SuperDiver

What makes you great underwater?

For so many divers, their time below the surface ticks away breath by breath or minute by minute as the limits for no-decompression obligation dwindle. Like a nagging babysitter, the dive computer beeps, buzzes, or flashes a warning at you. It reminds you that it is time to go home, that the fun is over.

Often this worry of overstaying that countdown takes away from our enjoyment of the dive. Or worse yet, is the complete abandonment of care because the current view is too spectacular to care about remaining gas or decompression times. Divers underwater can easily fall victim to the technology that carries them away from and back to the surface, never really understanding the matrix of numbers that lie upon the face of their gauges.

100 feet of seawater is a mark. For some it is a goal. For others it is a limit. A fear or a euphoria may occur when the depth gauge approaches the three-digit number that certain divers use as the measuring stick for success. But is just going to depth the real mark? Is the deepest diver on the boat the best?
What makes one diver in deep water better than another?

Having the right equipment is a good start. Below 100 feet of water on a single tank is possible for a quick dip but not for spending any real time on a real dive. Having the right amount of gas in reserve for an emergency at the deepest part of the dive is the first step in smart planning. Knowing that we are humans underwater and need to breathe to survive, we must make the assumption that we could lose that possibility with an equipment failure. Diving deep and then making a mistake or having a problem that results in having to bail for the surface, is not the sign of underwater greatness. Having the ability to solve major problems underwater in a controlled manner is.

The right training for the environment is also a key indicator. Just going to depth because your dive computer keeps recalculating the no-decompression limit is not the way to go deeper. The advanced diver is one who can determine their time and gas limitation prior to entering the water. They know beforehand what they need to take with them to do the time they want to do at the depth where they want to go. And they take that with them.

Gaining experience can be productive but it can also be reckless. Just pushing past limits in a quest for ego fulfillment can lead to a dangerous place. Moving too slowly and not challenging ourselves can leave us stagnant and not ready for the next deeper move when the opportunity comes. Having a mentor to guide you through the increasing challenge to your skill level will keep you in the zone of improving your performance.
Getting more comfortable with your skill and ability is essential. That’s where you put in the hard work of improving buoyancy, balance, trim and propulsion techniques. Not just learning how to do a better frog kick but training to excellence the ability to integrate any kick necessary at any given moment, without thought, just execution.

This is a foundation that the great divers have taken many years to build and it’s why they can adapt to many environments and different situations. Because their minds are free from being concerned with performing these skills and tasks. They are in the moment, in flow, in the zone. It takes a lot of committed practice, not just learning once.
 
Confidence is indispensable. Without it, everything else is a mirage. The best equipment with all the certification cards will fall apart in the water if the diver has not built that essential foundation.  Without the balance of skills and equipment, challenges and perfection, training and experience, the diver will always struggle with confidence underwater.

Some divers hide from it and others push past it, just to keep going. Deeper.

But the answer to the greatness of a SuperDiver is in their comfort, ability, and confidence.

Confidence in their equipment, their dive team, and themselves.

What do you think? Let me know. Send me a message and let’s discuss your needs underwater.