I keep seeing guys on the job skip the full 5-minute pre-dive checklist and it's a huge mistake.

We had a diver on the Gulfport harbor job last month get his comms line snagged on a piling because he rushed the gear check, and it cost the team over two hours of downtime in freezing water. What's one safety step you'll never skip, even when the foreman is pushing for speed?

2 comments

2 Comments

reeseperez1d ago

Watched a buddy of mine get his drysuit inflator valve stuck open because he blew through his checks. He shot up like a rocket from thirty feet, had to grab a downline to stop himself. Scared him so bad he does the whole valve drill twice now, no matter who's yelling. That visual of him zooming upward is burned in my brain.

alice891d ago

That story from @reeseperez is wild but honestly, how often does that really happen? I've done a few hundred dives and never seen a runaway ascent from a drysuit. Most of the time a stuck inflator just means you vent a lot and have a slightly faster ascent, not a rocket launch. It feels like one of those things instructors make a huge deal about so you pay attention, but the actual risk is pretty low if you keep your hand near the dump valve.