Miscellaneous Blogs
The Big Thumb
“Thumbs – up” in any situation other than diving is the universal signal for having an awesome time, and it is a pretty hard habit to break when you are having fun. As a recreational scuba instructor in Cyprus it is part of my job to teach hand signals to use while underwater, and nothing irks me more than this sign’s continuous misuse. I know diving is fun. I know diving is the most liberating feeling in the world. I know that photo opportunities to share on Facebook are hard to turn down. Seriously guys? Listen to your compass and your course instructor more than your feelings!
The big thumb means one thing and one thing only…..GO UP! It is time to end the dive, slowly safely and according to plan. If a diver “thumbs” the dive, all other divers in the group repeat the thumbs up sign and the entire team surfaces. There is no room for discussion and no one questions the signal. The dive is over.
Alright! Ok! I get it! Stop going on about it! I will, very soon – I promise.
Why am I going on and on about the big thumb? Well, many times on a dive with experienced divers I have watched a diver give the thumbs up only to have his buddy question the signal. This generally leads to a lot of confusing, rapid gestures from the whole team – a whole conversation of hands and fingers as to whether or not to really end the dive. This only makes matters worse. If the diver is starting to run low on air this confusion only wastes time. Problems should always be communicated, but the decision to end the dive should never be questioned. All instructors stress the importance of the thumb on an open water course, but sadly – when we release students into the wild they often let their bad habits kick in again. This post is a reminder, diving is serious fun – so treat hand signals with the respect they deserve.
Gemma and Ian visited DEEP and were hosted by Phil Short, Research Diving, Training Lead, and were given a tour of the facility at Avonmouth and then over to the Campus at Tidenham.
DEEP is evolving how humans access, explore and inhabit underwater environments. Through flexible, modular and mobile subsea habitats that allow humans to live undersea up to 200m for up to 28 days, work-class submarines, and advanced human performance research, DEEP completely transforms what we are capable of underwater and how we conduct undersea science and research.
You can listen to Episode 173 of the BiG Scuba Podcast here.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast. Please give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us as each share and like makes a difference. Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via The BiG Scuba Bat Phone +44 7810 005924 or use our social media platforms. To keep up to date with the latest news, follow us:
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Gemma and Ian chat to Dr. Joseph Dituri. Dr. Jospeh Dituri lived undersea for 100 Days in a mission combining education, ocean conservation research, and the study of the physiological and psychological effects of compression on the human body.
Dituri enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1985. He served continuously on active service upon various ships and shore stations where he was involved in every aspect of diving and special operations work from saturation diving and deep submergence to submersible design and clearance diving. Now that he is retired from 28 years of active service to the United States, he is the president of the International Board of Undersea Medicine. He also volunteers his time as the CEO of the Association for Marine Exploration. He is an invited speaker on motivational, sea and space related topics.
Fuelled by his passion for exploration, discovery, adventure, and making the greatest possible positive contribution to the world, he is fighting for change in a big way and with great enthusiasm.
You can listen to Episode 172 of the BiG Scuba Podcast here.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast. Please give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us as each share and like makes a difference. Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via The BiG Scuba Bat Phone +44 7810 005924 or use our social media platforms. To keep up to date with the latest news, follow us:
We are on Instagram @thebigscuba
We are on Facebook @thebigscuba
We are in LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian%F0%9F%A6%88-last-325b101b7/
The BiG Scuba Website www.thebigscuba.com
Amazon Store : https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/thebigscuba
Visit https://www.patreon.com/thebigscubapodcast and subscribe – Super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.
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