cuba diving: As any other sport especially extreme one’s, are risky. It’s very likely that you’ll once appear in such position that I’m going to post about and this 4 Step Help Guide is mostly dedicated for beginner divers.
Beginners usually panic, when the water around them gets dirty, silted. Yes! It’s hard to see, hard to navigate and you are in big danger.
What to do in silted water?
Step 1 – Freeze
Most important thang – do not move your flippers. That will lift silt all over. If you can avoid the deterioration of this situation, it is quite possible that the silt will go down in one or two minutes.
Step 2 – Being in the open space, add a little air
If you can move up (no caves, you are not inside of a sunken object), simply add some compensation. Thus, you’ll go up a little, and the flippers will not disturb silt. You can quickly escape from mess, to an area with good visibility.
Do not forget to breathe evenly and be careful so the small rise will not become an uncontrolled ascent.
Step 3 – If going up is impossible, use your hands
If you are in a place where the vertical movement is limited, please be especially careful, because emersion may cause even more mud to come up. Do not move your feet; gently use your hands to move away from the place where you disturbed silt.
Inhale or exhale to control your floatage perfectly. Use the hose to move, if it is able to withstand such pressures, of course. If not, use the small frog style and keep your flippers high enough.
Step 4 – In any case, stay calm
It’s easy to panic if you lose the ability to see. Remind yourself that you have no cause for concern.
If you start to feel dizzy, focus on the water in your mask, or bubbles of exhaled air, to restore the orientation in space. Or simply close your eyes so they will not send false information to your brain.
If you are in a closed area, the ability to keep yourself calm is even more important. Suppose that you have a lot of air and have enough time to assess the situation, before you start moving in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the silt can settle down enough to make you see light. In addition, if you have any contact with the bottom or the ceiling, the slope may also indicate you the right direction to the exit.