10 Lessons I’ve Learned From My Scuba Diving Adventures
Have fun, look around, pay attention to the details, and enjoy the scenery, but know that it can be deadly if you're not careful. Also, take a buddy along.
There are some things I do in life that are a bit scary. Scuba diving is one of them.
Going down into deep water is not exactly a comforting experience for most people, and I’ll admit, it makes me nervous sometimes too. However, this year marks my 25th year of being a PADI Open Water diver.
Here are ten things I’ve learned over the years about this great sport.
#1: Avoid seasickness at all costs.
When I went diving a few years ago in the US Virgin Islands, I got so seasick when we were headed to our first dive that I literally wanted to die.
I felt so bad I would rather have been dead than keep going. It almost completely ruined the dive(s) for me. The only way I survived was because I had no choice!
Lesson learned: ALWAYS take dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) before going on the water.
#2: The boat is not your friend.
On that note, when you go out on a boat dive, you do not want to linger on the boat. The rocking back and forth can make you very seasick, and, somewhat counter-intuitively, the solution to this is to get off the boat and into the water quickly.
I repeat: get out of the boat and into the water. Even if you need to snorkel on the surface for a while, do that. Just get OUT of the boat.
#3: You MUST have a dive buddy.
Nobody should be diving alone: even if you came on your dive trip alone (like I often do), you still need a dive buddy. You’ll be assigned one if you don’t have one, and that’s important.
Everybody needs a dive buddy to make sure they’re being safe, following proper procedures, and just checking in on them from time to time.
#4: Get under the water’s surface ASAP.
After you stride off the boat into the water, it’s pointless to float around the surface for very long. Sometimes divers linger far too long near the surface waiting for… who knows what?
This is bad: the current on the surface can push you VERY far from where you want to be. Find the rope, connect with your dive buddy, and descend now.
#5: Scuba diving is a huge economic driver.
From a tourism perspective, diving destinations do and should love scuba divers: they stay at hotels, rent cars, eat at restaurants, shop at stores, ride taxis and buses, hire dive instructors, rent gear, and a lot more. Divers spend lots of money in the local economies, directly, and through taxes. Local communities ❤️ scuba divers.
#6: Scuba divers do a lot for the ocean’s health.
Divers are extremely aware of environmental issues, and since we see reefs and marine life first-hand, up close, we can see the damage caused by a variety of reasons.
We can tell which reefs are being destroyed and what efforts are needed to help fix them, and divers are often the first to volunteer to clean up the ocean and start nonprofits that do the same.
#7: Hold plans loosely when going on a diving trip.
Sometimes, plans change. Weather events occur, or boats break down. Instructors get sick. You can’t let a change in plans ruin your trip.
I took a very short trip once to San Diego and scheduled and paid for a dive weeks in advance. The night before, I got a call from someone at the dive shop saying they had to cancel the boat trip due to the weather forecasts.
This was annoying, and my window of opportunity was too narrow for me to try to find another dive shop and try again. I just had to accept my fate: I wouldn’t be diving at all on that trip.
I could have pouted and been angry (especially when the next day, the weather turned out to be perfectly fine and sunny), but I didn’t. I took the opportunity to try surfing instead. It was a blast, and I’m totally glad I tried it. I wouldn’t have tried surfing if my dive trip hadn’t been canceled.
#8: Don’t panic; calm down and slowly think it through.
During the tests you take to initially get certified as an Open Water Diver, and then again during your refresher courses, there are some questions that present you with a scenario and ask what you should do.
Almost always, there’s a multiple-choice answer selection that shows a contrast between rash, unthinking, panicky actions you can take, versus steps you can take that are slower and calmer. The answer is almost always obvious: slow down and stay calm.
A dive instructor once told me: “In scuba diving, no matter what the question is, the answer is almost always: ‘slow down and remain calm.’”
This is very good advice. Moving quickly and panicking can kill you; slowing down and remaining calm saves lives.
#9: Don’t fight the current.
Okay, it sounds corny, but in scuba diving, you should literally “go with the flow.”
Trying to fight against the current, when there is one, is absolutely exhausting. You can spend a lot of energy trying to resist or go the opposite direction, but you’ll burn through more air and wear yourself out. This can make your dive trip feel like work instead of fun.
During a recent dive trip I ook, my dive instructor said: “Don’t forget, Ron, scuba diving is a lazy man’s sport. Just gently kick and go where it takes you.”
This is true: I have a bad habit of using my hands to stroke and change direction to propel me where I want to go. I need to remember to stop flailing my arms around and, instead, just fold my hands and slowly kick the way the water wants me to go.
#10: The water is beautiful but deadly.
The stakes are very high anytime a human goes under the water.
Scuba diving is not like a simple afternoon lawn game like Bocce Ball or Croquet. If you make mistakes, you can die.
A few years ago, one of my very good friends took a diving trip to Belize. On that trip, his friend, himself an experienced diver, made a mistake that cost him his life. He somehow made a miscalculation that turned out to be fatal.
He died at only 50 years old.
I don’t know the full circumstances of what went wrong, and I’ve never asked. But I’m quite sure that whatever happened, safety procedures were not followed properly. That’s a tragedy for everyone involved and almost certainly could have been prevented.
Going diving or doing anything under the surface of the water for that matter, is dangerous. It’s beautiful, but you must respect the tremendous power that the oceans and seas have.
#11 (Bonus): Take the time to get it right before going underwater.
Great diving experiences can be ruined by obnoxious little things that you really can’t fix once you’re under the water.
For example, a poor-fitting mask can give you a serious headache if it’s too light, or you’ll spend the dive with your eyes burning in saltwater if it’s too loose.
Similarly, get your weights right so you can perfect your buoyancy before going down.
Really try to figure out how much additional weight you need so you can have neutral buoyancy, otherwise, you’ll be struggling the whole time to try to stay down which can ruin the experience.
Going through the tedious little steps ahead of time and doing basic research and math before you even get on the boat can make it much more fun.
Get out there, go diving, be safe, and have fun!