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Preparing for Your First Dive
from: Maxx Adventure TravelScuba diving is a sport many people particpate in, and it's a amazingly fun experience for most everyone, except perhaps non-swimmers. However, scuba diving has some risks and like any outdoor sport, injuries can happen, even fatal ones if a diver is poorly trained or equipped divers. If you're just starting out scuba diving, there are some preparatory steps you must know and some precautions you need to know about so you can enjoy your a safe first dive.
Certification and Training: Start by taking a course that will certifiy you to scuba dive. Even if you're just trying out scuba diving for kicks, such as renting gear when vacationing at a beach resort, it's advisable to be accompanied by a professional instructor when diving. Of course, you're going to need to be a good swimer and have some experience snorkelling as prerequisite to your scuba diving experience. If you're not good at either, it's better to try attain these skills first before trying to do something as serious and complex as scuba diving.
Equipment Checks: Always take the time to make sure your equipment is in proper working order. When you take a training course you'll learn about the care and maintenance of equipment, as well as finding possible weaknesses in equipment that could cause it to fail underwater. Unfortunately, too many divers have suffered accidents during dives because of a faulty air lines, so check all of your equipment thoroughly, including your compass and first aid kit.
First Aid: It's very important to get special training in treating underwater injuries, plus learning how to recognize the signs and symptoms of common maladies experienced by divers, such as hypothermia, decompression sickness and, in hot weather, heat stoke or dehydration. Keep your first aid kit well stocked at all times and check it before each dive.
Ascents and Descents: An important procedure in diving successfully is to keep a pressure gauge and depth gauge that monitors the water pressure around you and the your depth in the water. Water pressure will increase drastically the deeper you go, which can lead to dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, or muscle cramps if you descend too quickly. However, even with a good, controlled descent, a rapid ascent could also cause system shocks and trauma if a diver suddenly dumps his diving weights and rockets to the surface. In this situation, your body won't be able to adjust to the sudden lack of pressure, especially you leave the water.
Buddy Diving: It's important that you never dive alone if you're just learning how to scuba dive. Have a more experienced diver with you and keep your buddy in sight at all times. Follow his/her lead once the dive begins don't go off on your own, no matter how safe you think the surrounding waters are. It may be tempting to pursue the adventure, but remember, if your companion is also a newbie, he/she doesn't count as a diving buddy. There's nothing more dangerous than a couple of inexperience people blundering around in a potentially dangerous environment.
Communication: Underwater communication requires you to learn the hand signals used underwater by divers. Even with a high tech open face scuba mask with an integral comm radio, knowing hand signals is a must for all diver. Since it's possible that your radio could break down and run out of batteries, this is a precautionary backup and besides, you could run into a cute girl during your dive who's not wearing a comm system....
Navigation: Knowing how to navigate underwater is critically important. Training courses should include the use of simple tools such as an underwater compass, as well as more advanced tools, such as using an underwater floater buoy and line marker that allows you to backtrack to your starting point once you've completed your dive. If you ever lose sight of your buddy and get lost underwater you're in for a scary time, and having the ability to backtrack and meet up at a predetermined rendezvous point is a safty precaution you'll be glad you implemented.
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