Briefing

As part of my Divemaster training, I was given an assignment by my instructor to write a text-based briefing. Here's what I came up with.

💡 Dive info: 2 divers — one with an Open Water (OW) certification, and the other with an Advanced Open Water (AOW) certification. The OW diver has 59 logged dives, the most recent one just two days ago. The AOW diver has 20 dives, but hasn't been diving for 10 years. We're heading to Racha Yai for two dives from a boat.

Even though Open Water is a lower certification than Advanced Open Water, it’s clear that we need to pay more attention to the second diver — the one who hasn’t dived in 10 years and may have forgotten some skills.

According to the instructor manual, the Discover Local Diving briefing should include the following:

• A short overview of the dive site, including conditions, potential hazards, and points of interest.
• A discussion on responsible interaction with the underwater environment.
• An explanation of the local procedures and dive techniques.

This briefing is perfect for divers who dive regularly, like the first diver with the OW certification. But given that we have someone who hasn’t dived in 10 years, we’ll also touch on key points from the Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) briefing:

• Breathing rules and pressure equalization techniques.
• Equipment purpose and use.
• Hand signals.
• Clearing the regulator and mask.
• Respectful behavior around marine life.
• The importance of staying close to the instructor and following signals.
• Activity limitations and the importance of continued training.

We don't need to give two full briefings — just highlight important parts from the DSD program and observe how the AOW diver responds. Based on that, we’ll adjust as needed.

That was the intro. Now, let’s move on to the first-person version of the briefing.

Part 1. Briefing about the boat.

Right after boarding the boat, I gather everyone together, we put on life jackets, and I start explaining the boat layout.

“Let me quickly explain the boat to you. We walk barefoot on the boat, so everyone removes their shoes at the entrance and puts them in the basket. Once we return to the pier, your shoes will be handed back.

The boat has two decks.

On the lower deck:

• The wheelhouse is at the front — please don’t go in and don’t distract the captain.
• There’s a central corridor — to the left are 4 toilets with showers, to the right is a dry room with air conditioning. Don’t enter it in your wet suit or swimwear after diving.
• Near the entrance is the kitchen and the engine room — also off-limits.
• At the back are tank racks where we’ll prepare our gear and suit up before and after the dives.
• Also at the back is the water entry/exit area, with two freshwater showers and two rinse barrels. One barrel is only for cameras, the other for everything else.

The upper and lower decks are connected by a staircase. Please pay special attention: always go up and down facing the stairs and holding on with both hands. The boat may rock, the stairs might be wet, and we want to avoid accidents.

The entire upper deck is for relaxing. At the front and rear are sunbeds for chilling and sunbathing. In the center on the right is where breakfast and lunch will be served. On the left, you’ll find coffee, tea, and soft drinks. There’s also a blue cooler with cold water — feel free to help yourself.

One more thing. If you know you get seasick, you should take a motion sickness tablet. But take it in advance, since it takes about 30 minutes to kick in. If you already feel nauseous, it’s too late. In that case, go down to the water entry area and throw up in the water. There’s nothing shameful about it — it can happen to anyone. To avoid seasickness, stay off your phone, fix your gaze on a stable point like an island or cloud, avoid stuffy spaces, and stay hydrated.

Alright, let’s have breakfast — diving program briefing comes next.

The Briefing

Hi again! My name is Egor, and I’ll be your divemaster today.

Today we’re doing the Discover Local Diving program. It’s meant for certified divers who want to explore a new location. We’re diving at Racha Yai Island, at the Bay 1 and Bay 2 dive sites. The boat ride will take about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on sea conditions. On the way, we’ll pass by Ko Lon and Ko He islands.

These dive sites are two adjacent bays. In the shallow, protected area around 7-8 meters deep, there’s a large coral reef with plenty of marine life. We’ll start the first dive here to refresh equipment use and get familiar with the area.

A bit deeper, on the sandy bottom, there are artificial reefs — concrete blocks and domes — plus some sunken mopeds. Here, you may see moray eels, lionfish, pufferfish, and other big fish. We’ll explore this at the end of dive one and beginning of dive two.

Even deeper lies the sunken ship Harubi, which we’ll likely visit on the second dive. It’s well-preserved, and we might even swim across its upper deck. On the way, we’ll see more concrete blocks, many already overgrown with corals, often surrounded by large schools of fish.

That’s roughly what we expect to see today. The plan may change depending on conditions, visibility, and your behavior underwater.

Remember: don’t touch anything underwater. If I show a danger signal (shows clenched fist), keep away from the object I’m pointing at. Be mindful of your surroundings and avoid finning too close to corals. I get very upset when corals are broken — even accidentally — and it’s worse if done on purpose. Others are diving with us too, many with cameras. If someone films you harming coral or disturbing a turtle, it could lead to serious penalties for you, me, and the boat.

Now let’s cover how we dive, what to do in case of problems, and how we communicate underwater.

We enter the water with a giant stride. Walk to the edge of the boat fully geared: tank open, BCD inflated, mask on, regulator in. Hold mask and reg with your right hand, hold weight belt and BCD buckles with your left. Your fins should be over the water but feet still on deck. Look at the horizon, take a big step, and drop vertically. Your inflated BCD will bring you back to the surface where you lie on your back. If needed, inflate more. Once everything is okay, signal “OK”. Remember — this signal (shows OK sign) is both a question and an answer. If someone gives it to you, respond. At the surface, OK is shown like this (taps top of head).

When we’re all set, I’ll give the down signal (thumbs down) and we begin the descent — vertically, slowly venting air from BCD. Don’t drop like a rock — stay controlled and follow me. Equalize pressure frequently. Remember how? Right — pinch your nose and gently blow. Do it as soon as you feel pressure in your ears, and at least once every meter. If you have trouble equalizing or other problems, signal it (waves flat hand side to side) and show what’s wrong — ears, mask, foot, etc.

At around 2–3 meters depth, we go horizontal and start swimming. Use your legs only — not your arms — as arm swimming is inefficient and may knock out someone’s regulator. If that happens, just reinsert the reg and clear it by blowing or pressing the purge.

Breathe calmly and regularly. Remember the golden rule: “Never hold your breath.”

If your mask starts leaking — likely from a loose strap — tighten it and clear it by pressing the top and exhaling through your nose.

Check your air often. The question is shown like this (taps palm with two fingers). If someone gives you this signal, check your gauge and respond. “100” (makes T shape with hands), “10”, “20”, “30”, “40” (counts off fingers), “50” (clenched fist). So, 170 is three signals: 100, 50, 20. Show me when you reach 100 bar — that’s our turnaround point. Show me 60 bar — that means we must ascend. At 60 bar, we ascend and do a safety stop at 5 meters for 3 minutes (shows safety stop signal).

We ascend when I show thumbs up. Ascend slowly while venting BCD. Raise one hand and look around to avoid collisions. At the surface, fully inflate BCD, lie back, and swim to the boat.

To exit the water, swim to the ladder. Hold it with one hand, remove fins with the other and hand them up. Then grab the rail with both hands and climb. Don’t wait directly under someone climbing — if they fall, the tank may hit you. After climbing, take your fins and go back to your place to remove your gear.

We dive as a group. I lead, you follow. Stay at the same level — not higher, not lower. Stay close but don’t bump into each other. If you get separated — maybe distracted by a fish — stop, count to 60, look around. Stay put while I look for you. If no one finds you in a minute, start a slow, safe ascent. Skip the safety stop. Once at the surface, inflate BCD and wait. We’ll reunite topside. But really — don’t get lost. Losing your buddy is the gravest sin.

One last thing — hopefully unnecessary — but worth mentioning. If you run out of air or have an air supply problem, signal your buddy (shows “out of air, share air”), then start breathing from their alternate reg. Ascend together at a safe speed, skipping the safety stop.

That’s it. Any questions?