Looking Before You Leap: Dive Planning

Posted on Jun, 2010 in Home/Scuba Training/Looking Before You Leap: Dive Planning

Ever seen divers in a movie? Chances are, what you have seen is the Hollywood version – a diver (often wearing the wrong equipment) simply steps to the edge of a boat and jumps into the water. No planning, no prep. Cue the music. Of course, we can’t expect Hollywood to show us every intricate detail of a dive, but these scenes present a skewed image of diving.

In real life, smart divers look before they leap.

Long before a diver – experienced or not – places so much as the edge of a fin in water, a great deal of preparation needs to take place. In some ways, dive planning is the foundation on which an entire dive is built. The wrong planning means a shaky foundation and bad dive experience – or worse, a tragic experience. A good plan gives you a solid foundation for your dive and lets you enjoy your dive more while you stay safe. A good dive plan is not just a general idea of where you are going. A good plan includes many elements:

1) Goal setting. Before you dive, you need to figure out some general goals and some more precise goals. At the first stage of planning, you may decide: “I want to try diving in some exotic location to try photographing wildlife.” That’s a good place to start, but then you need to flush out your goals more precisely. Where, exactly, will you go? What will be the time of your dive? What about depth? Where will you be underwater? Knowing the exact terrain will help you anticipate and plan for obstacles and potential problems. Ultimately, the more you know about your dive, the better prepared you are.

2) Environment check. Once you have the basic parameters of your dive, you will want to check the weather and environmental conditions. Consider current speed, current direction, visibility, and tides. Also, consider the weather you will encounter on the surface. Winds can affect your ability to exit and enter the water, while storms can create loose sediment which affects your visibility. In addition to the weather, you will want to take a close look at sun conditions and water temperature. Water temperature can affect the type of scuba gear you will need, while sun conditions can contribute to many factors – including algae – which can impact your visibility.

3) Diving equipment selection. It is vital to carefully plan scuba equipment needs before taking a dive. In most cases, divers cannot simply pop up out of water for a needed piece of diving equipment. As well, there is a very limited amount of maintenance that can be done on scuba equipment in the water. Equipment will vary depending on your dive and the planning you have done ahead of time. If your dive takes place on a balmy day in an exotic locate, you probably only need standard dive equipment. On the other hand, if you’re facing cold temperatures, strong tides and currents, poor visibility, or other dangers, you may need a drysuit, reels, lines, a redundant air source, lights, and some equipment that will help you navigate.

4) Self-evaluation. Evaluating your level of preparedness for a dive is important. You may know your goals and have the right equipment. You may even have carefully researched the environment. However, if you are not fit to dive, all of that will not matter. To determine your fitness for a dive, consider your physical health, level of fatigue, stress, medications, and alcohol consumption. If you are ill — even with “just” a common cold — and require medication, you should wait until you are better before diving. Even minor congestion can create respiratory system issues which can make a dive dangerous. If you have consumed any alcohol or are tired, you should not dive. You will need to be able to focus clearly and make important decisions on your dive, and you can’t make great decisions if your judgment is impaired by controlled substances or fatigue. While stress is hard to gauge, it is important to consider your level of mental as well as physical preparedness. If you are under stress, you may simply be too distracted to dive.

5) Buddy evaluation. In addition to checking your own preparedness, you will want to check the preparedness level of your buddy or companions. Is everyone fit to dive? Does everyone have adequate scuba diving training? Does everyone have the right equipment? If the answer is “no,” postpone the dive until everyone is fit.

Of course, even the most carefully laid plans will sometimes backfire, which is why it is important to pack an extra dose of flexibility in your scuba gear bag. Your dive plan is not over when you enter the water. You still need to be monitoring conditions and responding to them. A sudden weather change, for example, can affect your plans – such as your intended dive time. Adjusting your plan as conditions change is also part of a flexible, functional dive plan.

Related interesting posts:

• Top 10 Tips for Safe Scuba Diving:
• Are You Properly Weighted?
• Rescue Diver Course
• Ice Diving
• Why to go PRO

Tags: dive planning, diving equipment, diving plan, scuba diving training