TECHNIQUE
DEVELOPING A SCUBA SIXTH SENSE
If divers at any stage of their development feel the need for a self-help book, they need look no further than those written by SIMON PRIDMORE. He has just released a compendium of four of the best, packed with wit, wisdom and plenty of case histories – here is a sample.
Photography by LORENZO MOSCIA
ATERM THAT HAS CREPT into discussions of scuba diving safety comparatively recently is “situational awareness”, a concept that originally arose in the field of aviation but has now been extended to a wide range of human activities, from medicine and motoring to personal security and law enforcement.
Situational awareness involves being aware of elements in the environment around you, understanding what is happening now and assessing what could happen.
Somebody with a good sense of situational awareness might be described as having a “feel” or a “sixth sense” for how situations, people and incidents will play out.
As an example, I often tell the story of a couple of experienced divers who watch powerless from a distance as a group of ascending divers drift unknowingly into a patch of water where whirlpools on the surface are generating a downcurrent.
The divers’ bubbles, travelling almost horizontally ahead of them as they drift, are being caught and catapulted down into the depths and it is clear to the observing couple that the same fate will befall the divers if they do not take some form of evasive action.