To be able to go in the sea and live a few moments there is an exciting experience. Scuba diving allows you to be a part of Marine life and get to know them a little better.
But scuba diving isn’t everyone’s preferred activity. It is due to the risks involved and the sheer thought of going underwater enough to send chills down your spine.
But if you’re still one of those brave, adventurous travelers, we have ten tips for you to make your experience even more legendary.
Tips to Scuba Dive Safely
Before You Go Scuba Diving
Ensure That Your Health Allows It
Scuba diving sounds so much fun. Doesn’t it? But not everyone gets to experience that.
Your health is your topmost priority, and you need to ensure that you’re healthy to go scuba diving. If you plan to go scuba diving, you need to get a medical checkup. Chronic illnesses restrict your scuba diving experience.
If you have Asthma, you should definitely refrain from making such a rash decision.
People who suffer from uncontrollable blood pressure or blood sugar levels steer clear of this mistake.
If you’ve suffered a heart attack or stroke or undergone heart surgery in the last six months, scuba diving is a big no.
It is always better to discuss your recent medical history with your diving master. To do so shall help you from taking a huge risk to your health.
Keep Your Mind Prepared
To keep yourself calm and soothed, you need to keep your brain engaged. If you suffer from pre-diving jitters, it is better to engage in other activities.
Stay clear of any alcoholic or herbal substances that send you into a state of panic before the diving session.
To build your confidence underwater, you have to surround yourself with water. Indulge in activities like swimming or snorkeling and spend your free time around the water bodies. It would help you get acquainted with the waters.
Try not to think too much of what’s about to come. The more you think of it, the more time your brain spends stressing about it.
Before you dive, keep an open mind and only listen to your divemaster.
Check Your Equipment
Before you jump into the cold waters, you must ensure that you have the right equipment. Make sure that all of them are in working condition.
All the equipment has to ensure your safety, so the first thing to do is checking if they’re A-Ok.
Ensure that you have the appropriate and rightly fitting exposure suits.
You should have the following diving gears:
- Gauges and regulators
- Drysuit
- Scuba tank
- Fins
- Diving masks
Get Your Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is an essential document that comes in handy during unforeseen events.
It would help if you got travel insurance for yourself before you plan a domestic or international trip. Make sure that you have travel insurance before you go for adventurous activities.
The travel insurance would ensure that if you suffer any injury or become a victim of uncertainties like robbery or illness, the insurance company pays the compensated amount.
If you plan on going scuba diving, you can not go against the odds. In case you get physically hurt, your travel insurance will cover the cost.
But you need to ensure that the travel insurance you intend to buy covers scuba diving.
Tips to Help You During Scuba Diving
Stay with Your Dive Master
When you are a beginner to scuba diving, you need to stick close with your divemaster.
It is to ensure that you are close to someone who can assist you in case of an emergency.
Before every diving session, the divemaster gives instructions about the whole activity. The divemaster gives you a variety of information, including the route to follow, a gesture to use in case of an emergency, and other relevant information.
During this session, you need to ask important questions. If there is anything that the divemaster needs to know, tell them beforehand.
Develop Buoyancy
To help you move underwater and control where you’re going, buoyancy plays the pivotal role, literally.
If your buoyancy is out of control, you will not be able to control where you’re going, and in a matter of seconds, you’ll be messing with the quiet life of the fish.
Therefore, you need to maintain buoyancy while exploring marine life.
It will give you better hold over your own body and manage the air in an optimum way.
You can not be the master in just one go, and it will take practice and lots of it to gain control over the buoyancy.
Do Not Give into the Peer Pressure
As you go Scuba Diving, you meet lots of people. People who are an expert and people who claim to be an expert but they’re all talks. They would speak highly of their skills and manipulate you into coming with them.
And that is exactly what you have to avoid. Being underwater is all fun and adventurous until one of you gives in to the peer pressure and ends up getting into a dangerous situation.
You did not spend all this money, time, and effort to end up being stuck alone on the boat just because you didn’t say no to some silly ideas.
Learn your skills and capabilities and try to stick to that. It is great to gain expertise, but underwater is no place to do that.
Stay Alert
Stay alert and focus on your surroundings. Pay attention to what the divemaster is teaching and keep yourself focused at all times.
Ignorance can be bliss sometimes, but here, ignorance equals injury or death.
The divemasters do this regularly, and they know what they are doing. Do not lose focus at all during the activity.
Try to keep all the information of material facts in your mind. Know about the location of your boat, where you’re going, and do not doze off during the briefing sessions.
Tips to Help You after the Scuba Diving Session
Communicate with Fellow Divers and Dive Masters
As you come back from your diving session, communicate with the people around you. Not just to chat but to ensure that you followed the proper instructions.
Tell your fellow divers and divemaster how you feel afterward. If you feel fatigued or experience a headache, you might think it’s completely normal, but this could be the start of a new problem.
Therefore, talk about how you feel and let it all out.
It would ensure that your health is fine, plus it can boost your confidence in the water for the next time.
No Flights for the Next 24 Hours
It is advisable to the divers not to board any flight for the coming 24 hours. If a scuba diving person just recently tries to get on an airplane, there is a strong chance that they will suffer from the Decomposition Sickness Syndrome.
The disease causes the vital functions of the human body to stop working. People suffering from this disease have often reported symptoms like joint pain and paralysis. If not taken immediate care of, this sickness could even lead to your death.
You should also not indulge in alcohol or drugs until 24 hours have passed to your diving session.
How to Fight Sea Sickness before or after Your Dive?
It is not a rare occurrence to suffer from seasickness before or after your dive. All you have to do is follow the following precautions to avoid or fight them.
- Stay hydrated and have a light meal 45-60 minutes before the scuba diving session.
- Take motion sickness medication before you start the boat journey.
- Try to get away from someone who is already suffering from motion sickness.
- Always sit straight facing towards the direction of the boat.
- If you feel the sickness coming, try to get a place on the boat to lay down.
- Eat something that contains peppermint or ginger. You can also inhale peppermint oil to calm your nerves.
- Keep your focus on something specific.
- If you happen to be on the top deck, get down to somewhere where you are least likely to experience boat movements.
- Eating boiled rice or bread can help you feel better.
- Do not sit in direct sunlight for too long.
- If possible, try to get into the water. It will instantly make you feel better.
Summing Up
If you are a newbie, the above-discussed tips will help you get better. But remember that you can read all that you want. However, this is how you learn to step out of your comfort zone and dive into the cold water.
If that’s what sounds exciting to you, scuba diving is worth a shot. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience that nobody should miss out on.
