the Editor says: Every diver goes through a beginner phase, but newcomers often feel too shy to speak up and ask questions — and end up missing out on the full joy that diving has to offer. This article is a full reprint of 18 common beginner questions compiled by 国际潜水爱好者聚集群 administrator Zhuichisha John Goh. We hope it helps everyone fall genuinely in love with diving!
18 Common Questions from Beginner Divers
This article isn't directed at anyone in particular — these are just the growing pains that nearly all beginners share. If you recognize yourself in any of these, go back and talk it over with your dive instructor and put in more practice. You'll definitely improve. Feel free to come discuss it with us too — we get it, we really do.
1. Slow to react underwater — completely zoned out.
This is extremely common. No matter how many times the instructor bangs on the scuba tank or shakes the rattler, there's no response. Then up on the surface you ask them, "Did you hear me?" and the answer is yes — followed by an innocent look and, "Were you calling me for a while, Instructor?" Yes. The whole time. I chased you down nine city blocks. No sexism intended, but this happens more often with women — I always say women are just very single-minded.
2. Not kneeling down — so how do you start controlling buoyancy?
Because confined-water practice sessions involve kneeling on the bottom to run through skills, it feels really uncomfortable to suddenly control buoyancy during a descent in open water without touching down first. The result: you sink like a stone, legs thrashing uselessly, until the scuba tank thuds flat on the sand, arms flailing helplessly in the water like an upside-down beetle stuck on a coral reef. This is especially true for people who aren't comfortable in the water, because in addition to managing the air volume in the BCD, descending vertically means you can use your fins to control your rate of descent.
3. Drifting up to the surface without noticing — and then being unable to sink back down — is another thing beginners commonly run into.
When moving toward deeper water, you need to add air to the BCD; when moving toward shallower water, you need to release it. Beginners often can't tell which direction is deeper and which is shallower, and they're not in the habit of checking their depth gauge. Add in a seahorse-style swimming posture and you'll naturally drift upward. The farther you get from the other divers, the more anxious you become — before you know it you're breathing rapidly, taking in a huge breath that inflates your lungs several times over, and even instantly venting the BCD won't get you back down. When this happens: stop all movement, orient your body vertically or tilt slightly back (head not raised, but eyes able to see the surface), purge all the air from the BCD, exhale and briefly hold the exhale — and you should be able to descend again just as you could before.
4. Having to constantly scull with your hands to avoid sinking is a sign that you're over-weighted — in which case you should be controlling buoyancy with your BCD or your lungs.
Before the next dive, let your instructor or dive guide know so they can reduce your weight. Give them fair warning — if several people simultaneously signal for weights underwater, where exactly is the guide supposed to conjure them from?
5. Swimming non-stop without thinking to wait for your dive buddy happens because people don't actively practice the buddy system in everyday life.
Dive buddies should swim side by side, no more than 2–3 metres apart. When you add in the up-and-down bobbing that comes with poor BCD control, you quickly discover that swimming a little faster is enough to maintain your depth — so you never stop. Stop, and you sink. This is a style of diving that relies entirely on forward motion rather than buoyancy control, and sooner or later every beginner has a revelation that this isn't fun at all.
6. High air consumption.
It feels embarrassing to be the first one up every single time — but there's no need to envy women's smaller lung capacity and lower air consumption. Underwater, there should be no unnecessary movement whatsoever. Even your fin kicks should be calculated: advance with the minimum effort possible. Use your compressed air for breathing, not for constantly inflating and deflating the BCD.
7. Not thinking to check the dive computer's readings — and not understanding what they mean.
As a general rule: during descent, pay attention to depth and perform ear equalization. After dropping to around ten-plus metres, your no-decompression limit (NDL) will appear. Keep an eye on your current depth and start ascending before the NDL falls below 3 minutes. Don't ascend faster than the dive computer's maximum ascent rate, or an alarm will warn you that nitrogen bubbles may be forming. The safety stop at 5 metres for 3 minutes must be maintained between 3 and 5.9 metres — if you drift outside that range the 3-minute countdown will pause. Different dive computers may use slightly different ranges.
8. Knowing you get seasick but not taking medication.
Or not getting enough rest beforehand — being on a rocking boat at the surface is absolutely miserable in that state. Anti-nausea medication is an essential travel item you should never leave home without.
9. Nasal congestion (rhinitis) can make ear equalization impossible.
See a doctor and get it under control before your trip, otherwise the person forced to skip a dive due to ear pain might be you.
10. Clean your ears before heading out.
This is especially important for people prone to swimmer's ear. We have seen — and will no doubt see again — divers unable to dive or persistently uncomfortable because of earwax buildup.
11. Some divers who go on one or two dives a year think they don't need to buy their own gear —
and won't even bother wearing a dive computer. How, exactly, does that diver know their depth? How do they perform ear equalization? How do they monitor depth changes to control buoyancy? Wasn't all of this covered in the certification exam?
12. Ear equalization must be done before your eardrums hurt.
Once pain starts, it doesn't go away immediately. For ear equalization, all you need to feel is both eardrums gently popping outward — that's it. What's actually dangerous is being so focused on equalizing non-stop throughout the descent out of fear of pain that you ignore everything else around you.
13. Controlling direction is difficult for beginners.
They also rarely think to be aware of other divers who may be above, below, in front of, or beside them. The bubbles you exhale rise and push divers above you toward the surface, so you need to be mindful and steer clear.
14. Although Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) training covers the fact that you should never breathe through your nose underwater —
besides the risk of inhaling water, it causes the mask to fog up. When you're already tense underwater and suddenly can't see anything, the anxiety can spiral into full-blown panic.
15. Whether your primary second stage regulator falls out of your mouth or something else goes wrong —
remember, you have an octopus / alternate second stage you can use. There's no need to panic!
16. Being so anxious that you have to stay right next to the instructor/dive guide underwater —
means they'll swim faster to avoid kicking you, so you speed up to close the gap, and they go faster still. The whole group's formation stretches out, and the people at the back may end up separated.
17. Don't be afraid to urinate underwater.
Staying well hydrated and urinating on every dive actually reduces the risk of decompression sickness (DCS).
18. If you're prone to underwater cramps, eat a banana before every dive.
There's plenty more I could add, but I've already been told I'm long-winded enough. Go find your instructor — they'll definitely have ways to help you improve. Or come find us; we can help too. Thank you!
Cover photo: Photo by Juanma Clemente-Alloza on Unsplash
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