Hi, everyone? And welcome to Scuba Diving Magazine. I'm Mark, a British dive instructor.
And in today's video is going to follow on with our scuba diving basics playlist, teaching
you all of the things that you need to know when you're just starting out as a brand new
shiny scuba diver. So, today's video is all about top tips for when you're just starting
out so you can save yourself some money or just make your life a little bit easier on
the dive boat. So, now's the time you take a moment to learn a little something and research
a few tips and tricks that may not be immediately obvious.
So, I started out elaborating on all of these tips thinking I was only going to do five,
but I just kept thinking of other tips. So these are actually going to be 25 quick fire
tips to try and download as many obscure tips out of my brain as possible. If you need us
to elaborate on any of these in particular, then let us know down in the comments below.
If you're into your scuba diving, then don't forget to like this video and subscribe to
the Scuba Diver Magazine Channel so you will see more just like this. Anyway, let's get
started.
I think all of the experienced divers watching will all agree that the most annoying thing
can happen on a dive is when you're actually all kitted up right at the beginning. You've
got your heavy tank on your back and your fins on your feet, and you've left your mask
in your box, on the floor, over there. So now you have to awkwardly waddle over on a
pitching boat, bend down to get your mask, and then summon the strength in your legs
to actually stand back up again. Before you even get into your wetsuit, do a head to toe
checklist of your gear and place it somewhere convenient that you can reach whilst you're
standing upright. If you jump into your wetsuit or drysuit first before everybody else, then
you're just going to get all hot and tired just sorting everything out.
Another handy thing to remember, is to remember to untie your tank before you put your BCD
on. If you're diving off the boat, then most tanks will actually be secured in place with
a rope or a weight belt strap. This stops your tank and BCD from falling over, but it
will also stop you from standing up if you forget to undo that knot. Also, remember to
turn your gas on, your pressure gauge might actually say that it's full but it doesn't
mean that your gas is actually turned on. It just means that it was turned on and the
regulators are still pressurised. So, you'll only get two or three breaths out of it.
If you're struggling to get your regulators off of your tank after a dive, then chances
are, there's still a little bit of pressure inside them. Press that purge button a couple
more times, and if you still can't get it off, then turn the body of the first stage
a little bit, it can loosen the grip. If you're diving in colder waters where you need a hood,
then bring two or as many as you have. Most cold water wetsuits and drysuits come with
a complimentary hood so you end up collecting them. And instead of leaving your second or
third hood, bring it with you. You can now put on a nice, fresh, dry hood for your second
dive instead of a cold, damp, nasty hood.
Every diver needs at least one cutting device to get them out of trouble in the water. And
while most dive knives are made from marine grade steel, it can still rust if you don't
keep it clean. Your dive knife won't rust during the dive itself, but after the dive
when it's left wet and exposed to the fresh air. If you coat the blade with a little bit
of silicone grease, it helps keep the water off. After the dive, give it a good rinse
off with fresh water and then let it dry properly. Leave the camera, take the dive computer.
I know the reef is a beautiful place that you want to share with everyone you know and
everyone that follows you on Instagram. But I promise you when you're just starting out,
a camera will make your dive profile look like a heart rate monitor.
Until you can manage your buoyancy without looking, a camera would just draw your attention
way too much. And you will naturally hold your breath a little, so you actually float
up and have a bad day. Leave the camera. The best way to become a better scuba diver is
to get in the water as much as possible. Even if you're just diving in a swimming pool once
a week, you're working on your buoyancy and your comfort in the water. You're also gaining
experience with dive equipment, how it works and how to adjust it. That way, when you're
on a dive boat and the Kanban doesn't fit quite properly, it's not a big deal.
You know roughly how much lead to wear because you've played about with your weighting before,
you just need to adjust for any change in equipment or water. Joining a club doesn't
just give you experience though, it can give you invitations. Clubs will have trips running
throughout the year, and you can quickly build up your experience and confidence with a safe
group. Too many divers just cruise around unaware of their surroundings. They end up
bumping into other divers or worse, the coral. Before going in to take a look at something,
just take a quick glance around at your surroundings and the divers around you, so you know roughly
where everything is so that you don't bump into them. Take notice of any water currents
or water movement too, because if you're not paying attention the water will just push
you into something.
If you want to avoid being caught out in current, watch the fish ahead of you. If you look at
these little guys, they start off right out there in the water column. But as a dash of
current starts up they all duck down. And notice how they're all swimming in the same
direction? If they're just ambling around far from the reef, then the water is pretty
still with little current. If they're all close to the reef and swimming in the same
direction but not really going anywhere, then there's current ahead. These bright little
fish are called anthesis and they are usually the best indicators for current.
Look around once in a while whilst you're in the water. Sometimes we get tunnel vision
and can only focus on what's in front of you on the reef, and you can totally miss that
giant whale shark just cruising past you because you never look out into the blue. Big things
are silent underwater. You won't hear them coming unless they're a pod of dolphins or
something. And turning around can actually help you keep in contact with the group and
of course your buddy. A really easy way to get separated is when one of you swims on
whilst the other stops to look at something. You can often come across peer pressure when
scuba diving. And this isn't when a peer is trying to make you do something, but when
another diver suggests that you do something that you may not be comfortable with.
There is absolutely no situation in which you are obligated to go on any dive if you
don't want to. If you don't like a certain part of the dive plan, or if you just don't
feel like you're up to it, then stand up and just say, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable."
It's far better to just skip the dive or change the dive plan. If there's anything that you
are unsure about, then just ask, and try to do it as early as possible. If you turn your
gas on and it only reads 50 bar, then we can usually do something about it as long as you
tell us early enough. But if you leave it until the last minute, then you might not
be going on that dive. Or worse, you keep quiet about it, and you actually go on that
dive with very little gas.
So, silly little things can turn into big problems under water. So it's best to voice
any concerns as soon as you find them. No one's going to think any less of you, but
you might learn something for the next time. It's good to recognize these little signs
ahead of the time. The underwater world is a bit different to dry land. So you can get
turned around really easily and get lost if you don't pay attention. Before you go on
a dive, look for a map of the dive site and take it all in, including which way is North.
Before a dive, I take a good long look at a map of the area and take note on a slate
of any landmarks. So that at any point, when I reach a particular area, I know roughly
where I am and which way to go because I can visualize myself on that map.
If there are no landmarks or you just can't see them, then a compass will make your life
much easier to navigate. If you know that your boat is moored up to the North point
of the reef, or the sun was on your right hand side when you jumped in, then you'll
have better luck at making it back to the boat at the end of the dive. It is easy to
get caught up in the dive and forget to check your gauges. You then look down and you're
way low on gas. So, I like to check my gauges after I see anything interesting. That way
I'm checking my gauges all of the time. The more frequently you check your gauges, the
easier it is to recognize a fault and you shouldn't be surprised by your tank pressure.
If your tank pressure suddenly drops a chunk, then you might have a leak that's developed
under water. If you're checking your gauges all the time, then you'll never find yourself
in the red. And you'll always know roughly how much gas you have left.
I've seen some divers out there end their dives on zero tank pressure because they think
they've paid for every last puff of air in that tank. But it's there for a reason. At
five meters depth, two divers can manage a decent safety stop breathing simultaneously
from one tank. If you're selfish and you go into the red, then you both have to cut your
stop short which can be dangerous. You're also pretty useless if there's a missing diver
with no gas on your tank. All you can really do is just act as surface support. A spare
bolt snap is a multifunctional tool. I dive with plenty of bolts snaps to keep my dive
gear clipped off onto me. But a spare bolt snap is really useful. It can obviously replace
one that you've dropped, but a bolt snap can also be used as a signaling device.
Sound travels really well under water. If you just need your buddy to turn around, flicking
the action a couple of times is nice and clear. And if you need something louder, just bop
it against your tank. That's good and loud. BCDs are designed to hold you in a horizontal
position in the water, but small pockets of air can get trapped in corners of the bladder
and in the wrong position. It doesn't matter how hard you can push that button, you will
never get that gas out unless you can move that trapped air to the valve itself. Visualize
where the valve is behind you and make that the highest point, so the air trapped inside
moves up to it then you can get rid of it.
If you've ever given the choice of a cabin on a liveaboard, then go for as high up as
you can. Lower decks can get quite stuffy and they usually have polished wooden staircases
down to them. Hard enough to navigate when they're still, let alone when the boat is
actually moving. Upper decks are also safer if something bad should happen. It's far easier
to get out of your cabin, and it's generally nicer. You're further away from the engine
and the compressor so it's quieter, and the extra fresh air is better if you suffer from
seasickness. A lot of divers actually carry their pillows and blankets to the top deck
and sleep up there in the open air if they're in hot climates.
When you start to dive you're usually loaded up with just way too much less. There's a
few reasons for this, but as you venture out into the big blue ocean by yourself, you'll
often find that you can drop quite a lot of that lead. When you reach your maximum depth
on a dive, if you need any more than just a couple of small squirts of gas to get neutral,
then you're just wearing too much lead. Too much lead will increase your air consumption.
It also makes your buoyancy far more volatile, and lead's just heavy.
If you're deeper than everyone else in the group, then you're breathing gas faster than
everybody else and you'll be the first to end the dive. By staying a little bit shallower
than everyone else, your air will actually last much longer. You're on gassing less,
and you get to see everything that everyone else sees. So trust me, deeper water is just
colder and darker. If there's nothing to see there, then stay a little bit shallower. You
should only really need to buy one primary mask in your career. So, make it a good one.
Don't think too much on the color or any fancy detailing you may have seen, concentrate on
the fit itself. So, spend some time with your local dive center, look up online what brands
they can actually get in for you, and what range of masks suits you best on the manufacturer's
website.
The dive centre might not actually have the mask that suits you best in the stock at that
moment, but they might be able to order it in for you. So it's important to know if any
alternatives exist. And invest in a surface marker buoy, they are a very important piece
of safety equipment and a lot of places actually require all divers to have one now. And it's
good to learn how to use one early in your career, so if you don't have one, get one.
If there's one thing that I'm meticulous about before a dive, it's cleaning my feet. One
piece of grit or sand in your boot will really ruin your day and the next day. Before every
dive, shake out your boots and dust off your feet. And if you're diving in a dry suit,
make sure that your socks are on properly. You can't pull them up in the water. With
the repetitive movements that we do, our feet are on a dive, can quickly develop sores.
Sunscreen is good for preventing sunburn, but many sunscreens can actually kill coral.
Most rash vests will have a UPF rating and are made to protect you even when wet. They
don't just protect you from sunburn though. Rash vests will also protect you from a lot
of marine stings, rubbing from your BCD, and also bumps and scrapes in the water. So, they're
a great investment. We are biologically programmed to recognize faces, but you can't always see
everybody's face on a dive. One of the most distinguishable features of a diver is their
fins. Fins come in countless shapes and colors, and it's rare that on a dive boat you will
see too many duplicates. Take note of what your guide is wearing and what your buddy
is wearing. That way, you won't go off following a complete stranger.
Just bear in mind that colors change the deeper down you go, so those red fins on the boat
will be kind of dull, brownish color underwater. Staying well hydrated is very important to
staying healthy. If you're dehydrated, then you are more susceptible to decompression
sickness. But avoid alcohol. It can be very dangerous to mix alcohol and scuba diving,
so just avoid it. But also plan your drinks accordingly, especially when you're dry suit
diving. Being submerged in water actually makes your body need to pee. So, it's not
so bad when you're in a wetsuit, but in a dry suit... After a long or cold dive, your
first instinct is usually to warm yourself up with a hot shower, hands on a radiator
or a good hot drink. It's important that you don't rush this unfortunately, because quickly
warming yourself up has shown to increase your chances of decompression illness in that
specific area.
Your body is pretty clever. Just let it do its thing. All you have to do is just get
yourself dry, get out of any wind or rain, and let your body do the rest. Don't try and
speed up the process. When I get on a dive boat, I tend to make myself at home. Only,
I tend to put things down and then forget where I put them. Liveaboards are the worst
for this, because they usually have lots of little places to put things, but try and discipline
yourself. You'll be given a box to keep all of your gear secure, and do your best to put
it back in there. It's also crucial not to leave any electronics charging unattended.
With the increase in rechargeable stuff, it can actually overload the wiring in some boats,
which is very dangerous. So, never leave anything charging if you're going to leave the room.
If you do need to leave the room, just unplug it. Okay. So there are just a few tips that
I can think of, but there are plenty more of them rattling around up here. So, stay
tuned for a part two one of these days. If you've come across any handy tips, then let
everyone know about them down in the comments below. If you found this video useful, then
take a moment to click that little thumbs up button. I'll wait. Cool. Thank you. And
of course, subscribe to this Scuba Diver Magazine Channel for more videos like this. Thank you
for watching. And of course, save diving.