Those who don't belong to the diving world must think it's crazy. Maybe they are somewhat right, but they don't know that when you plan, you are already enjoying yourself, in addition to promoting safety.
Before diving
It is probably the planning part that will take up the most time. We place our hopes in carrying out a certain activity, and it must meet all our expectations. One mistake and this illusion can turn into failure.
Read our advice and we will help you avoid it.
- Get together with your diving buddies and choose the type of dive you plan to do, always taking into account the least experienced members of the group.
- Agree on a depth/time limit among all of you and respect them.
- Choose a diving area and another alternative, in case the weather does not allow diving in the first one.
- You must collect information from both. Nowadays there are diving maps, nautical charts that will be useful to you, graphic information in magazines and, of course, the Internet.
- Find out about the weather forecast. You can do it through our pages, with weather information for your province.
- In high season you must make boat and hotel reservations with enough time, do not leave it to chance if you are a large group or you will see the boat leave from the dock.
- Check all the material at home: the bottle must be tested, the regulator must work perfectly, the vest must not inflate on its own or lose air, etc.
- Check the expiration of your qualifications and insurance.
- Take a box with tools and spare parts for the material with the most essential spare parts. O-rings, mask and fin fixing strips, some spare mask, etc. A first aid kit with the most basic items will help you "repair" yourself or your companions, in case necessary.
- It is interesting to carry a mobile phone with batteries and coverage. Make a list of telephone numbers of the group members, rescue services, Red Cross, Civil Protection, security forces, hospitals, hyperbaric chambers in the area, etc. Very important: leave it connected.
- If you go on your own, inform your family or the diving center of the activity you are going to do and the place, with the greatest possible accuracy. Agree on a return time and if you are not back, call to report the delay, or else they may raise the alarm.
- When you fill your dive bag, do it in the opposite direction to its use. You should wrap the delicate material with the diving suit, do not use the side pockets for this. You will avoid possible unwanted blows.
- Depending on the number of divers, you should have enough time to take the boat without rushing, to enter the water all together, etc. Be punctual and demand punctuality.
- When you arrive at the chosen area, look at the state of the sea and plan the route to take before entering it. Pay attention to currents and tides.
- If you have chosen a boat to dive, it must be comfortable, have enough capacity to accommodate your group and meet the necessary safety conditions (oxygen equipment and auxiliary boat). There must be a crew member who knows how to handle it.
- The group must be together and not distributed throughout the boat.
- Once the vest and regulator are mounted on the bottles, lay them on the deck; You can prevent them from being damaged or causing an accident due to a hit of sea. Store the material conveniently if the trips are long.
- If diving is deep, a safety bottle is required at three meters.
- Review your physical condition. Don't feel influenced by your group, if you don't feel like diving, don't dive. Sometimes peer pressure starts to show out of the water. Be careful with the nightly revelry of the previous day.
- Remember that fatigue, stress and alcohol are, among others, risk factors.
- You must form groups and pairs according to each one's affinities. The photographer couple does not work with submarine type companion/long distance swimmer (they would be lost after five minutes).
- The groups should not be very large.
- Review and check that all your companions know the diving signs.
- In the summer, assemble your equipment before putting on your suit. You will avoid hot flashes in case of a last minute problem.
During the dive
It is the most important part, we have put our hopes in it and we want everything to develop as planned. Although we have been meticulous in the previous planning and enjoyed it, a single mistake and everything can go to waste. Let's analyze the steps we have to follow:
- The head of the group must be knowledgeable about the area, regardless of the degree he or she holds.
- In case of loss at the bottom, one minute of searching and reuniting on the surface.
- We must plan our route according to the person who consumes the most air. When you reach half your load, half turn.
- If you have changed any element of your equipment that influences buoyancy, review the ballast until you achieve slightly negative buoyancy on the surface.
- If you want to be an excellent partner, help and take advantage of the help of others, in diving there are no "super" men/women.
- The leader of the group must be the first to enter and the last to leave. He will be the one who will check the current, secure the anchor when starting the dive and will be in charge of releasing it before leaving.
- No one should dive deeper than the leader of the group.
Everything has worked perfectly, our objectives have been met, but let's not forget that people will generally remember any small mishap more than a wonderful dive. You may think that the "after" has little importance, but the perfect culmination of a great day depends on it. Let's help you:
- Before getting on the boat, hand over heavy equipment to the skipper or colleagues. Start with the leads; Hold them by the strap, not the buckle, to prevent them from falling. Next, hand over the jacket with the bottle and, finally, if it is an inflatable, get on the float without taking off your submarine type companion/long distance swimmer (they would be lost after five minutes).
- The groups should not be very large.
- Review and check that all your companions know the diving signs.
- In the summer, assemble your equipment before putting on your suit. You will avoid hot flashes in case of a last minute problem.
During the dive
It is the most important part, we have put our hopes in it and we want everything to develop as planned. Although we have been meticulous in the previous planning and enjoyed it, a single mistake and everything can go to waste. Let's analyze the steps we have to follow:
- The head of the group must be knowledgeable about the area, regardless of the degree he or she holds.
- In case of loss at the bottom, one minute of searching and reuniting on the surface.
- We must plan our route according to the person who consumes the most air. When you reach half your load, half turn.
- If you have changed any element of your equipment that influences buoyancy, review the ballast until you achieve slightly negative buoyancy on the surface.
- If you want to be an excellent partner, help and take advantage of the help of others, in diving there are no "super" men/women.
- The leader of the group must be the first to enter and the last to leave. He will be the one who will check the current, secure the anchor when starting the dive and will be in charge of releasing it before leaving.
- No one should dive deeper than the leader of the group.
Everything has worked perfectly, our objectives have been met, but let's not forget that people will generally remember any small mishap more than a wonderful dive. You may think that the "after" has little importance, but the perfect culmination of a great day depends on it. Let's help you:
- Before getting on the boat, hand over heavy equipment to the skipper or colleagues. Start with the leads; Hold them by the strap, not the buckle, to prevent them from falling. Next, hand over the jacket with the bottle and, finally, if it is an inflatable, get on the float without taking off your
