Declaring that you have no intention of demonstrating anything to anybody isn\u2019t a good answer. Either you won\u2019t be able to take part in a guided dive nor you\u2019ll get your tank and weights if you\u2019re planning to solo dive. Replying to a young instructor \u201cYou weren\u2019t even born when I learnt to clear the mask!\u201d, won\u2019t help you achieve your goal.<\/p>\n
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Asking too much<\/h3>\n
Divers generally suspect that divemasters keep the best dive sites secret, for their own enjoyment. This is tantamount to believing that Netflix CEO shuts himself off, watching movies all alone. Divemasters could actually lie if you ask them what is their favourite dive site. If your technical skills aren\u2019t good enough, they could lie and suggest an easier dive site. They don\u2019t mean to mislead you, they\u2019re just being kind: they don\u2019t want you to feel envy. And, don\u2019t confuse Europe and Africa with the US: divemasters won\u2019t serve you tea or coffee on the dinghy and won\u2019t assemble your equipment.<\/p>\n
Space in diving centers is governed by a counterintuitive rule<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s a universal rule: the horizontal surface available is inversely proportional to the size of the diving\u00a0center. You\u2019ll soon find out that the largest diving\u00a0centers, as well as boats, seem smaller than they actually are. This is because you spread all your gear everywhere. If you immediately arrange your equipment in your designated space, something amazing will happen: you\u2019ll have more room for standing and sitting. This will also increase good mood and prevent people from tripping on inevitably wet floors. Although surfaces are covered by miles of carpeting and rubber mats, they\u2019re slippery and, statistically, they\u2019re the most crowded areas, where people walk barefoot or in flip-flops.<\/p>\n
Spreading your equipment all over is a threat to safety, however, it helps to build social relations. It seems that many marriages between divers (a union that is legally recognized in many countries) originated from grabbing accidentally someone else\u2019s equipment. However, diving for a whole week wearing fins two sizes smaller or bigger than yours could negatively affect your comfort and safety. Keep in mind that you could accidentally grab the equipment of someone you don\u2019t get along with.<\/p>\n
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Rental equipment<\/h3>\n
Rental gear is obviously used gear. You\u2019ll find new rental gear only if it\u2019s just been replaced or if a diving\u00a0center has recently started up. You should treat gear like you would treat the elderly \u2013 properly and with respect. Just like people are more likely to fling cigarette butts and litter on a dirty pavement, they’re more likely to mishandle worn equipment. You could selfishly feel you\u2019re allowed to do so because it doesn\u2019t belong to you. Faulty and mishandled equipment could take revenge on divers. Good manners and respect for the elderly aside, handling your equipment carefully will guarantee survival in a foreign environment. You should return it in the condition you received it. Well rinsed, if possible.<\/p>\n
Rinsing tanks<\/h3>\n
The rinsing area of a diving center\u00a0is like a china shop, it\u2019s where you should be most careful. Sea salt, sand, bacilli, and body fluids can cause malfunction and embarrassment. Remember that diving centers\u00a0don\u2019t often use disinfectants for the environment\u2019s sake. Chlorine aside, if you relieved yourself in your wetsuit, don\u2019t rinse it together with masks and regulators, please! Also, don\u2019t wash your boots with BCDs and regulators: sand and precision technology aren\u2019t compatible. True, relieving yourself in a wetsuit is even recommended if you\u2019re getting really cold, but no one wants to come into contact with your pee afterward.<\/p>\n
If you really cannot hold it<\/h3>\n
Usually, if you rent a car at the airport, you don\u2019t pee on its seats and mats. This should also apply to rental wetsuits. In your own car, or wetsuit, you can do whatever you like, but not when there is a shared rinsing tank. If you have your own wetsuit, rinse it separately. What if you relieved yourself in a rented wetsuit? I understand this is hard to confess, but you should rinse it separately and ask for some soap and disinfectant.<\/p>\n
![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/imgimport\/988\/divers-1500.jpg\")
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Advice for the experts<\/h3>\n
If your credibility is built on your rigidity, you may miss the fact that divers just want to have fun and leave the stress behind. They won’t like a dictatorial check dive, especially if you charge the price of a standard dive. Treating people at the counter as if they were algorithms is one of the most dangerous global trends.<\/p>\n
Providing overhauled and well-maintained equipment is a good start if you want to surround yourself with smiling people and avoid grudges. It\u2019s also a simple stratagem to avoid legal action.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never seen cases of mononucleosis, or Ebola, attributable to regulators purging in rinse tanks like snails, but a little amount of bicarbonate (natural disinfectant) is welcome attention. Two rinsing tanks, one for fins, socks and suits, and one for BCDs, regulators and masks, are better than one. A shower with a bar of neutral soap where divers can rinse the wetsuit that \u201csuffered the mishap\u201d, will earn your center eighteen stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You made it right on time: got off the plane, looked forward to your travel bag with your dive equipment, and nearly cried in relief…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11376325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[261],"tags":[445],"authors":[265],"class_list":["post-11376324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-diving-etiquette","authors-claudio-di-manao"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n