REDUNDANCY: What’s The Cost?

Regulators, masks, tanks, Oh My!!. – So much equipment! Those of us fascinated with the underwater world use it to thrill in its sea life or serenity – basking in an environment free from worldly pressures. We accept the amount of equipment and training necessary to temporarily live under water. But can we have too much equipment? Is there overkill? Absolutely not!

October 2012 – I am diving off of West Palm Beach, enjoying the wonderful drift diving that the area offers. My last dive of the day, my high pressure hose attached to my computer decides to leak as I placed it on my tank.Suddenly I am the center of attention! “Wow, that could have been bad at 80 feet” Or, “Too bad you’re going to miss the best reef of the day”

Oh – no I am not! Why? REDUNDANCY! Fortunately, I had a second computer with me and changed my gear around in a few minutes and was off into the deep blue!

January 2013 – Vacationing on the warm tropical island of St. Croix, I learned surf entry from the dive shop at the hotel. Right off the beach there is a beautiful reef on the north side of the island with an extensive wall. My first dive was with the shop instructor, it was nice to have a one-on-one lesson on surf entry since this was my first experience. As I learned, it is a bit of a challenge; but with a little timing and coordination, entry is mastered and down we go!

The second dive comprised a group of six: Dive shop leader and 5 divers. Keeping the group together entering the surf is a big responsibility for the leader. As we were entering, the waves were breaking strong and the leader lost her mask assisting another diver. Now, we are through the surf and in position to descend, but our leader has no mask. Dive over? NO!! Why? Yes – REDUNDANCY! I have an extra mask in my pocket and handed it over to the dive leader. Dive On!!

Through our SCUBA training, we know there are risks. But these risks or the chance of an interrupted dive can be minimized or some eliminated through proper dive planning. Part of this planning, I fervently believe is in the continuing education courses we select. The PADI Self Reliant course and the TDI Intro to Tech are the two courses that prepared me to handle the situations above. We want wonderful experiences of our dives and being appropriately prepared insures that we will be able to relate to others those memories. So, what is the cost of redundancy? It’s priceless.

Barbara A. White-Hill, ATC, CSCS Indian Valley Scuba
MSDT # 230147
DAN # 14496

Please contact IVS for course offerings and how you can enjoy your diving through better planning and REDUNDANCY!