Scuba diving tips for beginners | Your First Post-Certification Open Water Dives

For all the new divers out there we have put together some tested scuba diving tips for beginners! Here is some pro advice for your first post-certification open water dives.

Diving can be intimidating especially when you’re surrounded by a bunch of much more experienced divers. But don’t worry, follow these 8 tips and you’ll be on the right track to having a great experience on your first open water dives!

 

8 Scuba diving tips for beginners

1. Practice

Don’t go a long time without getting your feet wet. I always recommend getting in a pool or calm body of water to practice before a trip to make sure you’re tuned in before you take the leap into the great big blue. Don’t sleep on your local diving either! It’s a great way to keep your skills fresh until your next dive trip. If it’s been an extended period of time since your certification, another option is to take a Refresher course with a professional to brush up on your skills.

 

2. Ask questions

Most divers like helping each other out and are more than happy to coach newbies through the process. Let the other divers know you’re new to diving and they’ll totally understand, especially the dive crew. We’ve all been there. If you’re unsure about something, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for help! It’s much better to ask early on and get help while you’re out of the water than have an issue below the surface with limited communication.

 

3. Know how to use your computer

If nothing else, I highly recommend owning your own dive computer. This device holds some of the most important details of your dive: your depth, time, no decompression limit, and sometimes even your air pressure. Understand how to use it so you stay within the limits of your dive. The last place you want to be trying to figure out your computer is when you’re 15 meters underwater.

If you absolutely must rent a computer take some time before the dive to play around with it. And when I say “before the dive” I don’t mean on the boat ride out to the dive site. I mean go into the shop ahead of time and sit down and get familiar with its functions. Don’t forget to ask the dive staff if you can’t figure something out, they’re there to help!

 

4. Don’t skip your pre-dive safety check

Most likely you’ve been taught to do this outload using the BWRAF acronym, but you probably won’t hear any other divers doing it. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re skipping this step though. You can absolutely silently look down at your gear and go over the steps in your head then look over at your buddy and do the same for their gear. Just make sure your buddy does the same and that you two communicate important information like weight amount, placement, dive plan, relevant hand signals, etc. Trust me, every time I’ve skipped my pre-dive safety check I’ve had a problem that would have been caught otherwise. Sometimes it’s just minor inconveniences, but sometimes it’s something that completely ends the dive, and that’s no fun.

 

 

5. Don’t rush

You’re probably feeling some mixture of excitement and nervousness. So, once you hit the water – take your time! This is a slow and relaxed sport so take a moment to focus on your breathing and get it calm and under control. It is going to help your buoyancy greatly and conserve your air consumption for a longer dive.

 

6. Don’t compare yourself to others

It’s okay to be a novice, you have to start somewhere. Make sure to focus on yourself and what you need to have the best experience. Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if you don’t quite have everything mastered yet. I’ll let you in on a little secret, we all still make mistakes and we’re all still learning. So, learn with us!

 

7. Don’t be a photographer

I too can get caught up in wanting to document these special moments but if you haven’t mastered your buoyancy control, I recommend leaving the camera behind or keeping it clipped into your BCD so you can drop it at a moment’s notice. You don’t want to be that diver that’s breaking coral or kicking up silt because they’re too focused on “getting the shot.”

 

8. Have fun!

Most importantly of all is that you have a good time. And if you follow steps 1-7, you’re off to a good start. Remember to take in the scenery and enjoy every moment. I wish you the best of luck!

 

About the author

Olivia has been diving for 5 years and has managed to log hundreds of dives all while living completely landlocked. She now holds a Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification and lives and breathes all things scuba. She started documenting her scuba journey early on and is now dedicated to introducing others to the sport and helping them improve their skills and grow their passion for the underwater world. For more scuba diving tips for beginners check out Fully Submerged Scuba!