Top tips for when you’re learning to scuba dive

While I was travelling in Australia I spent six months working on a scuba diving island called Mackerel Island. Before this, I’d never intended to learn to scuba dive because:

a)    I’m a total wuss

b)   I’m not very good at swimming

c)    I’m scared of fish

d)   It’s expensive

e)    I hadn’t realised how amazingly, incredibly, epically awesome scuba diving is

Working on the island meant I could learn really slowly and practice in my own time. I also had a hefty discount on my PADI course and I was always around fish, so I slowly began to get over my fish phobia.  With all these things considered, it would be rude not to learn to scuba dive, and after a few months I was an addict!

Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to scuba dive in some of the most incredible places in the world, like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Egypt. I’m hoping to squeeze a scuba diving and yoga holiday in this summer so I can combine two of my favourite activities and go somewhere beautiful and exotic.

If you’re learning to scuba dive, here are some of my top tips for learning to scuba dive that I picked up from my work on the island and generally through being a scardy cat.

Top tips for new scuba divers

Cover your mask in toothpaste to avoid it fogging up

When you first learn to dive you will be nervous. Even if you’re the bravest person in the world, it is terrifying the first time you sink to the sandy bed of the sea. If there is one thing that makes it even more terrifying, it’s not being able to see.

Even good quality scuba diving masks can fog up, so to avoid this I recommend smearing a thin layer of toothpaste over the inside of the mask. Leave it there for about half an hour and you’ll have clear vision for your whole dive. Some people recommend spitting or washing it with baby shampoo but I found toothpaste to be the most effective.

You will be taught how to un-fog your mask while you’re underwater but you’ll want to do this as little as possible so you can enjoy the dive.

 

Snorkel first

I was a very nervous diver to begin with, but I found that once I’d mastered snorkelling, I was much more confident diver.

I know you might think that snorkelling is just floating on the surface, but there’s actually much more to it.

You need to get used to wearing fins, diving below the surface and using your breath to control yourself. Practice breathing out and emptying your lungs so that you’ll sink and generally get used to being underwater.

Don’t drink too much the night before

Scuba diving and beer go hand in hand. There is nothing better than spending a day diving and then returning to the shores where you’ll drink a few icy beers while watching the sunset.

‘A few beers’ inevitably turns into a messy night and before you know it it’s 7am and you’re hurling over the side of the boat as you desperately try to sober up for your next day of diving.

Scuba diving is all about breathing slowly while staying calm and relaxed. This is virtually impossible when you’re hungover (trust me, I’m speaking from experience) so it really isn’t worth it.

Remember that when you’re sick, you have a reflex to then take a huge breath and suck in as much air as possible. If you do this underwater you either have to be sick inside your regulator (the thing you breathe through) or risk sucking in a lung full of water. Just. Not. Worth. It.

Focus on your breathing

When you’re underwater you can hear the steady, rhythmic inhale and exhale of your own breaths. I find this to be incredibly relaxing and whenever I start to panic I focus on my breath and it helps to calm me down.

Little kicks

It’s all about the little kicks when you’re breathing to help conserve your energy and your precious oxygen.

Whenever possible you should swim with the current, but when you’re swimming against the current, try using lots of tiny kicks. You’ll find you’ll move much faster and will use far less energy.

 

Make sure you’re comfortable with your instructor

Most scuba diving instructors are super friendly and chilled out and I’ve never come across one I don’t like. But if you’re learning with an instructor you don’t feel comfortable with then you’re really going to struggle. You should literally trust them with your life and feel like you can comfortably follow all of their advice and instructions.

Make sure you meet your instructor before signing up to a course.

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If you have any more tips for anyone learning to scuba dive, please share them in the comments below!