As a new diver (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I went through multiple phrases.

~ The “I know nothing at all and I am most likely going to unlive myself, but this is still really cool!”

A baby diver. Very cautious and watching my gas and NDL. Stayed fairly right up my instructor’s or guide’s butt so I had eyes on them.

Took a few courses- Advanced, deep and wreck. My skills started to grow and as did my confidence. Buoyancy and trim got dialed in. I learned a few things. Air consumption improved. I ventured out with buddies and worked on my navigation skills (those stayed pretty crappy for a while).

~Mt. Stupid - The “I know what I am doing” phrase.

Ah, Mt Stupid! With the gained confidence, I was most definitely becoming slightly cocky. Heading a little deeper...straying a little further away from my buddy and the group. Pushing gas and NDL limits.

Luckily for me, there were no serious misadventures, although I am sure I gave more than a few guides heart attacks and got separated from my group a few times.

~Valley of Despair- Started doing some more advanced training and getting some Pro ratings under my belt. The physics part of it as well as the dive medicine was a lot. I started to realize that perhaps I didn’t really know as much as I thought I did. Watching student divers that were now under my care (and liability insurance), I relived some of those moments where I did a few things that were cringe worthy.

~Wisdom- I gained a little of this. Almost got a wee bit cocky again until I started in the caves and doing sidemount. I was very quickly reintroduced to being humbled.

I try to do a new course every year.....diving and the science that is keeping us alive....is a dark, deep rabbit hole. Even when you think you “know the things”, a new thing pops out and you are re-humbled all over again.

I by no means have all the answers or know all the things related to diving. What I have gained is a healthy respect for the ocean (and caves and water in general). The ocean, even when you are going all the things right, can be a fickle bitch that will give you a reminder every now and again.

I have actually become a more conservative diver over the years. Once again, being very respectful of NDL, depths, and gas management. I communicate with my team members, plan my dives and dive my plan. I am not afraid to call a dive if something feels off. While I love the technical side of cave diving and all the things it entails, I am also very aware of things that can go south and plan for them...same with the ocean.

Keep training, keep learning, and be safe divers ladies.

So who is that diver that we dread getting a phone call or email from

1. Midnight hour Diver- This diver comes in a few flavors. Either trying to book last second in high season, and then is mad there is no more space or that special rental item has run out. The other way this diver presents is they do book ahead but leave all other logistics to the wind. They have no plan on how to actually get to you, surprised when last minute flight tickets have skyrocketed, ferries sell out, or what something special a few minutes before it is time to dive. Of course wants a refund in full.

2. I’ll just cancel Diver- This diver has 0 issues canceling boats and scheduled dives the morning of and fully expects a refund in full. We typically see this diver at the bar late night and on their 4th drink slurring about how they are “going to deep” tomorrow. I am almost grateful they are not with us so I don’t have to worry about a DCI rescue later in the day since they are so dehydrated and smell so boozy.

3. Got my OW 30 years ago and that’s good enough for me Diver- This diver loves to brag that they have been diving since the days of Jacques Cousteau however they have about 40 logged total dives. Their favorite hobbies include cornering a poor newbie diver and pouring on unsolicited diving advice (that is completely wrong and usually dangerous), pulling out their regulator that was manufactured in the 1800s and telling folks that “it still works great”, and of course, my personal favorite, letting everyone know that dive computers are a total money grab as the RDP tables are a perfectly good way for one to plan out their dives (please note they don’t actually have a dive table nor have picked one up since the early 70s). Any training past the Open Water level is a money grab and they are solid diving to 150 feet on a single tank- no computer to violate so all good! These are usually men, but every now and then a women is that diver as well.

4. Don’t touch my stuff diver!!!- Hey, I get it. I get a little weird when a random DM starts fiddling with my gear. However, yelling at them is uncouth. I had one lady slap a young guide on the hand one day and told him not to help. They backed off, and in water, her tank came out of the cam bands, and she forgot her weights. I may or may not have giggled a little while watching her flounder about helplessly. Seriously, it costs nothing to be nice.

5. Everything is a Scam Diver- This falls back a bit to the I have been Diving Forever Diver, but everything for them is someone trying to part them from their last penny. They don’t train, don’t invest in new gear, frown on any new technology, and generally have a deep distrust of everyone surrounding them (you included). The boat/operator is taking advantage as the prices are not the same as 10 years ago, the locals restaurants are trying to add things to the tabs, and there is a firm distrust of everything and everyone. Demanding and entitled- they can suck the fun out of life very quickly.

6. The Drunk/Druggie Diver- Ah, always entertaining. And always hammered. Smelly boozy and perhaps walking up to the shop with a drink in hand or wearing a weed shirt. You, my friend, are a hard no and most definitely getting in the water today.

7. The Medical Nightmare Diver- This diver loves to hide severe medical issues. Had a heart attack a few months back, but wants to hop in the water with you without getting a medical clearance.

   Thankfully, most of my divers do not fall into these categories and are absolutely lovely people.

The scuba industry has been self-monitored since the beginning with few government oversights. We have seen several very high profile cases in the last few year. The Montana Drysuit case and recently the death of a 12 year old girl in Texas. The public view is shifting from viewing scuba as a safe sport to anger that these deaths occurred.

The question right now is are the training standards that we have now good enough? Are instructors given too much leeway in decision making when there are questionable water conditions, large classroom sizes, and a wide variety of ages in mixed groups?

The other question folks are asking is not just why dive professionals are making some of these choices, but why agencies and shop owner do not have a bigger part of making these calls.

We have seen a shift in the industry over the last two decades with scuba courses, especially the Open Water programs, decreases in time commitments. Back in the day (and I am aging myself here), the Open Water program was roughly 4-6 weeks. One meet one or twice a week to review book materials, complete final exams, and learn to setup gear as well as how it functioned. After the classroom session, there was several pool sessions to practice skills and conduct swimming qualifications. After this was completed and the instructor felt that the student was ready to go on, there would be two days of diving.

We are seeing many Open Water courses being conducted in as little as two days now. Some of these courses are private or semi private, however many of them have eight students- more if there is an assistant in water.

Can we safety train and pass information to eight students in two to three days? With the introduction of online learning programs that student is able to complete the book work at home, however are we allowing enough time to review the materials with the student diver to make sure that they understand the theory of diving? Are students able to “master” the 20+ skills in short confined sessions or are the being passed along too quickly?

As a dive professional of more than two decades I can say that I am seeing more and more divers that have no concept of buoyancy control, emergency procedures, and only loosely understand dive theory. One of my specialties is working with student divers that are struggling with buoyancy and trim. 90% of the time, these divers have been grossly overweighting themselves. When asked about why they are diving with so much weight, they state that this is how they were taught and if having an issue in guided dives, the dive professional typically added more weight to be able to get the diver to descend.

We certainly have our fair share of lazy dive pros that simply do not want to take the time to help a guest get properly weighted, but I think the bigger issue may be that these dive professional may not understand the issues they are creating.

When we put poorly trained divers out into the water, those divers are the ones that will eventually level up to be poorly trained Pros.

Now we take this issue and we blend it with the financial aspect of the sport. The overall cost of getting scuba certified in a large classroom has not increased over the last twenty years. In fact the opposite has happened with a large part of this due to the introduction of digital coupon platforms created to attract large numbers of people that may have not necessary sought out scuba. Cheap and quick.

To be able to compete, shops lower overall costs and banked on filling large classes that needed to be completed in a short time frame. To further complicate things, there has been a huge increase of online gear sales leading the closure of most Mom and Pop scuba shops.

So what we have right now is a system that is working against itself. The public is becoming untrusting, poorly trained divers and dive pros, an increase in fatalities that were avoidable, and less financial rewards.

Something needs to shift. I have seen more and more of the seasoned dive professional capping classroom sizes and switching to private-only instruction. I have seen one shop take this route as well and it is very successful. It is more expensive for the consumer, however I do believe that many potential students want to know that an instructors focus is solely on them and that there will be no other distractions.

If we, the dive profession, do not start taking charge of making these shifts towards smaller classroom sizes, longer training times, and more time to review theory with students, then governments very well may start stepping in to make these changes for us.

After this dark topic, I will add something light- Rinn Stitches has offered a discount to Scuba Women members.

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What causes it and how can we avoid it? What did the diver do “wrong”?

IPE- Immersion Pulmonary Edema.

In a nutshell, fluid is pushed into the lungs and can make the victim feel air starved and as if they are drowning. They pretty much are.

It is seen in folks that do triathlons and has been connected to over hydration. But it is also seen in divers, and that is not always a connecting factor.

I know several people that have had this and was the rescue diver for one of them.

They were two very different stories as when symptoms presented.

The first diver was at depth just starting her dive, and she was feeling off. She stated she thought it may be a heart related issue. She thumbed the dive and on the surface stated she couldn’t breathe and was struggling. She asked for help from the crew and was told to “calm down”. Crew told she was having a panic attack. She told them she was not panicking but having issues breathing, and needed assistance removing her gear and getting out of the water.

She received little to no help from the crew. When on the deck, she was coughing up some blood, asked for 02 and was denied. Crew told her she was fine and she needed to breathe and control her anxiety.

She was ignored by crew while they sent the divers down for the second dive. Getting back to shore, diver arrange for medics to meet her at the dock, where she was taken to a local hospital and treated for IPE.

Second diver was here in Catalina. Normal profile of 45 feet for 35 minutes. No quick ascent or NDL violations. Diver was fine under his head broke the surface and found he was struggling to breathe. Diver yelled for help. I was actually there for this one and on shore. In water instructors towed the diver to exit point, and we hauled him out of the water, secured 02 and called for medics. Victim was coughing up bloody froth, extremely pale, and in pain. We moved victim to his side so he wouldn’t asphyxiate. Medics came in and brought victim to local hospital for treatment were he was given diuretics.

Diver was released the next day and was able to travel under his own power with directions to follow up with his dive doctors.

What did these divers do wrong- The short answer is nothing. Profiles were all well within normal range and in fact both on the more conservative side. No ongoing illnesses and both divers were deemed as healthy and active.

Could this have been avoided- In talking with both these divers, I can see nothing they could have done to prevent this.

Where I do see an issue is the response of the dive professional on site. With diver #1, the dive professional ignore symptoms and refused 02 and medic care. They were uniformed and unaware of what IPE was and how it presented. Sadly, we see this a lot. It is a subject not often talked about in Open Water course nor in continuing education.

We talk a bit about decompression illness, and I generally hear students told that if they follow the rules, they have an issue. This is untrue as there are multiple cases of undeserved DCI.

What can we do about the issue- Be informed and aware of how different in water medical issues can present. It is typically recommended to give 02 if available. If it is not, nitrox has a higher blend of 02 and can also be used.

With a suspected case of IPE or DCI, go seek medical care. Seriously, call DAN and the go to the nearest hospital (hospitals that have chambers are better as they are going to have staff that know about dive medicine).

Even if you are “feeling” better, please go seek out care. Lots of folks traveling in other countries have concerns about the quality of medical care, the cost, the wait times to see a doctor. I get that, but this is not something that one can sort out for themselves and there can be long term issues that can arise with folks that refuse or do not seek out care.

If you are a dive professional, you need to start doing some reading and research on both IPEs and DCI. DAN is a valuable resource and they have many articles and webinars on dive related injuries/illnesses.

Take everyone’s complaints seriously. If a diver is telling you that they are having a medical event, call medics. Maybe the diver is fine, but you have done your due diligence. If a diver is refusing care, which is NOT uncommon, insist on care if you think there is an issue. It is better to have something ruled out, then to have a potential medical issue go unaddressed.

I will be at the Long Beach Scuba both Saturday and Sunday! On Saturday, you will be able to find me at the Scuba Do Rag booth from 11am to 11.45am!

We will have stickers of course!

looking forward to seeing everyone!

We have been chatting a lot of safety and being able to call a dive when one is not feeling it.

Let’s talk a little about revisiting those basic skills~

When I hop on the boat in Cozumel for the day or if I’m at Catalina teaching diving at the park, one thing that I see consistently is the lack of the gear check.

On the boat, the guides generally set your gear up. I have seen many a diver strap on their kit without checking it, nor do they ask their buddy for a once over. On the boat, most of the time our guides catch a problem thankfully and we are able to correct it before ya’ll splash.

At the dive park, I am generally set up teaching to the side of the stairs, so I get to watch everyone waddle down the stairs and into the water. Mostly, I am looking at octos hanging off to the side begging to get caught on the last stair when the water surges. At the worse, I have seen a couple guys that had the tank facing the wrong direction in the BCD and the regs coming off the wrong side- to add insult to injury the tanks we coming out of the cam bands as well. When I (nicely as it was beginning of high season) I let the gentlemen in question know they had an issue and they may want to correct it before splashing, I was told- “I am an ADVANCED diver”“. Sigh.

Safety starts the second you decide you are going to go for a dive. That is when it is time to pull your gear out and give everything a once over. When was the last service? Are all your hoses nice or starting to look a little sun-baked and cracked? Did you orally inflate the BCD to see if it is holding air? And if you have a tank available to set the kit up and make sure all the things are working? When was the last time you pulled back those hose protectors and looked at what was going on under them?

Gear checks- I check my gear before every single dive. It is a quickie thing and can save oodles of in water issues. Gear has been known to fail and O-rings love to blow at the most inconvenient times.

Having a second set of eyes check you once your in kit is also key. Two brains are (generally) better than one. Insta-Buddy you don’t really trust- Ask the guide/DM to give you a quick once over.

On the surface- Before I descend, I take a few breathes off the reg as well and give the SPG another look. I make sure shoulder straps are snug.

Many of us get used to having this concierge service on dive boats. While it is lovely to have someone else do all our setup and breakdown, it is a disservice to divers. There are many divers I see during the seasons, and they have simply forgotten how to set up their gear and unsure about how to do a good check.

Now is the time to revisit that. Ask if you can get a gear setup review. Practice until you can do a full setup and check without prompting from the dive Pro.

This is the link to the report from the Finnish team.

What we know as fact-

Five divers descended in questionable conditions on a dive site known for down currents and fast drift.

One diver (the instructor/guide) was found deceased at the entrance of a cave which is roughly around the 60 meter mark (196 feet). A Maldivian recovery team recovered the body.

Gases being used- unknown at this time

Training of divers- One diver was a recreational instructor. One diver is said (not fact) to have had CMAS Cave level 1 (which translates to Cavern diver, not full cave) and some Extended Range training. Divers are said to have had an extensive number of recreational dives.

Divers were diving on standard recreational setups and not with technical gear.

The Maldives limits all dives to a max of 30 meters and does not allow decompression diving, although there are a few dive centers operating tech dive operations. However, it has been stated by more than one diver that they have done multiple dives into this cave system.

The remains were recovered by the Finnish dive team deployed by DAN Europe. Several dives were conduct. First dive was to assess the cave and to gather information. Second and third dives were to recover the deceased. Four dive was to remove any gear/items left in the cave.

The Maldivian team assisted after the deceased were removed by the Finnish team to bring the victims to the surface.

What is being speculated?

I think perhaps the better question is what is not being speculated. I have seen everything from the wetsuits contributing to the diver’s demise, to strong currents that potentially created siphon-like flow to pull the divers into the cave.

There has been mention that the divers entered the second chamber and on turning the dive that entry point was no longer visible. Divers then entered another area thinking it was their exit point, only to find a dead end. This has not been confirmed by DAN as of yet.

Why is speculation harmful?

This has made global news, not just the news for us divers. When we have six fatalities that occur, people want some answers. However, until the dives are completed and the tanks and gear analyzed, what we end up with is scattered bits of information. For the layperson that does not dive, as well as the recreational diver these bits of information can be very confusing.

It makes the dive industry as a whole look very bad. That diving is an unsafe sport. It drives people away.

The families and friends of the deceased are most certainly reading these blurbs on social media. Imagine being miles away and unable to get any information from a true source while your are morning the lose of your loved one. Hearing people name-call and voice that these divers “had it coming”.

What else is scary-

There are many certified divers posting as well and many of these comments made me wonder who has trained some of them. Comments about the divers having “oxygen” tanks. Comments about how caves immediately get siltted out the moment someone crosses the doorway. A ton of misinformation about Max operating depths of Nitrox and air.

For the non-diver to ask questions or voicing something that does not make any sense, it is one thing. However, when we have trained recreational diver pouring out extremely bad information that was covered in their basic training, it shows me that as an industry we need to do better with our training of these student divers.

Training used to be multiple weeks with several classroom and pool session before the student even touched open water. There was opportunity for questions to be asked and theory to be solidification. Now we are seeing Open Water courses being completed in as little as two days after finishing an online classroom program.

Word of caution- In creating Scuba Women, over the years, I have heard from more than one member that they have entered an overhead environment be it wreck, cave or cavern without the training needed to be these areas safely.

There are some very friendly wrecks out there that are appropriate for the recreational diver…there are also many that are not. Many recreational divers enjoy the beauty of the cenotes in Mexico or the caverns in Florida safely every day.

As baby divers we swear that we will never go into overhead, or that we will never go deeper than X. As we grow, and start gaining some confidence, we become compliant with these hard, firm rules that we once made. We become curious, we believe that “it” can never happen to us, egos loam large. It is not the new divers that find themselves in trouble usually. It is the seasoned diver that has not taken the next jump to further their training.

The caves are beautiful places to dive in the world. More lovely than words can describe at times. I have found myself trying to memorize the formations brighten by my canister. They also need to be respected. Get the training if you are curious about them. Invest in the correct gear. They are 100% worth it.

Dive safe and dive within the scope of your training.

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I have a rule. The three strikes rule.

If three things go wrong, I scrap the dive instead of trying to push through. I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something. These don’t have to be big things- broken hose, misplaced items, etc.

I have found that those dives where things are going awry leave me scrambling to fix things at the last moment and not in the best head space to manage a dive in a relaxed state.

Listening to my intuition is also key and understanding when a dive is beyond my level. A few years back, another cave diver reached out to me and my cave buddy wanting to dive. We all met up and talked...and decided that we would plan a dive. This diver was well aware of me and my buddies’ level of training. At the time, we were baby cave divers with about a year in and maybe 40 cave dives.

This diver wanted to do some dives that were way above our training at the time- staging and deco. After a conversation, we declined the dive and suggested something else that was in the realm of our training. Our decision completely pissed this diver off.

The honest answer is we were very okay with the choice. There is about 0 room for ego in this sport whether doing caves or a simple recreational dive. We see a lot of folks that “wanna go deep” for no reason other than trying to push a personal number. Or wanting to push their NDL and gas limits.

Over the years, I have seen way too many incidents that were solely the result of the ego. I can promise you there is nothing down there that is worth your life.

Dive safe ladies. Listen to yourselves. Get the training.

How to get to Catalina?

There are several ways to come over, but the most affordable and easiest way to to hop on the Catalina Express. It leaves from several areas including Long Beach, San Pedro, and Dana Point. Each location has different arrival and departure times, so but sure to check their website. It is important to pre-book your tickets as they do sell out, especially in the summer months. The ferry ride over takes about an hour and half. There is parking close to the terminals in all locations.

If one has access to a private plane, we have the Airport in the Sky. It can be a on the expensive side and one will need to pre-book a shuttle in the city of Avalon. The last way to get to the island is by helicopter. It flies under 2000 feet so safe to take after diving. One is limited to a max of 25 pounds of luggage.

Accommodations- Avalon has many hotels and prices are widely varied. It is always best to book as far ahead as possible as they do book up quickly in the high season. Some of our favorites are- The Seaport Village Inn, The Hermosa, Catalina Courtyard Suites, The Catalina Canyon Inn, The Zane Gray.

It is also possible to rent through AirBnB and some of these homes come with a golf cart to use during the week. One can also find other house rentals through Catalina Island Vacation Rentals.

The City of Avalon where the Casino Point Dive Park is located is about one square mile from end to end. There is no car rentals available and most people walk. There is golf cart rentals available for a max of two hours.

Cozumel~

We are now offering year round Cozumel Dive and Stay trips! I am personally on the island from middle of November to end of May through 2026-2027 this year. Please reach out to us via email to customize your Cozumel trip. We are offering flexible dates.

Peak times in Cozumel is December to end of April. Cozumel is primarily light to moderate drift diving with some of the healthiest coral in the Caribbean. We boast over 30 dive sites, a cool wreck, and some of the best night diving to be found.

As part of our Dive and Stay packages, we also offer to include a day of cenote diving on the mainland. Cenote diving (or cavern diving) is not to be missed. This is not cave diving and appropriate for Open Water level divers that have good control of their buoyancy. Groups are small with no more than four divers assigned to a Full Cave Guide.

How to get to Cozumel~ One can fly directly into Cozumel’s small airport which is located about 10 minutes away from the Centro area. Taxis and shuttles are located right outside the airport making getting to your hotel easy.

One can also fly into the Cancun airport. From Cancun, we have private drivers available to pick you up to take you to Playa del Carmen where you will get on one of three ferry companies for your 35 min ride to the island.

For a budget-minded alternative, one can also take the ADO Bus. The bus is a large, air-conditioned coach styled bus and it takes about 1 1/2 hours. The busses are located directly at the airport terminals and one can buy their tickets on arrival.

Cavern trip~ November 2026

We have one spot left for this event. 8 total days to be spent between Playa, Tulum and the Merida area in the state of the Yucatan with five days of diving some of the best cenotes in the area.

You will be staying in one of two gorgeous villas as we travel. Both villas boast a private pool and walkable to many restaurants and shops.

For a full itinerary, you can check out the details on the Scuba Women Facebook group under the event heading or you can email Cindy directly at scubacindy2@gmail.com.

This is a bucket list trip with some of most fascinating diving in the world. Included in the event is a lecture by our own Tristen, a local cave explorer and geologist. He comes to the villa to talk about the cenotes, how they were created, fossils, and the mythology connected to the Maya people.

We will be doing a total of 10 dives with our last dives taking place in a remote cenote with other 26 separate examples of human bones with some dating back around 2000 years old.

We limit these trips to seven guests and you will be escorted by three full cave divers as your guides.

Stay tuned for some other exciting trips as we get closer to 2027!

Happy to announce our weekly newsletter! We will have weekly gear deals, updates on trips, and of course, some good dive-related information!

Feel free to check out our website www.scubawomen.com and the Scuba Women Facebook group as well!

Looking forward to connecting with everyone.

We are pleased to say that we will be offering Cozumel Dive and Stays year round now with a discounted cost for the low seasons.