For those of you who have never scuba dived before but are thinking about doing an introductory scuba dive, let me give you the “needs to know” about Discover Scuba Diving or as we call it, DSD.
Now, I’m a professional PADI open water scuba diving instructor from the U.S. and diving the oceans of the world is my job! I’d like to fill you in on the secrets of diving and or Why Dive truths of my past to which helped me go from a recreational diver to a PADI Pro!
Now scuba diving isn’t for everyone. Let’s be honest!
Usually the first step before taking your first introductory dive, before even filling out the necessary paperwork, should be to see if you are physically fit and mentally sound to dive in the first place.
Does this mean you should see a doctor first? No, but it’s not a bad idea if you do.
Diving can be extremely fun and very exciting but there is a reason why we have dive insurance and or the expression “divers work well under pressure.”
Most diver accidents or even deaths were the result of the diver not quite telling the truth on their medical form about their physical condition or their mental state.
We always ask new scuba divers to be honest with us when filling out the health forms.
If any question on the form has a “yes,” then we will require a doctor’s note stating that you are physical fit or mentally sound to dive.
Without it, an instructor or dive master takes a big risk as well as the new diver, hence the dive insurance.
But again, let’s be honest, no one really wants to have to use it, especially the insurance company.
Once you’ve truthfully completed the health form, the dive center will have you sign the liability statements and others.
Then, if you were with me, I’d have you watch the PADI DSD video to see what skills you’ll be doing before we even head to the beach (or the swimming pool).
The boats that take guests out to the Great Barrier Reef will show you these videos and give you all the instructions and pre-water training as you cruise to the outer coral reef near Australia’s Continental Shelf.
At the beach, I’d brief you about the equipment and ask you a few common sense questions about what you’d think I’d do first and second involving the dive equipment check.
We’d then start with underwater communication such as hands signals to which are commonly used even in everyday life.
Most people get these right away, but then some completely forget them once in the water.
This can be quite humorous for both the instructor and the students, hence why we use a signal for laughing.
Yes, you can signal to other scuba divers that something is actually funny.
Once we’ve geared up, we’d walk into the water and begin our skills of mask clearing as well regulator recovery in water swallow enough for you to stand up in.
Now the hardest part, for beginners, in diving, is their brain.
It’s like walking and chewing gum at the same time.
I always tell my students, if you see me panic, you can panic, if I don’t panic, you don’t panic.
That usually causes laughter and laughter is good!
Especially for those who are nervous.
To help newbies in getting past the hardest part, we usually practice breathing underwater but without fins.
This works extremely well in putting them in control.
Once I’ve seen that my students are comfortable in doing the mask cleaning, using air from their nose, and recovering the regulator placing it back in their mouths, I’d give them their fins to put on while sitting down on the sandy bottom.
Next we would swim around to practice good buoyancy.
The trick is to be properly weighted first and learning to use the air in your lungs second.
Once we’ve completed the dive, and based on just how well my new students performed, I would of course recommend them to take the next step and become certified open water scuba divers so they too can enjoy the oceans of the world just like me!
Take a peek here at some of our great scuba diving courses in Cairns there are also 1 day reef trips and... the ultimate liveaboard scuba diving trips that take you to the northern parts of the unspoilt Great Barrier Reef where you can dive with sharks and swim with Dwarf Minke Whales.
That’s it for today, keep an eye out for my next blog – Introductory to being a Certified Scuba Diver.
If you would like to read my previous blogs on how I became a Full Time PADI Open Water Scuba Dive Instructor just follow these links:
Blog #1 - Why Try Scuba Diving Part #1 - How Scuba Diving Became My World!
Blog #2 - Why Try Scuba Diving Part #2 - My Love For Scuba Diving
Blog #3 - Why Try Scuba Diving Part #3 - Scuba Diving Changed My Life
Robbie x
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