Preparations and fitness for the new diving season

After a few months out of the water, Kirsty Andrews is looking forward to graceful return to diving. 

Here we are again, with the dark days of winter just about behind us and the prospect of a new diving season on the horizon; plans are being made and excitement is building.

In the past I have scoffed at the idea of a ‘diving season’, as my kit rarely had the chance to get fully dry during the winter months. This year though, due to a relentless series of storms bringing inclement winds and waves, followed by a nasty dose of flu and some more storms, I have had a full three months and more without stepping into my drysuit: practically unheard of, at least in years without a national lockdown in them.

So now I join many of you in checking my kit over in preparation for its first outing for a while. Often my dive kit doesn’t even make its way into the kit cupboard, as it rolls seamlessly from one trip to another, but this time it’s been tucked away so I need to open the door and check for cobwebs… I’ll go through the familiar motions of attaching jacket to cylinder to regulator; checking everything still functions after its enforced dryness.  

Ah yes, I’d been meaning to replace that mouthpiece; where did I put the spares again? Pleased that my BCD still holds its fill of gas without leaks, unnibbled by pestilential creatures during its wintry holiday. Checking my stock of spare O-rings, batteries, drysuit lube and handy bits of extra neoprene is still to hand and that my trusty spanner and allen keys are within reach should I need them. My spare mask has accumulated some suspicious-looking grime after being shoved in a salty pocket one too many times - should I replace it? No, a good old scrub will do, this time.

These thorough checks are important, as getting back into diving in the early Spring is not always simple. Our own BSAC Incident Reports show that, statistically, Easter is often somewhat of an incident hotspot in the calendar; a festival with pagan origins linked to the full moon, it always brings big tides into the mix. A little mental and physical rustiness combines with water that often isn’t at its clearest, and certainly not its warmest. There is also most definitely a concept of ‘dive fitness’; the mere actions of hauling our gear into, out of and around in the water feels like second nature by the end of the summer but at this point it’s all suspiciously heavy and unwieldy.  

thorough checks are important, as getting back into diving in the early Spring is not always simple

Now I would never be one to put others off a dive; perish the thought. If you, like me, find yourself in an unfamiliar position of contemplating your first dive in a while, then enjoy it! But maybe don’t be a hero. Some of you may plan to fraternise with club members at your local freshwater inland site, earning yourselves a Diver Burger for your efforts.  

Personally, I’ll be meeting friends for a local easy shore bimble if wind direction permits, or otherwise maybe a shallower boat dive than my usual. Depending on how I get on, I might cut the dive 10 minutes short to retain feeling in my fingers. (This last is fairly unlikely as knowing me, I’ll spot a curious crustacean at the last moment and time will fly by, but I’m giving myself permission to do a short one if I feel like it) Easing myself in gently, to what I hope will be a run up to some more fabulous diving to come this year. 

Article ‘Easing our way back’ by Kirsty Andrews first published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 154 April 2025.