Entry Safety

Last weekend we were down in Kankakee and as I watched divers enter the water, I was surprised that so many of them just do not know how to make a proper giant stride entry!

Now if you remember from your open water course, to execute this entry, you first complete your pre-dive safety check with your buddy.  Then, you step to the edge of the dock or boat swim platform.  You add a little air to your BC, secure your console with your left hand and your mask and reg in your right.  You quickly check that the water below you is clear, then look at the horizon and step off.  The key here is to STEP. It drives me completely bonkers when I see a diver hop off the dock!

The dangerous difference between step and hop is this: When you hop, you are briefly in the air, touching neither the dock/boat nor the water.  Now in the case of the boat entry, the danger is that the boat will move under you in that instant that you are aloft and you, or most likely your tank, will come crashing onto the deck, causing damage to your gear and the boat, as well as physical harm to you. You are not safe hopping from a dock, either.  If you are not really stretching that leg out, you may come down on the edge of the dock.  Again, the risk of harm to gear and person is great.

I ask myself, “How can I explain this better?”  Ok, Monty Python fans, remember the ministry of silly walks? Imagine making an exaggerated step into the water, looking straight ahead, clutching your console on the left and holding your right hand over your face, against the mask and regulator. Catholics, think if yourself genuflecting into the water, but instead of moving your leg backwards, you step forward.  Think of your bending knee hitting the water before the foot at the end of it.  How about Captain May I?   Captain, may I take one giant step off this dock?  Hopefully you are getting the picture.

...and now for some completely different entry techiniques.

Once the diver is in the water, I observed that divers either make the “OK” sign immediately upon bobbing to the surface,(how do they know yet if they are OK?) or they do not signal at all.  It should go like this: The diver strides into the water.  He continues to hold on to his mask and reg while he briefly submerges and then bobs to the surface.  While continuing to hold his mask with his right hand, with his left hand, he checks that the mask strap is still in place, and repositions it is needed.  He then briefly checks that everything feels alright and decides if he is OK to start his dive. He then signals to the surface support person “OK.”

This may seem like the ramblings of a crusty old dive-Nazi instructor, and I guess there are days that I may resemble one, but there is a reason why the skill is taught in a specific fashion.  It is for the safety of the diver!  I believe that most divers are careful about assembling their gear, checking their air, and planning their dive, but they forget that their dive can end before it starts if they don’t enter the water safely.