We've all been there: we all started diving at some point and for a while, we were novice divers. And that's why we all know that when you start diving it's easy to make mistakes without realizing it.
Here are 10 mistakes you should avoid while perfecting your diving skills.
Skipping the Buoyancy Control
If you are over-ballasted or under-ballasted while diving, it's because you haven't done a surface buoyancy check.
If anything has changed since your last buoyancy check - you've lost or gained weight, you have a new wetsuit or a different wetsuit thickness than last time, you're diving in fresh water and not saltwater, you're wearing a different BCD or jacket - you should do a buoyancy check to make sure you're carrying the weight you need.
Diving beyond your capabilities
It's easy to get carried away with the excitement of being at a new dive site and feeling that everything is going to be fine because you're going with someone who has more experience or training than you. This can be a big mistake.
Most diving accidents occur because the diver was not prepared for the conditions in which he/she was diving. Never think that further training or experience is a waste of time or money.
Before attempting to dive in sites or conditions beyond your diving level, take the dive courses and dives necessary to feel comfortable and safe in that environment.
Lack of Communication with your buddy
Whether it's a friend, family member, or even a buddy assigned to you on the fly, communication between dive buddies is essential. Not only among novice divers but also among more advanced divers we may see divers who don't even know who their buddy is at any given time during the dive.
Maintaining contact with the person who may have to save your life - or whose life you may have to save - should be your number one priority.
Review surface signals to avoid confusion on the bottom; agree on a procedure in case you get separated (whether it's the standard one-minute search and surface rendezvous, or whatever is more appropriate to the dive); maintain eye contact at all times with your dive buddy; make sure you know how far away he is at all times, and be aware of his air as well as your own.
Lack of Attention to the Environment
New divers tend to focus on one or two specific things, such as their equipment or marine life while missing the big picture. It's understandable, but also dangerous. While you're looking at the goldfish or adjusting your mask or gear, you may be swept away by the current and lose sight of the group.
One of the most common problems with novice divers is that they are not aware of the depth they are at. This is especially noticeable on wall dives. It is very easy for divers to become oblivious to the world, contemplating the wall and the marine life and not paying attention to the fact that they are descending without realizing it. At some sites, a downdraft can push divers downward, and if they don't realize it, push them beyond the limits of recreational diving.
Lack of attention to the environment is also a problem when divers swim with their arms, because they are often unaware that other divers are nearby and may hit them or even tear off equipment such as regulators or masks.
Not paying attention to air consumption
Novice divers are notorious for completely ignoring their air pressure gauge, which is worrying because air is the most important thing for a diver.
It is so important that any diver, at any time, should know how much air they have without looking at the gauge.
Keep an eye on your air and be aware at all times of how much air you have left - there is no valid excuse for forgetting this.
After the dive, write down your air consumption in the logbook so that in the future you can estimate how much air you will need for a similar dive and see how your consumption improves.
Surface straining
Novice divers often forget that they can inflate their jacket or BCD at the surface and just get comfortable and relax. Many continue to kick in the water even after inflating their BCD. They often try to stay afloat by pure instinct, only tiring themselves out in the process.
Scuba gear is uncomfortable on the surface, so it can take some practice to learn to relax with it. The best option is to inflate the jacket enough so that you can lean back slightly and relax your legs.
Abusing inflating and deflating underwater
While novice divers tend to forget to inflate the jacket on the surface, many can't get it out of their heads underwater. Inflate, deflate, inflate, deflate, deflate - that seems to be the routine for novice divers instead of learning buoyancy control.
Dive slowly, take regular deep breaths, stand still every few fins to check that you're not rising or falling, and remember to inflate the jacket when your lungs are full and deflate it when your lungs are empty. And if you think you need it, don't hesitate to sign up for a buoyancy course or seminar, it will help you enjoy your dives much more.
Load up on homework
You're on a beautiful reef full of spectacular marine life, so it makes sense to take pictures. But novice divers already have a lot of things to take care of, and adding more can be detrimental. On your first open water dives, you'll probably have more than enough of the environment and equipment, both of which are new to you, to carry photography equipment.
Try not to do too many things at once when you are learning new habits and skills. When you've done several dives in different conditions and have become familiar with your new scuba gear (and if it's not yours, this includes any time the rental gear is different), that's when you can pull out your super photography gear and start shooting.
Starting to compensate too late
Despite the fact that diving courses tend to emphasize this a lot, there are many divers who wait until they feel pain or pressure before compensating.
Not to mention that you can irritate your ears, which is why most divers have trouble compensating.
Once you start to feel pain, compensating will be difficult, if not impossible. Attempting to do so in these conditions can cause irritation and inflammation, making the next dive even more difficult.
Relying exclusively on the guide
You may not want to learn to navigate with a compass, or every time you go to a new site you may find it too complicated to try to figure out the best route for the dive, but putting all your trust in the guide and not paying attention to where you are is dangerous.
There are divers who completely ignore briefings about currents, marine life, bottom time and depth limits because they feel they don't need to know any of that since they have a guide with them.
It's not that you don't trust the guide, it's that every diver should be responsible for themselves even if they rely on a guide to show them around.
Pay attention during the dive briefing, pay attention to scenic landmarks and directions as you navigate, actively participate in your dive and take responsibility for your safety.
This will help make both you and the people diving with you safer, make the dive more interesting, avoid driving the guide crazy and make you a better diver.
Now that you know which are the most common mistakes when diving, you may also want to know the best locations for diving in Thailand.
Scuba diving fan