SCUBA Safety
Marlen Martinez
Don't Dive Alone
Choose a person whose skills and training are similar to your own. Spend time learning how each of you dives and how you'd each handle emergency situations.
Don't Hold your Breathe
Always breathe as normally as possible to avoid the potential of lung over-expansion injuries. Delaying exhaling while ascending can cause damage to the alveoli in your lungs, and can therefore cause severe lung injury, and in extreme cases, death.
Don't ascend faster than your smallest exhaled bubbles
Ascend slowly to rid your body of unwanted nitrogen that has collected in your bloodstream and body tissues.
Don't stay down too long
Remember to plan your dive and dive your plan. There's nothing down there that's worth running the risk of running out of air or having iss
Don't dive too deep
The generally accepted depth limit for recreational divers is 130 feet. Recently, some agencies have begun offering "deep dive" courses for anything deeper than 60 feet! As far as we're concerned, anything over 100 feet is a deep dive.
Don't dive with iffy or malfunctioning equipment
Make sure an authorized technician services your equipment regularly. Properly functioning equipment is crucial in scuba diving. Scuba equipment must be in good working order and respected.
Don't destroy the environment
lease make sure your feet are up and that you are always aware of your surroundings and your own placement in the water. Clip gauges, spare regulators, and other dangling equipment to your BC, so that you help save the environment and also to keep you from becoming entangled in fishing line or other objects underwater
Don't plan a decompression dive as a recreational scuba diver
Keep to the recommended depth and time limits for recreational diving until you are ready to move on. Once you have decided to advance into more technical diving, seek a reputable instructor, make sure you have the proper equipment for the dives, and maintain good physical condition.
Don't go in overhead environments
Stay in open water with plenty of ambient light. Cavern, cave, and wreck diving are wonderful new areas to explore, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Don't dive beyond your training
Get plenty of experience and gain comfort in your skills and abilities before you continue on in your diving.
Don't forget your safety stop
Remember to hang out at 15 feet for 3 to 5 minutes before you surface. Eliminating nitrogen is important, and this is the best known way to do just that! In recent years, adding a deep stop at half your maximum depth has been added to many agencies standards.
Don't forget to log your dives
Keep an accurate record of where you've been, what you've seen, and the important data about the dives. Make your logbook your scuba diving diary.