biggest risks underwater?

[DepthProducts]

Buoyancy control.
Holding your breath (I got lung over expansion on my first dive when doing discover scuba in less than 40ft of water :shakehead )
Watching your gas consumption. While you can get to the surface quite easily, it is important to get into a habit to know how much gas you have.

Stay together and most importantly the golden rule:

Anyone can call the dive at any time for any reason: no questions asked

If you are beyond your comfort level and want to finish the dive, you should not be pushed to continue, or told 'no'.

Yay for buoyancy control!

Once you're comfortable practicing all of these things mentioned in the previous posts, you can try them while hovering. That's a great way to nail your buoyancy control.

 

[GatorKev]

Yourself.... Just be careful and always try to be in control of every situation even if you think that it is impossible you can still control it if you do not panic. Good luck...

 

[MaconBubbles]

Sea Turtles will attack during night dives.

 

[scuba66]

number one is avoid the things you think will kill you, number two is dont let anyone help you put on your gear , i know we are taught to ask a buddy for assistance but who is going to help you out if you need to remove something underwater. i never get anyone to help me put on my gear as i know how to put it on and remove it in seconds if need be. if your skills are up to snuff then you wont have to think about anything but having fun. know your gear and your buddies inside out if you do run into trouble this can save you. i look at everyones gear on a boat and if i dont know how something works i ask even if ill never own that particular piece of gear. always have a good sharp knife or shears. i stopped buying expensive dive knives and now i buy a half surrated half plain blue handled fishing knife for 8 bucks . they are super sharp and if you loose it oh well get another one. know the areas you dive if you dont ask divers who dive there . knowledge is key . and if your unsure of an area then dont dive it until you know .

 

[jaycanwk]

I more or less have to pinch my nose underwater...

I would say that should be the most important habit to work on breaking righ now.

The fact that your not comfortable enough with you face in the water witout plugging your nose can lead to a very serious situation if your mask stap breaks or is knocked right off.

 

[northen diver]

That being the case, what are the major concerns for guys like us to watch out for, considering our current habits and location?

Diving with an angry, very angry, wife!

 

[BEKanak]

Diving with an angry, very angry, wife!

Diving while your angry, very angry wife is topside with a credit card.

 

[diver 85]

Sea Turtles will attack during night dives.

Please tell us of those dive sites...Turtles just love me & I love them, especially the ones that try to crap on us, right Susan6868????........

 

[Mako Mark]

it's seemed pretty clear that most accidents are not the result of any one thing, but a cascade of issues, any one of which could have been avoided or solved and aborted the sequence. And the final common denominator is often panic.
!

Yup. A series of little things that add up.

here is a thread that might interest you a dive accident in Tulum

And read the Near Misses and Lessons Learned forum. Great stuff there, it is far less painful to learn form other peoples mistakes.

 

[Cacia]

I think the most dangerous thing is team think where you get that nice warm fuzzy safe "herd" feeling like you are safe when you are not. You feel safe because everyone else is right there doing it "with you".

I would say think every single detail through on your own and make that a habit, don't trust anyone until they have earned it. I've done trust me dives with divers that had proved themselves trustworthy over and over, but those were rare situations where I had a goal in mind and needed their experience.

Don't go further than you can navigate back, even if being led. If you start out this way, you may seem timid in the beginning, but you will build a strong foundation of skills, intuition, and
abilities. Never underestimate the ocean, learn to read it, the best you can and think in terms of contigency plans.