Diversity in Diving
Diversity in Diving
Sure there are variations in diving as there are in many other sports such as hang gliding, snow or water skiing, fishing or golf. The common denominator is what location do you go next that would allow you to get the most out of your sport? Such is diving in which the diversity is as varied as your desire to try new things and the finances to cover the cost.
Of course the first thing you need to do is to master the equipment that will allow you to plunge into the depths of that liquid environment where the excitement begins.
The diversity begins on just where you choose to dive. If you're landlocked, such as in one of the states or countries that have no immediate access to large bodies of water or rivers, then you are going to have to travel some distance to get wet.
Assuming you have gone through a certification course nearby your residence, you should have learned where the nearest location is to expand your skills. You probably had gone to some body of water to qualify for the open water portion of your training. This may have been an inland lake or quarry so now you at least have a start for your introduction to water other than a swimming pool where your basic skills were tested.
The next step depends on just what the main reason was for you to take scuba lessons in the first place. Was it to have the ability to dive while on a vacation to a place that combines diving with other activities or a location where diving is the main reason for their existence?
Other reasons for getting certified may be to explore various locations to see and photograph the local inhabitants or delve into history by viewing underwater ruins or wrecks. You may also want to take additional certifications in order to not only sharpen your skills or with the intention to someday become an instructor.
Whatever your initial dreams if you are wanting to become a proficient diver the best way to accomplish this is to dive, dive, dive. You can take all the certification courses you want but if you don't get in the water as much as possible and in as many diverse situations you will lack that one necessary skill that comes with repetition.........confidence.
The more you put your gear on and take it off the more you familiarize yourself with where everything is to the point that even in low visibility or night dives you will be able to locate any item by heart. This is important to not only you but your diving partner or buddy.
And speaking of a diving buddy, picking one that has reasonably similar skills as you becomes a challenge. The purpose of a buddy is one who watches over you as well as you watching over them. This is even important when you both are getting into your equipment prior to the dive. In addition to helping each other on with some difficult item, you both should be doing a final check of each other's hoses, straps, air supply etc.
Unfortunately when you travel to a location by yourself it becomes necessary to be paired up with a total stranger. This is where your level of skill comes in handy. If you've become a proficient diver no matter who you select for a buddy you should be able to quickly read their level of ability and either make up for their lack of skill or benefit from them being more advanced than you. Most of the time, people who travel long distances to dive are pretty well qualified in the sport so chances of you running into a novice should be slim. But beware of the diver who may only dive on trips and hasn't been wet for over a year. It can be worthwhile to inquire how long they have been diving and how often they dive.
Now comes the actual dive itself. When I was diving in limited visibility in Lake Erie, we really stuck close to each other when diving because things can happen in a second and being at only a short distance away was critical.
When I first had the opportunity to dive in the ocean with 80 to 100 foot visibility, I was surprised to see the divers spread out to the point that they were over 20 to 30 feet away from each other. I inquired to one of the guides as to why they didn't stick closer together and the reply was "well we can still see each other".
Divers Too Far Apart
Do you really want to have something happen to your air supply and have to wait for your buddy to swim 20 or 30 feet to supply you with air? Hell no! That is if we assume they even see you are in trouble. For this reason I would have an understanding with a new buddy as to just how the both of you are going to proceed while underwater.
What about diving with a person using a camera? This is an entirely different situation because a diver with a camera is down there for one thing only and that's to concentrate on finding the best subject matter for their photo collection. I know because I do photography also.
When you are a buddy to a photographer you have to donate a little more time to watching over your buddy. I have had it happen where, during a drift dive, I stopped to concentrate on a lobster, crab or interesting kind of fish while the group, along with my buddy, keeps on going. On a drift dive the rest of the group can disappear in a hurry. When you look up and everyone is gone it can be a scary lesson.
A Well Equipped Photographer
Now lets stop and think who's fault created this situation? Was it the diver with a camera or their buddy? If your answer is the buddy for not staying with the photographer you would only be half right. The photographer should have had an on board agreement with their buddy as to just how they were going to proceed with the dive.
There's only one situation that's worse than a photographer and a non photographer budding up and that's two photographers budding up. When you have two photographers together it becomes necessary for them to constantly monitor each other.
My son and I both take photos while diving together and the way we work it is to swim side by side with each of us looking to the front and outside of our position. When one sees something of interest he nudges the other or uses a signal to alert the other that there is subject matter to be considered. We can both benefit from photographing the same subject from different angles and exposures. Even with this method you may both be left behind but at least neither one of you is left alone.
Too many photographers are in a contest all the time they are diving. By this I mean they want to capture a subject that no one else on the dive had seen. Yes, this is what photo contests are all about but safety should always be at the forefront during any dive.
Has this situation ever happened to me, of course it has. How do you think people become experts at something? They learn by their mistakes and if their mistakes don't become a disaster they can then relate those mistakes to the novice and decide to admit or not admit that they in fact made them too.
This touches on another do and don't lesson which is do take good care of your equipment, don't take it for granted. Stay tuned!
George