Diving Tips and Advice

Choosing a Mask

They come in all shapes and sizes – and colours too, but the most important things to remember are that your mask should be comfortable and that it should fit you properly. Try on as many as you can and test for an air-tight seal. Do this by positioning the mask on your face without using the strap. Breathe in through your nose to create a vacuum and the mask should stick to your face unaided – even when you are looking downwards. If it doesn’t stay on, you don’t have an air-tight seal, so find another that does.

If you normally wear glasses, consider buying a mask which can take prescription lenses, which are best to be ordered at the same time, as they may need to be specially fitted.

---

Using a Mask

If your mask is leaking, it could be because of facial stubble or heavier growth; if so, try smearing some silicon grease at that point for a better seal.

---

Choosing a BCD

Be prepared to spend a reasonable amount of time trying-on and comparing different BCDs. If possible, try them on whilst you’ve also got a drysuit on. You want to choose the best one for your size, shape and weight.

Those BCDs that have an integrated weight system may be convenient, but add the weights carefully when you’re assembling your kit on land. Be extra cautious about some makes of BCD whose integrated weight pouches clip in place internally. It’s harder to check if they are securely held in place. A weight pouch may slip out during a dive and be lost – so too will your neutral buoyancy!

If you’re likely to be adjusting your weight from dive to dive to compensate for any kit you’ll be carrying, those BCDs with extra pockets for trim weights are worth considering.

Ensure that there will be adequate D-rings (in the right places) for the accessories you want to carry.

---

Using a BCD

When you’re fastening your BCD, allow enough room for you to move (and breathe) comfortably when it’s fully-inflated.

If you have a BCD with integrated weight pouches held in place with clipped straps (e.g. some Scubapro models) make sure you tighten the retaining straps before every dive (include this in your buddy check), otherwise your weight pouches could slide right out if they’re loose. Inconvenient at best – hazardous at worst.

---

Choosing a Regulator

If you’re likely to be diving in cold conditions, choose a regulator that’s designed for the purpose; you don’t want to be wishing you had at the point that it freezes and stops working properly.

---

Using a Regulator

Remember to replace the dust cap on the first stage when it is not being used.
Look after it. Your life depends upon it working properly, so don’t drag it around, or drop your cylinder on it.

Consider replacing your regulator’s mouthpiece, for a more comfortable one. Mouldable custom-fit ones are available.

---

Choosing a Drysuit

Seek qualified impartial advice (not necessarily from the salesperson) and try on several drysuits to compare them for comfort and fit.

Also consider the advantages/disadvantages of different types. Neoprene wrist and neck seals are warmer than latex and should last longer too. Integrated pockets can be useful for carrying stuff, without cluttering-up your BCD.

You will likely spend some time in contact with abrasive surfaces, particularly on shore dives, so make sure the suit’s knee protection will be good enough.

Important:

• Be sure to wear an undersuit when you’re trying-on drysuits, so your testing is accurate.
• Can you easily crouch, stretch and touch your toes? (or almost)
• Can you easily reach your shoulder dump valve – also with your BCD on?
  (We know of someone who bought a drysuit and couldn’t do this essential thing.)
• Can you easily reach behind your neck?
  (Possibly to fix a hose or valve.)
• Check that your fins will fit the boot-size of the suit.

---

Using a Drysuit

If you are on a boat, or near to a distinct water hazard, keep your suit zipped-up. If you were to accidentally fall in the water unzipped, you may quickly regret it. Getting wet is not the problem – drowning is.

Don’t forget to attach and check your suit inflator hose.

Keep your drysuit zip lubricated with whatever the manufacturer recommends.

If your neck seal (particularly latex ones) leaves a mark, or irritates your skin, try using a drop of Seal Saver (or similar lubricant) where it makes contact. Note: Jelly lubricants, like KY, aren’t as good because, being water-soluble, they dissolve when you’re on a dive leaving the seal to rub against your skin again.

---

Putting your fins on

When you are diving from the shore, you may find it easier to put your fins on when you are actually floating in the water. When you first try this, make sure your instructor is supervising, that your BCD is inflated (buddy check) and don’t forget to have your regulator in your mouth. Once you get used to doing it this way, you won’t want to change; it’s quick and easy – particularly if you fitted them with spring straps.

---

Tight-fitting Fins

If you find your fins are hard to remove at the end of a dive, it may be because the water has made a tight seal that creates suction when you try to pull them off. To relieve that vacuum effect, consider drilling holes top and bottom in the foot compartment to alleviate the suction. (Some types of fin already have this feature.)

---

Dive Hood Filling With Air?

In cold water areas, you’ll likely dive with a hood to keep your head warm. *Various circumstances could cause air to enter some hoods, and if your hood is unvented, any trapped air will expand as you ascend. As well as being an unwelcome distraction, it’s a potential hazard too, not least that it could dislodge your mask strap. Some hoods have air vents, but if yours doesn’t, consider using a hot nail or soldering iron to create one or two holes at the potential high points where air collects. This should then allow it to escape safely.
*Note: This ‘stray’ air can potentially come from: your mask as you equalise pressure; your drysuit neck seal; or even your regulator exhaust bubbles.

---

Kit Set-up

When you’re a new diver, everything feels awkward and cumbersome – don’t worry about it, that feeling disappears when your confidence grows. At that point, you will also develop your own preferences for how you like your kit to be. Talk to other divers and you’ll pick-up lots of good advice. Run everything past your instructors though, just to make sure that you’re not overlooking any safety factors.

Identification Underwater

When you’re likely to be diving in the same area as others, make a mental note of how you can easily identify your buddy. Underwater, you’ll soon discover that many divers tend to look identical, particularly in poor visibility, and you could find yourself swimming off with the wrong person – and it only takes a moment to lose contact with your buddy. So, what colour of fins do they have? Is their tank distinctive? Or maybe their hood, gloves or torch are easily identifiable. Get into the habit of doing this – and sooner, rather than later, you’ll be glad you did.

…And get them to do likewise with you.

---

Diving with a Pony Cylinder

At some point, you will want to buy a pony cylinder and regulator, to provide back-up as a fully redundant alternative air source to your main tank and stages. It is advisable to check your buoyancy/weighting, as you will likely need to remove a kilo or two. Obviously, it’s better to check this on a safe shore dive – not when you’re about to step off a boat into 40 metres of oblivion!

Remember, it’s not just YOUR safety that’s on the line.

---

Kit Set-up

If you do buy a pony and separate regulator, consider having its second-stage instantly accessible in preference to your main tank’s octopus. If your main regulator fails, or you run out of air, this will affect your octopus too, so relying upon the pony as a completely independent back-up makes sense.

But don’t get complacent, be aware of your air consumption and your main tank’s contents. Remember that if you are running low, it may be advisable to switch to your pony before your main tank actually empties. Firstly, it enables you to check that your pony is still working; and secondly, with a standard regulator set-up, since your drysuit and BCD inflation are fed from your main tank, if it empties, you will also have lost your primary source of buoyancy.

Discuss any kit reconfiguration with your instructors and other experienced divers.

---

Buying and using a DSMB (Delayed Submersible Marker Buoy)

These useful, and essential, devices can be a bit of a double-edged sword for the unwary. They contribute to making diving (particularly boat diving) much safer in a number of ways; yet used carelessly can be hazardous. Before you buy one, discuss it with experienced club members for advice on the best kind – and on a reel to go with it. Also, on the best methods for rigging it up and deploying it in different scenarios.

When comparing different reels, see how easy they are to operate when you’re wearing diving gloves: 3/5/7 mm thick.

Consider using a permanent marker to place indicator marks at various distances along the line from the DSMB, for example, at 3 metres, 6 metres, 10 metres etc., or whatever would be convenient for you to use as physical reference points to help with your ascent rate and decompression/safety stops. If your dive computer malfunctions, or visibility is poor, these indicator marks may be easier to see and help to keep your ascent controlled and safe.

---

Air Consumption

As your diving experience grows, you should find that your air consumption steadily decreases – enabling you to dive for longer. The more practice you get, the more relaxed you should feel. As you become more proficient, you can think about fine-tuning other aspects of your diving to improve your air consumption further still. For example: are you really neutrally buoyant, or do you need to keep finning to maintain your depth? Are you streamlined and horizontal in the water for minimum resistance? Can you slow your movements right down and fin almost effortlessly?

Check also that you are correctly weighted and not having to use more air than necessary in your drysuit or BCD. If you are in a current, can you use the reef or wreck to provide shelter? If your buddy’s consumption is better than yours, you could also consider swimming a little higher than them, where even a slightly lower ambient pressure could make a difference.

---

Seasickness

This can affect even the strongest of sailors, so don’t be embarrassed if you start to feel queezy on the dive boat. It’s not a nice feeling, but rather than suffering increasingly until you get to the point-of-no-return, you may find that you recover almost instantly if you accept the inevitable and help it on its way. Pick a convenient spot on the leeward side (the other divers will be grateful) and ensure that you are holding on to something secure, so that it’s only the contents of your stomach that go overboard. If you are on a hard boat and you are out of sight of the others, be sure to let someone know. And if it’s your buddy who’s under the weather, keep an eye on them – and a secure grip too. Afterwards, drink water to restore your fluid level; there’s no point in inviting DCI too.

If you think you may succumb to seasickness, pack some pills from the chemist beforehand, and take them well in advance of your departure, according to the instructions. (Having first checked with your chemist for recommendations on which types will not increase your risk when diving.)

As a natural alternative, ginger in its various forms, is also suggested as helping to avoid seasickness. See what works best for you.

---

Easier Zip Location on BCDs/Pockets

Consider attaching cable ties to the zips on your BCD/Pockets for easier access – particularly useful with gloved hands. Colour-coded cable ties can help with identification – although, remember the colours will progressively disappear depending on your depth.

---

Diving Knife – Don’t Lose It

Whether you attach your dive knife to your leg or BCD, consider putting some elastic rope on it. That way, if it were to fall out, or you were to drop it, it would not get lost. (Be sure you have enough elasticated rope to be able to use the knife, but not enough to entangle yourself.)

---

Make the Most of Your Drysuit Pockets

If your drysuit pocket has a D-ring, rather than just storing only one item, by attaching them to the D-ring with bungee cord, you can then have easy access to other essential items too, without the risk of losing any of them. (As with the knife tip above, use enough bungee to do what’s required without it becoming a hazard!)

When choosing a compass, buy one that has:

• Easily-readable markings, so you’ll still be able to see them in demanding conditions.
• Opt for a model (e.g. Suunto SK7 or SK8) with a wide “tilt tolerance”, as the dial will still rotate freely even at a significant angle. This is a huge benefit when you’re in an environment that makes it hard to determine what “level” is.
• Learn how to use your compass properly; your safety could depend upon it.

When shore diving, before you enter the water:

• Turn your back to the sea and take a compass reading ‘back to safety’. Then, at any point on the dive (depending upon your particular conditions), you’ll be able to head in the general direction of safety any time you need to.
• Compare your readings with those of your buddy, to ensure your compasses match.
• Visualise your surroundings in relation to the bearings of any landmarks on the surface. Then, when you’re underwater, you’ll have a visual reference in your mind of where you are in relation to the wider area. This should help you to “feel at home” in the environment and increase the enjoyment and relaxation of your dive, especially if it’s an area you’re unfamiliar with.

When diving from a boat:

• Depending upon your dive objective, before you descend, consider taking a bearing in the general direction of your target, especially if you don’t have a shot line to follow down. Once you’re in mid-water, your compass may be the only point of reference you have, and with no other visual contact, you’ll be unlikely to swim in a straight line without it – even with no tide or current to contend with.
• As with shore diving, visualising your surroundings (if there are any) before you descend, will help you to get a feel of where you are in relation to the wider environment.

Tell us about any useful tips you’d like to share with other divers.

Underwater Photography

Read your camera’s instruction manual! In general, think about getting fairly close to your subject, but allow your camera time to focus properly. To help avoid blurring, remember to squeeze the shutter button gently. Note: pictures of people taken really close don’t tend to look as good as you’d like, because wider angle lenses usually exaggerate facial features, which are already distorded by masks and regulators.

At shallower depths, make use of the available light and compare shots with and without using flash/strobe. Try to compose your shot to make it as interesting as you can and don’t try to cram in as much as possible. You may find that many of your most effective shots are when you are level with what you are photographing, rather than looking down upon it. So keep that in mind the next time you are out.

If you can, choose to shoot using your camera’s RAW mode. That way, when you’re editing your shots you are able to utilise all the data that your camera’s sensor has captured. You also have greater control over many adjustments, not least the colour balance which gives you the ability to fine-tune your images without the disadvantages of resorting to colour filters. Plus, if you don’t like the results, you can simply dial-in alternative settings – your original image will always remain fully editable. And don’t be afraid to experiment!

There are many other things to think about in order to capture the best shots, but the more you practice (“proper” practice that is, not just point-and-shoot) the better you will become; and before long you will find that looking for (and getting) the best shot just becomes second nature.

Look at professional dive photographers’ work and think about how you could do the same. It’s not simply about having the best gear, it’s more about having the right approach and being in the right place at the right time.

Make the most of what you have!