Diving Tips From Experienced SB Divers to nOObies

[Curly]

One piece we've all heard over and over, but one I think cannot be over-emphasized:

Plan your dive, and dive your plan.

And a few physical tips:

1) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
2) Equalize, equalize, repeat
3) Never hold your breath
4) Relax
5) The better shape you are in, the easier it is to do anything in the water
6) Hydrate

 

[Goose75]

There are quality and less than quality instructors. Do some homework on yours and you'll find your money, time and knowledge will be better spent/learned. Credentials do not always translate into skill. Set your standards high and learn from those who meet them.

 

[lamont]

- learn to manipulate your valve(s) underwater
- use a long hose (and get training)

 

[loosebits]

New divers a natoriously overweighted (being uncomfortable, they never fully exhale). Try removing 2 pounds from you weightbelt every couple of dives. Being overweighted means having more air in your BC, taking more effort to swim (more air in your BC means more drag), and making it more difficult to maintain your depth, especially in the 30' range (more air means more of a change in buoyancy with depth).

When you let the air out of your BC, you shouldn't sink like a rock, in fact you should still be able to float with a full breath (depending on lung size of course). I remember the dive when I finally got my weight right, it was a whole different kind of diving.

 

[Ishie]

Don't try to "mask" high air consumption. Nearly everyone started out doing twenty-five minute, 35' dives, and if the person is diving with you and you have been honest about your experience, they expect it and are diving with you anyway, so don't apologize, try to "hang on" as long as you can, and so forth.

 

[P_Abercrombie]

Know how to use your tables no matter what type of computer you buy and check the NDLs on the tables before every dive....

 

[Ann Marie]

Have Fun!!

 

[OE2X]

Don't bother with spare air. It's a waste of money.

 

[OE2X]

Your best pony bottle is the one that your buddy uses for his/her back gas.

 

[loosebits]

If you a diving a computer, make sure you know what it looks like and what to do if you *inadvertantly* enter deco. I was on a cattle boat in Cozumel where the dive operator pretty much dictates the profile. For whatever reason, a woman entered deco (was probably penalized for a rapid ascent or something else) and she came up and asked what the beeping ment when she violated her stop. Of course, the computer locked on her but she decided to just start diving with a rented computer (appearently she likes living on the edge).

Some computers will have a simulator, play around with it. Those that don't, read the manually throughly. Not just when you get the thing home but frequently because if its been a year since you've read the manual/played with the simulator, you may not remember what you need to do.