Learning to scuba dive requires certain skills as well as remembering the rules of diving. Diving safely requires remembering those skills and rules. However, lots of certified divers leave large periods of time between dives, months or sometimes even years may pass between dives due to financial or family circumstances, or you may only dive once a year on an annual vacation. In any case, if you haven’t been diving for a while, it’s wise to take a scuba refresher course.
The industry standard is that after 6 months of not diving it is highly recommended for divers to do a refresher course and after 12 months it is mandatory. That is why Scuba Legendz offers the perfect solution with its Refresher Programme. Working with one of our experienced dive team members, we will review your knowledge and help you refresh your skills in a safe environment.
Why should you take a refresher at all? Why not just jump straight back in? Here are a few reasons.
Like a second language, unused scuba knowledge fades over time. The dive-tour operators’ role is not to re-teach diving. You need to refresh your dive planning, procedures and behaviour. At Scuba Legendz we help you reinforce the needed procedures.
Can you remember how to plan your dives within no-stop limits?
What should you do if you’re separated from your buddy?
What if you run low on air?
What should you do if caught in a current?
Working with a professional will bring you back up to speed and help you begin thinking like a diver again. Many divers forget the correct dive procedures after a period of inactivity and may even pick up bad scuba diving habits. Running through some of the key skills with our professionals will help remind you of the correct procedures.
These include not only basics like regulator recovery, but also:
The key parts of a buddy check,
Safe entries and exits
Correct descent and ascent procedures.
If you’re anxious about any skills, this is the perfect opportunity to practice in a controlled environment. Being under the surveillance of our diving masters can help remove any bad habits you’ve picked up over the years, whether it’s premature mask removal, poor finning technique, weighting, buoyancy control, or configuring your equipment in a poor way.
Scuba diving is a very safe sport. However, we’re all diving in an alien environment and, if something goes wrong, there are risks attached. It’s critical for you and your dive buddy’s safety to know what to do if you find yourself in a low-on-air emergency situation. Running through the skills under the guardianship of one of our professional divers allows you to practice them in a safe, risk-free environment so that you can become more instinctive in the unlikely event that something does go wrong.
Many dive centres and resorts will expect you to prepare and assemble your own equipment and to know how much weight you need and to check that all is functioning correctly. A Scuba Legendz refresher course will help you review the correct way to assemble your scuba unit and remind you of common mistakes to avoid. If you’re not sure about your weights, a refresher gives you a chance to fine-tune these potential issues.
If you’re about to jet off to the other side of the world, it’s sensible to test your equipment before you go. On a liveaboard boat, 100km offshore is not the place to find you have an issue with your regulators, computer or buoyancy control device (BCD). Similarly, if your equipment is just back from a service, you should test it before you make the journey.
Check regulators, computer and buoyancy device (BCD) before going on a dive.
Test your diving equipment after a service because regulators have a margin of adjustment after a service.
Dive computers have different displays and user interface so it’s best to learn the displays in a controlled environment.
Check your weights make sure it’s secure and its quick-release is functional.
Check your breathing gas supply, make sure the valve is fully open when testing the pressure gauge.
Many conscientious dive centres will insist that a long-inactive diver takes some form of a scuba refresher course before attempting more challenging dives, no matter what their qualification. This can be frustrating, but it’s best for your own safety as well as the other divers and dive staff. Don’t spend valuable time on your dive trip doing a refresher in the pool or lagoon with the local centre when you’d like to be on the offshore pinnacle, arrive refreshed, logbook stamped and ready to go.
Scuba diving is an evolving sport. Each year, training methods and course curriculums change. Technology moves on rapidly. Dive computers and cameras have evolved in the past decade. A refresher with Scuba Legendz allows you to discover the latest diving technology and get up to speed with modern training techniques. If scuba techniques and etiquette have changed, our dive professionals will bring you up to date during your scuba refresher course.
Confidence is key. So much of diving takes place in the mind. A good dive is like an underwater meditation and a bad dive can quickly turn into a nightmare. If you’re rusty, you’ll more likely make embarrassing mistakes at best or worst suffer anxiety and potentially work yourself into a panicked-diver situation. This puts you and the other divers in your group at risk. Eliminate those first dive-back stumbles and nerves with sound advice from our diving masters and practising those skills before your trip.
With thousands of logged dives between our Scuba Legendz dive team, they can offer advice on local dive procedures, protocol, and etiquette. They may also be able to tell you the go-to-dive-centre, or even the best place to grab a drink when the diving is done.
If you’ve been out of the water for a while, a scuba refresher course is well worthwhile. Done correctly, these courses can enhance both your fun and safety on an upcoming dive trip and everyone you’ll be diving with as well.
