Helping scuba divers have more fun
It was our 7th dive with Divetech in Grand Cayman. We were diving a site known as The Knife. It begins with a swim-through at 113 feet. The dive plan was to do the swim-through, and then move up to 90 feet and gradually move across and up the wall. Sensible enough. All went well until…
Reading on-line scuba forums and groups is both a blessing and a curse. I think that the curse (and cursing) has been exacerbated by Covid-19. Everyone is frustrated, and patience, tolerance, and kindness are often neglected. The blessing comes when you hear real questions from divers—novice and experienced—from all over the world. One recent question…
I’ve been stewing about something since my bride and I returned from the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month (November, 2020). As scuba instructors, we beg students to “Never touch the reef or its critters.” Most Open Water manuals contain this kind of counsel: “In general, avoid touching living organisms underwater. Doing so almost never…
Practice makes perfect? Watch a sloppy golfer hit a bucket of balls or a flat skier ski his 100th run and you won’t believe this any more. As my friend and teacher Bob Stell says, “You can’t change what you tolerate.” Let’s consider a different approach. Let’s think about what is called “deliberate practice.” It…
I cannot believe this really happened. To us… Really? Yep. We found a great package deal at a great location and we were totally ready to enjoy a fantastic week of diving. We had our Advanced Open Water cards and our Nitrox certification. It had been less than 90 days since our last week of…
In my post on When things get wonky underwater, “Save Yourself First,” I mused about each diver’s need to “dive first,” to deal with any emerging situation second, and finally to communicate as needed. The more you get into diving, the truer this becomes. Each of us is ultimately responsible for our own safety. Some…
On a boat dive, you have time to look around at other people’s gear. Impressive? Showy? Who has the biggest camera set-up? I look for what is missing! One piece of gear is consistently missing. The signal sausage! Why should we care? Two brief stories… We were diving at a site called Mwana wa mwana,…
The first time I heard this phrase I was 16 years old. We were eagerly training to be lifeguards. We wanted to be able to save others. Our instructor was militant: “Save yourself first!” We protested. He asked for a volunteer. The instructor jumped in the pool and started yelling “help me” while flailing about…
