At RAID, we get asked questions about diving and diver safety on a daily basis, and lately one question that keeps occurring goes something like this: “What should divers do after a long layoff?”
Luckily, that’s a simple one to answer: “Take things slowly, go back to basics and take a refresher if possible!”
Your watch words for getting back in the water safely after any layoff, especially one longer than a few weeks, should always be Cautiously, and Conservatively.
To help guide you, we have prepared a list of questions divers should be asking themselves…and the folks they dive with. Take a look at each of these and answer truthfully.
- Is my physical fitness what it was or better than it was before the pandemic?
- Is my mental fitness (stress levels, situational awareness, general comfort) where it needs to be to dive safely?
- Is my kit serviced, tested and totally fit for purpose?
- Does my personal kit still fit and is my muscle memory such that I can deploy and operate it safely?
- Am I prepared to rebuild my diving skills with several simple, shallow, and straightforward dives at protected sites?
- Will I start every dive by following a pre-dive checklist and execute a thorough buddy check including a bubble-check and S-Drill?
- Am I going to work through a skills circuit in shallow water with a buddy or better yet a camera recording my performance to demonstrate my readiness to dive?
- Do I need to take a refresher under the guidance of a Dive Pro to be sure I am ready to get back into the water?
Diving is one of the most rewarding activities we know of, but we must treat the risks it entails with respect and understand personal limits will have changed while we have been staying safe from COVID.
View the latest guidance from the British Diving Safety Group (BDSG) here.
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