By Andy Bolton
Many people decide to take their first plunge into diving on Holidays probably mainly down to the cool blue sea which looks extremely inviting and that the holiday rep has been plugging the Diving Experience as on the holidays top day's out.
I find that the first experience I had of one of these trips to be fairly dangerous and not what I would like to recommend to a fellow novice or beginner. The main problem is people not knowing the information you should be aware of before attempting an experience like this.
Now that I'm a very experienced diver I can give thoughts back to what makes those holiday dives a bit of a potential dangerous experience. The first thing you should look for is that its a proper run dive school most places will be one quite surprised that you are going to ask these questions but should also be glad that you are taking an interest in your safety.
The Diving instructors and Dive masters should be willing to show their log books showing their dive experiences also their individual training record as this proves quality in the diving school personnel. The last time I was out in Egypt I made it my point to get as much information from the Dive school I was intending to be with up front.
Your first concern is safety and the things you need to look for are can I inspect the certificates for the Service on regulators and cylinders, check the quality of the equipment BCD's ask about the importance of having 02 and the oxygen trained personnel.
In Diving accidents and cases of the bends the importance of being able to administer 02 quickly by trained personnel can dramatically increase your chances of good recovery. For a long time I was not aware of this doing dives on holidays your life is very precious all good dive schools will have 02 on board and suitably trained people never go diving without this.
It's important that you understand the need to check the equipment before pool sessions on holidays making sure that there is a good 0 ring present in the cylinder valve and it's the right type i.e. for Air however nitrox divers should already be trained to do this.
When doing the pool sessions I often identify myself as a Divemaster and help out to make sure that the cylinders are attached to the BCD's at the correct height to avoid the valve on the cylinder connecting with your head and to fasten it tight enough not to slip from the BCD.
Diving on holidays is often taken as a bit of a slack process and quite often its needs that little bit of tightening up on procedures because we all want to dive safely and enjoy the experience. I found that on the first dive I ever did it was not explained to me that there is a purge button on the front of the regulator and due to my in experience I had to swallow some sea water.
This would have been alleviated if I had known I could expel the water by pressing the front of the regulator. This would have been a more safe experience for me instead it scared me into finding out about proper dive training.
My training was done in pools and very cold quarries and parts of the docks at the Mersey so not exactly blue sea conditions but very good as I feel confident in being able to perform rescue activities and diver first aid.
This can be the difference in being able to make a recovery from the depths. When doing a diving experience on holiday consider your safety as the top priority and ask questions and get a good understanding of equipment and peoples training before putting your life in their hands.
Andy Bolton 41 Liverpool UK England
Automation Engineer | Divemaster | Website Designer | Musician | Hot Air Balloonist | Author
Mostly Harmless, Enjoy Travelling and trying new gadgets.
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