Let me tell you a story about something that happened to one of our SCUBA fam. Maybe it will be familiar…
Lucy went for a dive in the Florida Keys last week. After signing the waivers, she brought all her gear to the boat and got set up on her tank. When they got to the dive site, she listened to the briefing, did all her pre-dive checks, and did a giant stride into the water. So far, so good. And then ten minutes into the dive, it happened…
She dropped a weight pocket! 😱 She tried to swim down to retrieve it, but after fighting to swim down after it for ten minutes she realized she was going through her air too quickly, was being pulled up to the surface by positive buoyancy and had to call her dive early. What a bummer!
Afterwards, she sent me this text (used with permission):
Imagine for a second you’re in Lucy’s shoes. You’re in a beautiful location, and signed up for a dive, and then all of sudden, not only is it cut short, but you have to now pay extra for the lost lead weight you rented! Does that sound like a good time?
Every diver has a story like this, and it’s not always your fault (sometimes it is lol). How could Lucy’s problem have been prevented? Maybe a more thorough pre-dive check would have secured the release of the weight pocket or she could have swapped it out for another unit. Maybe having her own gear that was familiar to her might have led to being sure the pocket was secure.
Those are valid points. But mayyybe it’s also that nobody else was looking out for her.
We teach people how to be self-sufficient. That’s part of diving. But we also have a family atmosphere here, and we love our divers like family. Ultimately you can’t have an experience that’s meditative, health-restoring and share-worthy unless you’re also being taken care of a little bit too. 😉
What Lucy knows, and you probably do too (since you’re on this email list) is that there’s the job… and then there’s The Other Part. The SCUBA Network® commitment places our divers experience above all, and we do the little things that make your big adventure something to share with all your loved ones. Our Dive Leaders are checking everyone’s tank, everyone’s gear, every little thing that may cause a problem and offering coaching throughout the experience. We want every dive and diver to be the best they can be!
After all, what’s the point of a lifestyle if it’s not going to be fun?
Sure, you could do a diving vacation on your own, but isn’t it worth a couple of extra dollars to make sure someone cares about you a little more than normal so that you come back smiling? How about a recurring group of friends that know you and have a similar interest?
In tomorrow’s post, I’m going to tell you about how you can see the future and prevent these kinds of problems before they start. Sign up for our emails so that you get these posts before everyone else. Check out the testimonials from our last trip to Bonaire. We had an amazing time!
Thanks for Reading!
Ryan Hoffman
Instructor Trainer SDI #23708
