Safety Stop: Top Safety Tips from our Kyalami Captains

As the seas flatten and the water begins to warm, it’s a sure sign summer is right around the corner. And for us at Kyalami, that means we are busy preparing for peak dive season.

A Captain’s Point of View

Come see diving from our captain’s perspectives. Bringing all our divers back safely at the end of each dive day is their #1 priority. Read on to learn top safety tips straight from 3 of our Kyalami Captains.

Whether you’re planning a dive trip with us for the very 1st time or you’re just a fair-weather diver that doesn’t go out unless the water is warm enough to forego a wetsuit (for the record - there’s nothing wrong with that!), we checked in with our captains to share their top safety reminders to help you get ready to dive, dive, DIVE with us this summer!

Captains Zack and Joe both at the helm - ready to take you to our world class dive sites!

1st, we spoke with Captain Zack Zubek who had some great reminders about best practices for when you’re being picked up at the end of the dive. He shared: “make sure to have your regulator IN and your mask ON.” I can’t tell you how often I see people remove their mask as soon we end the dive. You never want to leave yourself vulnerable on the surface - stay ready for anything until you’re safely back on the boat.

Follow crew’s instructions

It’s important to pay attention to the crew’s signals, which are explained in the briefing beforehand. They will tell you when it’s safe to swim to the boat after the captain gets her in neutral.

He continued to share: “when you see the boat approaching you, get nice & close to everyone around you. Then stay completely still - don’t swim toward OR away from the boat. When you hear the deckhand say, ‘we’re in neutral, come on in’ - then swim HARD to get to the boat as quickly as possible.” Drift diving has it nuances, and getting picked up while both you and the boat are continuing to drift can be tricky, unless you listen carefully and follow the clear instructions given by our crew.

Better Together

At the end of the dive, it is important to get in tight with your buddies as the captain prepares for pickup. Masks on, regs in are also important tips not just for safety, but for your personal comfort. If you’ve ever had boat exhaust blown into your mouth, you’ll know why we recommend keeping that reg in!

Lastly, he reminded us that it’s ok to ask for help or an accommodation, sharing: “communicate any special needs or any special requests, we are willing to accommodate for many things out of the ordinary - it can never hurt to ask!” One thing is for sure - we care about both your safety and your enjoyment of the dive. If there is anything we can do to assist or to put you more at ease during your time on our boat, talk to your captain or any member of the crew.

Captain Mike at the helm, ready to make your day on the water both enjoyable and safe!

Next we caught up with Captain Mike Healy who shared his top safety tips, saying: “it’s all about the ascents and knowing proper weighting. Excessive overweighting leads to putting too much air in the bcd at depth, which is harder to control on the way up. Be familiar with how to quickly dump air out in any position. Deeper depths with no line to ascend up can be challenging.” Mike makes some great points, remember to always deflate to ascend! You should be able to easily hover at your safety spot with minimal air, if any, in your BCD.

Mike’s other top tip: “also learn how to send up an SMB (surface marker buoy). Go to a pool or shallow water to practice first and only do it if you’re completely confident. Messing it up can easily lead to runaway ascents.” But learning this technique does have its benefits. Mike goes on to say, “it is far safer from a captain’s perspective to come up from under a marker than just popping your head up on the surface.” Thanks for the great reminders, Mike!

Deploying an SMB at depth with a reel is an invaluable skill for a drift diver. And like with any skill, practice makes perfect.

Finally, we caught up with Captain Joe Hackett, who’s been operating professionally on our waters here since 2008. Joe shared: “When asked, it's always my recommendation that a well-prepared diver will have an SMB which is at least 6 feet long and orange in color. While on the surface, hold that SMB vertically to ensure that you will be seen.”

Joe elaborated, saying “I am a big fan of orange colored SMB's (safety sausages). I know some divers like neon green, and fluorescent yellow, but these colors tend to blend into the ocean surface when there is some wind chop or whitecaps. The color orange is visible, especially from the bridge of the boat, for a very long distance. Additionally larger, longer SMB's are much more visible than smaller, shorter ones.”

Orange is the preferred color for safety marker buoys, since it stands out the best against the blue sky and water.

Clearly, knowing how to deploy and having the right surface marker is a critical safety element in drift diving. Captain Joe has me even reconsidering my signature pink SMB - as much as I love to be color coordinated, safety really does come 1st.

Thank you again Kyalami Captains for sharing your safety tips with us. We can’t wait to get out there with you all this summer to safely enjoy the stunning reefs and marine life we have to offer!

Safe Diving,

Grace

While our captains undoubtedly have a lot of pressure on them, ensuring everyone’s safety and enjoyment, there is no doubt about it - they have the BEST office view!