Why is it important to "trust your intuition"?

There times that we may think we are doing everything right but some thing tells us ( like our gut feeling) that something is not right. So we use our intuition to reevaluate or take a second look at what is happening. We then proceed to take action based on our diver intuition. Here is an article I wanted to share with you. It does say the word  instinct instead of intuition but the message is the same.

http://dolphindiveathens.com/trust-your-instincts/

After reading this article both me and my wife are really glad to have DAN insurance.

Forgetting gear at home, can get ridiculous!

OK ,  I think everyone has had a brain lapse here or there on gear. Its happened to me several times and perhaps to often.

  I actually think I completely took this to a higher  level by forgetting both my BC and my REG  today.
Talk about being distracted.  I have no doubt I am suffering from GFS ( gear forget full syndrome).

I have no choice but to make a gear check list for both me and my wife. I hope this will put and end to the I forgot to bring...... again.

Do you ever forget some gear? 
Do use a check list or do you rely on your memory?

Do you know what to do in the event your inflation bladder is stuck open?

It can happen to anyone, and if you don't react quickly you can find your self shooting upward into a very dangerous situation.  This subject for some reason is not covered in OW training. I actually believe this would be a good subject to cover.  It would not take tong to show a student what to do and practice this in the pool session. 

The action of dumping your air bladder and disconnecting  lp hose quickly, in the event you experience a stuck inflation valve is a very good response that I believe all should know.

What do you like about night diving ?

Some people think I'm crazy for going night diving. They are convinced the sharks are going to get them at night or something. They have a real fear of the dark , and it is something very difficult for them to see past it. I guess I can understand how they feel, but since I know I will be able to see with proper lighting I don't have this feeling. I get to also have another type of dive experience I would not get during the day. Besides its the only time I can really hunt for lobsters!!!!

How good are your shore dive enter and exit skills?

As I was preparing to get my gear on I was watching some who looked like seasoned veterans of diving, begin their shore entry. As I watched I was amazed at how some of these guys did not really know how to deal with the medium surf. Most of them got hammered and I was not sure if they had lost any gear. I saw one or two was up on shore like a beached whale covered in sand!

I thought to myself, although this was not something I had tried before I took a moment to evaluate the situation and come up with a plan to successfully get past the surf.

First I was watching the waves and trying to time the sets comming in.
Second I rehearsed what I was going to do  with my dive buddy and agreed on the plan.

Normally when it is super calm we just walk out reg and mask off BC inflated put on fins at chest deep and proceed to kick out.

This time the surf was up so this could not be done.  

In these conditions I chose to put my reg and mask on and partially inflated my BC. Then I proceeded to time the sets so I could walk to chest deep to get my fins on.

Once fins were on I deflated BC and kick out past the surf .


Now this worked for me, but I am curious as to how do some of you handle going out when there is some surf present. 

​Do you think the distress sign is stupid?

I really can not understand why this sign was chosen to represent a distress by divers. 

I see a lot of divers with their mask on their forehead and non of them are in distress. Furthermore if they were I hardly think that they would calmly place their mask on their forehead.  They would be more likely to remove their mask in a desperate situation and their goes the distress signal!

Occasionally I will flip my mask on my fore head, I know many that do. 
What do you think ?

What do most of you think about the snorkel?


I personally do not like using the snorkel when scuba diving. It seems to just get in the way and for me it is a bit annoying. 

Do really use the snorkel or is just a gimmick item you were told to purchase when you did your OW course?

This topic has been brought up, because there are some who regard the camera pole or selfie stick as annoying to some divers. Primarily because the user is not aware that they are infringing on others space. The camera pole users are at times inconsiderate of others when they are posing for selfies or filming in area where others are filming. 

I try my best not to intrude on other divers when I am trying to film or do a selfie. But perhaps others are not aware that they are be a nuisance to others. 

Then again there are some  who just don't like the camera pole and have unfairly judged it as an inferior way to film. On this point I will disagree with. There are many good features that the camera pole brings to filming under water.

The selfie is a great perspective that can bring a personal touch to your under water footage.
The camera pole provides a steady way of filming and when used with a stabilizing handle and a light mount you can have steady colorful close ups by using a Mono pole light mount by Z Gear.
I feel it is easy to film fish and other creatures because the camera pole is not this big wide bulky item that would other wise scare some fish away.
What do you think about the camera pole, are you one of those who love it or dislike it for some reason?