Random things I'm learning along the way ...

[Kimela]

If you do that, please put your first stage in a separate (plastic) bag or seal the holes with tape. If you seal the holes with spare plugs be very aware not to pressurize the first stage without a hose.
Seal the hoses with a dust cap.

Good tips - hadn't thought of these. Thanks!

 

[Kimela]

I have a make-up kit that stays in my travel bag. I've put it together by gathering up items that are half-used and put them all together for travel. One caveat - do not use old mascara or eyeliner. A friend got an eye infection while on vacation - and then it returned again, while on vacation - so we figured it must have been her old mascara or eyeliner. I use the cheap pink tube of Maybelline (I've tried high-end stuff and always come back to the pink tube!). Or if, like me, you're in Sephora with some regularity and earning points, you can bring a sampler you get by using your points. Either way, it's to worth it to use old mascara or eyeliner. All the other stuff, as far as I can tell, doesn't really have an expiration (I could be wrong).

Sunscreen, on the other hand, DOES have an expiration. I don't know how long it lasts, but I learned the Neutrogena 70SPF I had in my dive kit expired (it might have been 5 years old). I used it while hanging out around the pool and I may as well have not used anything at all. Glad I don't have a dermatologist appt coming up soon! And I KNOW how stupid we all feel wearing the white stuff, but it works. Maybe someone from Stream2Sea can tell us if it has an expiration date?

If there's even a small chance your surface interval will be chilly, pack one of those $2 ponchos (or less if you go to the Dollar Store) or a boat coat. 80 degree weather is great until the sun goes behind a cloud and you're in a wet wetsuit shivering in the wind while the boat goes to the next dive site during the surface interval.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Use OTC swimmers ear drops prophylactically about every 2'nd or 3'rd dive; if you wait till you actually get swimmers ear to start using it, it burns like fire.

Also on any visit to Mexico, get the actual antibiotic drops and keep it in your medical bag (you have a medical bag with things like eye drops, ear wax remover, and such right?). That way when you actually get swimmers ear you have the treatment right there and can start taking it. And not only that by the Mexican swimmers ear treatment has lidocaine so you get some pain relief. I also pair it, with my doctor's recommendation, with a double dose of ibuprofen.

 

[formernuke]

Bring a bag of candy for the dive boat. Everyone loves candy, including the crew. Helps get the salt taste out between dives and it's yummy (I got butterscotch chewy candies at Chedraui - like the Werthers, but not brand name) and helps to make things friendlier on the boat. Also bring some form of ginger (I like the sugared ginger they sell on amazon) for heartburn. If I have eaten too much or had coffee, I sometimes get heartburn during the first dive - ginger helps.

Mean, flashing sugar around.

I will back up those you already said dry underwear and socks in case of a drysuit leak.

 

[Stream2Sea]

Awesome list @Kimela !! Our sunscreen has a 3-year shelf life - most chemical sunscreens only have a 1-year shelf life. And if you're looking particularly "ghostly" when wearing ours, you probably applied too heavily. It truly only takes the smallest amount to be protected! We recommend pea-sized amounts applied in small sections. Check out this video for application tips:

 

[Kimela]

@Stream2Sea - here I am being Casper the Friendly Ghost! Maybe I'll get the tinted stuff. Thanks for the tutorial.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but scopolamine patches?

As suggested by much smarter people than me.... put on the night before and eat a light breakfast.

I have never felt better in my life, even in some chop. I can go below deck, eat... I feel great.

 

[Stream2Sea]

You're rocking the Caspar look @Kimela ! Well, you didn't get sunburned and everyone KNEW you were protecting the reef! But yeah, you don't have to use that much!

 

[drrich2]

I figure if I have the wrench and plugs it's not a big deal, but I may be wrong.

That brings to mind a tip for new travelers. I prefer to take a scuba tool and an o-ring kit on trips; especially useful on Bonaire shore diving trips. Sometimes a hose works lose on the 1st stage, I pressurize and it spews...or a tank has a dried out, partial, absent or just bad sealing o-ring.

But...that wrench you mentioned, a scuba tool, whatever, I learned at the airport in Grand Cayman...they don't want us getting on the plane with tools in carry on luggage. Perhaps I look like I can take a plane apart with a scuba tool?

So...you've gotta trust your checked bags will get where you're going, to the boat to have a wrench (they probably do), or a dive shop to sell scuba tools (ditto).

The real problem was forfeiting the thing to avoid having to go back to try and get it in checked baggage, when I was already in line at a security check point. Hey, 20 bucks is 20 bucks...

 

[mi000ke]

I've discovered that the better rum an island produces the better the diving will be!

You're on to something. Seven Fathoms Rum, Cayman Spirits Co. Great rum - great diving!