Planning Your Dive

When planning your dive you need to sit down with your dive buddy and discuss some key points, before you enter the water.

What is the point of the dive? Is this a leisure dive, drift dive, deep dive or a photography dive?

What route will you take once under the water? This question is often overlooked and when both scuba divers descend under the water one person wants to go one way, and the second diver in the opposite direction. Be sure that you plan the route of your dive before you leave the shore or boat.

What key features are there at this location? By understanding what type of features are available to been seen, fish, coral or manmade features of a wreck, you are far more prepared.

Maximum depth and time that you plan to dive? Important to know at what depth and length of time you have allowed for this dive. If you have multiple dives planned for the day then this becomes ultra important so that you do not exceed the maximum bottom time as indicated in your dive tables.

Buddy hand signal communication. You may always dive with this buddy and be very familiar with their hand signals, however if you have not been on a scuba dive with this buddy, then a quick discussion about some key hand signals will improve your enjoyment of the dive