Divemaster Skills

Think being a divemaster is all about guiding divers underwater? Certainly that’s part of the job. But here’s a list of divemaster skills that you might not have contemplated:

1. Slinging 25 to 50 scuba tanks at least twice in a typical day (on and off the boat), plus numerous other pieces of gear. 2. Lassoing elusive buoys with tangled lines in choppy seas. 3. Helping divers up a bucking boat ladder, without getting throw off the boat yourself, or if in the water without getting smacked in the head by a tank, fin, weight belt. 4. Observing inexperienced divers do some amazingly clumsy and hilarious moves, without spitting out your regulator laughing. And still offering to help them even when they haven’t listened to last five things you’ve suggested. 5. Watching guests blow chunks, without gagging, and then offering them water and a paper towel, and rinsing the boat, gear, their buddy, if needed. 6. Responding to different Captains’ styles of driving/docking/anchoring/etc./without comment or complaint even if you’re secretly thinking he or she might be a distant relative of Captain Bligh. 7. Responding to equipment failures quickly, with calm action, even if you’re thinking “holy shit that could have been bad.” 8. Answering the same questions every week with new guests, all with a smile on your face and laughter in your heart. 9. Having creature encounters that result in a happy dance underwater by the divers and the divemaster. 10. Seeing the daily different moods of the water and loving every minute of it.