if your primary dive light fails. And as paranoid as it might seem, some divers even carry three or four backup lights to ensure that neither they nor their dive buddies have to end a dive without one.
Fortunately for consumers, the market gives you many options. Our guide to the best night dive lights can help you make an informed decision about your next purchase.
Safety & signaling gear
Carrying emergency signaling devices with you on night dives is also a must. If you surface away from a dive boat, these tools could help you get noticed in the dark. We recommend that you bring a combination of both visual and audible safety gear, which can consist of the following items:
• Whistles
• Strobe lights
• Air horns
• Glow-in-the-dark chemical light sticks (although experts recommend that you shouldn’t use them for marking since they’re not eco-friendly)
You’ll also need a scuba tank light (or a tank signal light) for a night dive. It lets you direct other divers to your location. Check out this article for more information on underwater signaling devices.
Protective gear
You should consider wearing the right protective gear if you’re night diving, as you risk bumping into things in the dark and getting cuts and scrapes. However, wearing gloves, boots, and other protective scuba gear doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. Pay attention to your surroundings to avoid colliding with fragile coral and marine life.
Other scuba diving equipment
While the rest of your personal scuba equipment for night diving does not differ much from day diving, there are a few considerations you can make.
If you or your dive buddy need an alternate air source, it should have a bright color so you can quickly identify and see it whenever there’s an emergency. You should also think about getting a hose protector in a vibrant shade for your spare octopus if it isn’t brightly colored. Bright hose protectors make your octopus stand out more in dark sites.
Plus, you should have illuminated scuba gauges or dive computers, or ones with bright markings for better visibility in the dark. Having a glow-in-the-dark dive slate to communicate on a night dive might also be a good idea.
A dive compass is another piece of gear that divers usually bring on night dives. This item helps you stay in place throughout your dive. Diving compasses come in a few configurations: you can attach them to your BCD, or strap them to your wrist. Some manufacturers even offer compasses that they’ve built into dive computers.
Tips for Safer, More Enjoyable Night Dives
We’ve already mentioned that night dives can be scary for newbies. Follow these helpful tips to ensure safer, more enjoyable dives.
Don’t panic
As hard as it might be, you should curb your active imagination of what lurks beyond your dive light beam. If you’ve dived a lot in the day, you shouldn’t worry about bigger marine life and know that they might be more afraid of you than you are of them.
Dive from a boat
Most divers do night dives from a dive boat as it makes entries and exits easier. You won’t have to deal with the surf or pay attention to where you’re wading (which are necessary when you’re shore diving).
Get to your dive site on time
Plan your dive properly so that you’ll reach your destination at around twilight. This time of day will give you enough light to help you prepare your gear for the dive and avoid blubbering in the dark. You can then enter the water knowing that you’ve got everything you need and your gear’s working when you’ve seen the sun set.
Learn all night hand and dive light signals before your dive
Some examples of these signals include:
• Waving your torch back and forth horizontally in front of your buddy to catch their attention
• Waving your torch up and down to signal that there’s something wrong during your dive
• Waving your dive light in a circle to do the “OK” sign
Take care of your dive flashlight
Keep your dive flashlight attached to your wrist at all times with a lanyard, and turn it on before entering the water. If you accidentally drop your light into the water, these rules will help you a lot since they’ll let you find your light by its beam.
Water can also enter your dive light when you turn it on or use its switches underwater, so you should avoid doing these things to keep your light working.
Never shine your light directly into another diver’s face
This tip is the golden rule for most night divers. If your light is aimed directly at your fellow diver’s eyes, it might make them temporarily blind. Also, keep your beam low to avoid bumping into any objects or kicking up sand that’s too close to the bottom.
Keep an eye on your gauges
Pay attention to your air consumption and depth. It’s easy to go deep, considering you can’t see the bottom, especially if you’re diving a wall or a deeper dive site at night.
Always remember that your bubbles go up
This tip is vital if you get disoriented during the dive or experience vertigo. In these cases, you should signal your buddy to help you get to the surface in a safe ascent. Breaking the surface and the sight of dive boat lights or starts will help make the side effects you’re experiencing subside.
Don’t forget to look for bioluminescent organisms
Bioluminescent organisms glow a brilliant blue and green in the dark, just like stars do in the sky. You can see them by covering your dive torch’s beam with your hand or holding the light against your body to stop all light. Then, just wave your hand through the water, so you’ll see streams of tiny, bluish lights dance off your fingers.
What’s the Best Night Dive Site for Divers?
While you can dive almost any site at night, there’s one particular site that’s well-known for night diving. It’s the manta ray night dive in Kailua Kona, Hawaii—an experience that nearly every diving publication and SCUBA website rates as one of the world’s top 10 diving destinations. For more details, go check out our post on the Kailua Kona night dive.
While there are a lot of people who enjoy scuba diving every day, it also poses inherent risks just like any other outdoor activity. With this in mind, performing a pre-dive safety check can help you avoid most accidents while you’re in the water. It’s essential for new and veteran divers to conduct this vital safety check before every dive. But what exactly is a pre-dive safety check, and how do you go about it?
What is the Buddy Check & Why is Important for Divers?
Scuba divers and their dive buddies typically perform a pre-dive safety check before going into the water. It’s the final inspection of your equipment before your dive. You and your buddy can conduct gear checking on your boat or on the shore. The pre-dive safety check ensures that your equipment is working, and also familiarizes you with your buddy’s equipment should you need to assist or receive assistance from him. It even lets you check if your buddy’s gear is working correctly, and if you’ve turned on your air supply.
Despite the warnings, most divers seldom perform this crucial scuba gear check before a dive and rush to descend. Especially with your scuba diving equipment being set-up by someone else, a diver should always inspect his gear and perform a buddy check before diving.
Using Acronyms During Your Pre-Dive Safety Check
Many scuba divers, including beginners, make sure that they recall specific scuba buddy check sequences via acronyms or mnemonics. They use two abbreviations for pre-dive safety checks: the ABC and the BWRAF pre-dive safety check acronyms.
The ABC Acronym
This diving acronym is also known as the BSAC buddy check system. ABC stands for:
• A – Air
• B – Buoyancy
• C – Clips and releases
Checking your air supply, as well as your dive buddy’s air, involves the following tasks:
• Confirm if you have good airflow and if it’s switched on
• Confirm if you have a functional air supply
• Check your air gauges for any fluctuations
• Confirm if your air tastes okay
• Confirm if your primary regulator and your alternative air supply are working by performing similar checks on these pieces of gear
• Show your buddy how to remove the alternative air source
As for buoyancy checks, the tasks below will help you and your buddy ensure good buoyancy while diving.
• Check if your buoyancy control device (BCD) or stab jacket’s air-in or direct feeds are working properly
• Ensure correct air feed connection
• Check dump valve location on your BCD and your dry suit with your buddy should an emergency occurs during your dive
• Confirm whether you’re using your BCD, your dry suit, or both. This step only applies if you’re using a dry suit on your dive.
Lastly, performing a check on your clips and releases lets you:
• Run through all your clips and releases on your BCD/stab jacket and weight belt
• Tell your buddy if you’ve attached weights to your BCD and how they should remove them in an emergency
The BWRAF Acronym
PADI’s “BWRAF” acronym is highly popular with divers and is an easy to remember pre-dive check. PADI advises divers to review their dive plan and their preferred signals with this pre-dive safety check acronym.
BWRAF stands for:
• B – BCD & Buoyancy
• W – Weights/Weight Belt
• R – Releases
• A – Air
• F – Final OK
To check if you have a functional BCD, here are the steps that you should perform:
• Check your buddy’s buoyancy compensator.
• Check if you’ve connected the low-pressure inflator hose correctly on your BCD and ensure a less sticky inflator button with a quick puff.
• Make sure that your BCD deflates correctly by deflating it.
• Make sure that you have the proper weight by checking your buoyancy. This step will only apply if you’re checking your dive equipment in the water.
For weight belt checks, it’s best to perform the tasks listed below.
• Check if your buddy is wearing their weight belt properly. Ensure that loose ends are tied correctly and tucked in such a way that enables quick release.
• Familiarize yourself with your dive buddy’s preferred weight belt or built-in weights and how you can release them when a specific emergency calls for it.
Once you’ve checked your BCD and weight belt, performing a release check is your next step. The following steps should be enough for you to conduct one:
• Check if your buddy has strapped their BCD correctly and tightened all belts.
• Count the number of buckles/straps tugging at each one as you enter the water.
• Ensure that hose or diving gear placement won’t keep you and your buddy from removing your gear in emergencies.
• Teach your buddy how to open the release.
Air supply checks are also necessary before diving. Unfortunately, there are times where divers forget why they should perform this particular step. But it doesn’t mean you should do the same. Here are a few ways to check for proper air supply:
• Check if your buddy’s air is fully turned on.
• Make him take a couple of breaths while you watch the pressure gauge for fluctuations in the needle, or simply purge the regulator while watching the needle.
• Make sure that you have a full tank and check if your air connectors are leaking.
• For alternate air source checking, breathe from it a few times. You’ll also need to make sure that your buddy has clipped the source on their BCD and that you can see it while you dive.
Lastly, we have the final OK. This last step lets you perform the following steps:
• Inspect your fins, mask, and snorkel with your eyes.
• Test dive flashlights, if necessary.
• Take a compass bearing.
• Check your dive computer before giving your buddy the all-OK sign to start your dive.
• Attach loose hoses and other dangly items (which can cause reef damage) to your suit.
How Can Divers Remember the BWRAF Scuba Check?
To help divers remember the BWRAF diving check system, PADI uses the mnemonic “Begin with Review and Friend”. But if you and your buddy want to use a different mnemonic, there are some other mnemonics that divers have created to remember the procedure.
We’ve listed down some common and funny mnemonics below:
• Beans With Rice And Fish
• Bruce Willis Ruins All Films
• Breathing Water Really Ain’t Fun
• Big White Rabbits Are Fluffy
• Because We Really Are Friends
• Blonde Women Really Are Fun
• Burgers With Relish And Fries
• Bunnies Will Run Away Fast
• Bangkok Women Really Are Fellas
Preparing for any activity is a must, especially if you’re diving underwater. When you perform a scuba buddy check before heading into deep water, it will ensure a fun and trouble-free diving experience for you and your dive buddy.
Did you ever wonder what it would feel like to fly underwater? Divers that describe their drift diving experience often say it’s like gliding underwater. It sure sounds like an interesting type of diving to try! This post will answer a few critical questions when it comes to drift diving. Who can drift dive? Where in the world are the best drift dives? Do you need any specific equipment to drift dive?
Let’s dive right in, learn about the essentials of drift diving and find out some of the best drift diving destinations.
What is drift diving?
Drift diving is a type of scuba diving technique that lets you float along the underwater current. The diver is then powered by the current and not so much by fin kicks. Thus, this type of dive is more relax and doesn’t require so much effort. What it does require though, is proper knowledge and skills. Thus, the diver needs to be in control of its buoyancy and have proper equipment. Plus, when drift diving you barely have any plan, so you follow nature’s way.
Who can drift dive?
A certified diver of any level can learn to drift dive. Indeed, the international agencies such as SSI and PADI offers specialization course to learn safe drift diving practices. That being said, lots of the best drift diving sites in the world require the diver to have previous experience in order to proceed safely. Our best tip on this is to always read diving site reviews online and get reliable information from the dive center you’ll go with.
What gear does the drift diver needs?
The drift diver will need all the same equipment that is required for regular dives, plus a few extras! Indeed, the main thing is to have gloves and a hook. Knowing that you’re going nature’s way and that even the fittest diver can’t beat most marine currents… if you need to stop, well you need the tools to help you do so.
The other thing that is mandatory when drift diving is a surface marker buoy. Indeed, as the current sweeps you away, it’s important that yours and other boats know that you are down there and where. Plus, a whistle can be a great help if you surface on choppy seas and need immediate attention.
Is drift diving dangerous?
Just like in all sports, and especially outdoor and underwater sports, there are always risks. Thus, we can’t say there’s no hazard in drift diving, nor in regular diving. What we do say is that you should make sure that you have appropriate diving skills to drift dive and that you are well guided. In fact, if you follow the instructions given by a dive center that knows the site and usual conditions, you’ll be alright! Plus, have the tools mentioned above, so if anything should happen, you can surface safely and get back on the boat!
Well done, drift diving is a safe and exhilarating experience that every diver should try! Now, let’s discover the best drift diving destinations in the world!
Where to drift dive?
The most important thing when drift diving, as we mentioned above, is to do so on a known diving site. Thus, go with a dive center that has mapped drift diving sites and knows the exits points along the way. As a diver, you job will be to listen carefully when the dive is presented and to follow the directions during the dive. You will need to observe a lot around you and make sure you stick with the group.
Plus, most drift dives are done along a wall, a reef or a wreck for example, so you will have reference points along the way.