Escape from the Bubble Cloud
When his regulator hose burst during a dive, a diver not only lost his primary air source, he also was engulfed by a cloud of bubbles that made it nearly impossible to see or hear.
Alert Diver Category: Skills in Action
Surface Tows Against Current
It was a sunny day at South Florida’s Blue Heron Bridge. Two years had passed since I last dived this location, and I was anticipating a simple excursion to look at the local fish. The dive plan was to make a shore entry and allow the current to take me west down the beach.
Shallow-Water Blackout
“DON’T YOU DO IT. END IT CLEAN. Don’t make me come get you,” I’m muttering under my breath as I kick furiously along a lane line, doing my best to […]
Slow and Relaxed with Good Technique
MY DIVE BUDDY AND I planned to do a longer than usual dive one Saturday morning at Madison Blue Spring State Park in Lee, Florida. For several years and more […]
Training Is Everything in a Rescue Attempt
Many divers are proud to be comfortable in the water and sometimes push their limits on air consumption, exceed their bottom time, or take one last shot of a big fish with a camera or spear before ascending. Some of them develop reputations in the dive community for being competent divers by looking cool and experienced while taking little risks. It may start small but snowball into making poor decisions for which the price you pay is not worth the reward.
Clarify Hand Signals Before Diving
Divers spend much of their time underwater with a select group of buddies — the ones we trust to get us through the dive and surface with fresh experiences and stories to tell. Newly certified divers have had limited interactions underwater, having dived only with classmates, instructors, and assistant instructors during their classes.
Blue Lagoon Rescue
The Blue Lagoon in Texas is a great place for divers to train. In the water, two divers sprang into action to help a diver with shortness of breath. Read more about how their emergency skills paid off.
When the Unexpected Happens
The onset of pain in my left ear was sudden and excruciating. I knew something was wrong, so I gripped the anchor line and stopped ascending. My buddy saw me stop, and I communicated via hand signals that something was not right with my ear and that I needed to pause our ascent.
Keep Your Head
When conditions took an abrupt and unexpected turn during an exotic warm-water dive, our dive leader decided to abort. In these situations, it’s important to stay calm.
Risk and Redundancy
Modern dive computers can give us a wealth of information, but what if yours fails? Equipment redundancy, or having a backup, can help you know your true circumstances and prevent an injury or dangerous situation.