Spring Tune Up

As a diver I never take anything for granted. Sure, I've been doing this for a very long time and there are very few things about recreational scuba diving that are new to me...but I always prepare and double check my list. So its spring and dive season is fully underway and I recently spent a very cold weekend getting prepared and testing the equipment and running the dives at the local training quarry/lake. I try to do a shakedown dive at the begining of each season to iron the bugs out. Sometimes every aspect of a dive can seen like a never been done before component. Even the way I lay out my tarp and organize my gear can be strange when I haven't done it in several months. Do I make sandwiches and a thermos of coffee, or is it better to take jars of peanut butter and jelly and some bread and make lunch on the spot? Do I use the drysuit gloves or will wetsuit gloves be enough? Are my fin straps long enough to accommodate the rock boots? Are the batteries working in my lights? Can I remember how to download dives from dive computer to laptop? These are the kinds of things I have to work out every spring.



Once in the water I can take some time to get the lay of the land...do I remember how to navigate from the platform to the truck and is the pizza man still intact? I can record the temperature at the platform and check the vizability so that I can be sure to share the good news with prospective student divers. Most importantly, I can think through solutions to be ready to respond to any eventuality. I can make sure I am prepared. That's the reason for a spring tune up or a shakedown dive and I try not to miss one.



The first dive of the spring requires some preparation and thought so here's what I do:

• Lay out all the necessary gear on a tarp in the middle of my garage


• Make certain that everything is in working order with fresh batteries and solid straps and connectors. My gear is generally serviced in the fall but this is where I would make certain of that


• Thoroughly examine the contents of my tool kit and replace any missing parts


• Update the contents of my First Aid kit, making sure to throw away out of date medicine and supplies


• Make a list of things I need to buy as replacements or spare parts - buy them


• Pack my bag in reverse order of use so my bcd is on the top and my gloves are on the bottom of the bag


• Organize my garage storage of scuba gear so that I can find whatever I need and know with confidence that it is in working order

After the first dive of the season I then make a list of what worked and what didn't or what additional gear would be good to have for next time. At one particularly muddy lake I have reminded myself to bring a spare pair of shoes that I don't mind getting filthy and a plastic bin in which to store muddy things for the ride home.

So get out there and get your first dive of the season accomplished, prepare and make your list, and if you have any good tips be sure to share them with me! Cheers...jane