Another season of saltwater diving!
By Rusty Miller
Are you ready for another season of saltwater diving?
Here in North Florida it has been another mild winter and now we are moving into our spring temperatures. Within a few weeks the ocean temperature should be in the 70s. Currently it is around 62 degrees. In comparison to last March the water temperature was only 60 degrees so it should be a little warmer this year.
Last summer it seemed that the water off of Panama City Beach was calmer but not as clear as it should have been. We where lucky to get 20-30 foot visibility when in summers past it was normally 40-80 foot visibility. So it will probably be a crap shoot this summer. Regardless, any day of diving is better than work.
Back to my question of are you ready, there are two things that need to be ready for scuba diving. The first one is your equipment from your personal gear – i.e mask, snorkel, booties, and fins to your regulators. Let’s check out your personal gear first.
Your mask: If you haven’t used your mask since your last dive last summer you will need to take it out of your gear bag and check several key areas.
Look at the strap to make sure it’s free of any little cracks when you stretch it out, if it is then you need to replace it.
If it’s got mold on it then replace it.
If the part of it that goes in the frame of the mask where you pull the strap to adjust it is slightly torn, replace it.
Look at the lens to make sure sure it is clear and not scratched or cracked, if it is then you will need a new mask.
Look at the silicone skirt around the frame to make sure there are no cracks or punctures for a possible leak path. The only thing you can really replace will be the strap itself.
Now look at your snorkel, if the mouthpiece is cracked or torn it’s time for a new one.
Look at your booties to make sure they are not torn and that the zipper is not locked up by salt. Sometimes you can soak them in warm fresh water and it will dissolve the salt deposits and the zipper will work free, if it doesn’t then its time to get new booties.
If you are using a dive computer that requires replacement batteries then hopefully you stored it without the batteries installed, if not you run the risk of the batteries off gassing and corrosion on the contacts.
Sometimes you can take a small wire brush and clean them.
If you stored it properly then put new batteries in it and it should work fine.
I will cover the rest of your equipment next week.
Russell Miller #59999
