Alert Diver Category: Skills in Action

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL, WARM SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. We were conducting two checkout dives for an advanced open-water course at a popular dive site in Puget Sound. I […]

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.

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.

WORKING AS A MATE ON DIVE BOATS for the past 22 years has allowed me to be a part of many interesting situations. When teaching scuba classes, I use one particular situation as evidence of the importance of maintaining skills through regular practice.

Although training emphasizes the theoretical aspects of safe freediving, sometimes it takes real-world experience to really make it sink in. Freediving is risky so it is always important to have your skills sharp.

A dive photo instructor witnessed a diver perform a rapid, uncontrolled ascent to the surface. Thankfully, the dive instructor’s rescue training came in handy. Read more about the incident.

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.

Dive safety experts now advise divers to always dive with their tank valves completely open — not turned back a half or quarter turn. Are you up to date on the rules? Read one diver’s story.

The Training Beyond Borders Diving Emergency Symposium is the first program of its kind, offering DAN courses to firefighters, Red Cross personnel, civil protection emergency responders and National Marine Park rangers in the Yucatán — all with full scholarships.

PROPER OUT-OF-AIR TRAINING and practice are important so a situation like this will not be the first time a diver is exposed to it.