BE A MORE RESPONSIBLE DIVER – 4 TIPS

1. Continue Training and Practise
During lock down my colleagues and I have been discussing what will be our “first dive” after the lockdown/Quarantine finishes.  We all agreed that what we really wanted to do was get to the El Bajo Seamounts and complete a tech dive using double tanks to 40m and with some deco. I was happy to hear “but first shallow and practise, it has been more than two months out of the water”. It does not matter how experienced or how many certifications you hold. Nothing beats practise, especially in a team.

Often people are shocked to hear I am still taking dive courses and training after being an Instructor Trainer for 20 years. Every year I try and complete at least one course related to diving. Most recently I took GUE Fundamentals and I am in the process of taking the Human Diver online course looking at human errors. Check it out https://www.thehumandiver.com/

2.   Be an ambassador for the ocean

Help break the stereotypes of Scuba Diving and the Ocean. The general public and non-divers are becoming more aware of the issues concerning Ocean conservation. Unfortunately this is still plagued with horrible misconceptions like “Sharks eat Divers” and “Scuba Diving is Dangerous”.


People can be impressed when they hear you scuba dive, use this as a tool. You have that persons attention. Explain to them the importance of good interactions with marine life, not touching. Not having a fear of being eaten by a shark and how actually hundreds of millions of sharks are killed by fishing.


Another great option is to explain about sensible and sustainable options for consuming sea food. Or perhaps be like me and don’t consume any animals as food!

3. Buoyancy and Trim
How good are you? Can you hoover motionless above the reef with out touching it? Can you perform the  basic scuba skills without touching the bottom or knelling? Little changes can make a big difference. How many of you are still using an old fashioned weight belt? Did you know weight integrated BCD have been around for over 20 years yet still dive centres teach open water using the old ones. Old fashioned weight belts don’t help a divers trim. They concentrate the weight around the divers hips and counter against good position. Ensuring the divers feet point down and head up.

A good and well set up weight integrated BCD will ensure you assume a more “Sky diver” like position horizontal in the water. Using less weight, more hydrodynamic and will improve your air consumption.


Although technical diving may be something you never imagined you would do. Taking an entry level technical course and learning to use a backplate and wing will improve your technique and give you insights in to fin kicks and equipment set up that will vastly improve your knowledge and how to apply subtle and good changes to your trim and buoyancy.

4. Dominate the essential Skills

Can you Clear you mask? Remove and replace your Mask? Share Air? Send up a SMB from 15ft/5m all completely neutrally buoyant? Can you complete them confidently? No wobbles or buoyancy catastrophes? If you are not sure or simply have not practised them in a while. Please come pay us a visit!

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE STARTS HERE

The Dive Gurus are experts on The Sea of Cortez. With over 20 years of experience living and working in La Paz, The Dive Gurus are not just the exclusive boutique dive centre. We are the chosen expedition leaders and logistic experts for institutions like The BBC Natural History Unit, Netflix, Disney, National Geographic Society & Television

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