Possibly Narced

The #2 Rule of SCUBA Diving – Students…

Every diver knows the number one rule of SCUBA diving. Okay, all together now…

“Never hold your breath.”

But what is the number two rule of SCUBA diving? If you ask ten different instructors what the number two rule of SCUBA diving is you will likely get as many answers. Here’s one…

Students Carry Instructor’s Gear

Self Care

The instructor I heard this from was half joking and it’s funny on the surface, but it reminded me how important it is that we are willing and able to take care of ourselves as SCUBA divers. Understanding how to assemble our gear; use hand signals, perform safety procedures, plan a specific dive and other skills are important. I also think it’s important to understand and participate in the SCUBA diving lifestyle.

Be Informed!

Understand the conditions surrounding not just your current dive but take a 30,000 foot view of the dive day such as: What time do you need to be where? How will you get to the dive site? What is the progression of dive depths, locations and conditions throughout the day? When will you eat? Where will you get water to stay hydrated? What is the surface weather expected to be like? Where is the restroom?

Stay Up to Date!

Dive Training, Diver’s Alert Network and SCUBA Diving are three resources that I find valuable in keeping up with the world of diving.

Get Social!

Attend events at your local dive shop or dive related events in your area. Personally, I also enjoy checking in at some of the various online communities such as Diveboard (SKuba Steve on Diveboard). People think diving is cool (because it is)! Talk about diving with your non-diving friends. Tell them about the diving you’ve done and show them pictures or video from your SCUBA experiences (in real life or on your favorite social media)!

Keep Training!

One of the best ways to keep yourself immersed in the diving community is to set goals for your diving and work with your local dive shop to achieve them. Specialty courses help develop skills and knowledge in areas of specific interest to you both as an individual and as a SCUBA diver.

The deeper you descend into the SCUBA lifestyle as well as your proficiency with the skills of diving the more comfortable and confident you will become as a recreational SCUBA diver and the more you will appreciate and enjoy every moment of your diving adventures.

As diving professionals I think it helps our students gain confidence when we make sure they know how to care of themselves and set the example by doing the same. Don’t get me wrong, divers need to take care of each other. That’s one of the things that makes the SCUBA community awesome. We just need to be able to take care of ourselves before we can really help out another diver.

Gear Care

Okay, gear care is pretty easy. Take good care of your equipment. I don’t know about you but I’m pretty fussy about my SCUBA rig – so… thanks but I’ll carry my own gear.

The surface interval’s over … get out there and dive!

SKuba Steve

© 2013 Stephen Krausse – All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply