How to Perform a Few Basic Scuba Skills

Last Updated on April 24, 2024 by Candice Landau

Have you ever wondered what you’ll learn in a scuba diving course? While the academic portion of the class will give you a great overview of diving physics, diving maladies, equipment, underwater problem management, and the theory behind the scuba skills you’ll be performing, there’s truly no substitute for actually doing these skills in the water yourself.

When you take a Discover Scuba Diving course or the PADI Open Water Course, these are some of the first few skills you will learn. If you’re nervous about any of them, remember, it all gets easier over time, just like learning to ride a bicycle.

Scuba diving also presents an awesome opportunity to learn more about yourself. These are mental challenges more than they are physical.

A note on the PADI videos: They have been slowed down so that you see all the steps within a given skill. We will in no way expect you to perform the skills this slowly. Rather, you will do them at the pace that is comfortable for you.

How to Assemble Your Scuba Gear

At its very simplest, your scuba unit will consist of a tank of compressed air, a Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD), a weight system, and a regulator equipped with a first stage, a primary second stage, an alternate second stage (sometimes known as an octopus), and a low-pressure hose. If you’re diving cold water, you may also have a drysuit hose, though you probably won’t have this in the swimming pool unless you’re doing a drysuit checkout or a drysuit specialty course.

When you learn to dive, your instructor will show you how to put the equipment together and how to disassemble and clean it. It is important to clean your equipment each time you use it. Chlorine and saltwater can be incredibly damaging to dive equipment.

How to Clear Your Mask

There are a couple of reasons you’ll want to know how to clear a mask. Firstly, water may trickle in if the mask isn’t fitting right, or if you’ve perhaps got hair or something else caught under the mask skirt. You want a way to get rid of that water, right? Secondly, if your mask gets accidentally knocked from your face you want to be able to calmly put it back on. This is very unlikely to ever happen, but it’s still nice knowing you have the skills to deal with it if it ever does.

The simplest way to clear your mask of water is to press the top of the mask in towards your face and then down towards your nose. Once you’ve done this, look down, blow through your nose (not your mouth) and look upwards as you continue to keep blowing out your nose. This will force the water out of the bottom of the mask where you created that extra space. Pushing down on the top of the mask will also give the mask more flexibility to move slightly away from the bottom of your face.

If you’re still having trouble clearing the water, you may have to slightly pull the bottom of the skirt away from your face. If you do this, be sure to place it back against your face before more water can leak it and reflood your mask.

If you wear contacts you’ll want to close your eyes. If you’ve purchased a mask with a purge valve, you’ll take the same steps but with a difference: you’ll look down the whole time.

How to Recover and Clear Your Regulator

Before you do this skill you’ll learn to clear your regulator. Learning to clear your regulator is useful as you may want to take it out of your mouth to pose for a photograph, or you may want to replace it after it accidentally gets knocked out of your mouth. It’s pretty simple to learn and there are a couple of methods to choose from: the exhalation method and the purge method. With both methods, the moment the regulator leaves your mouth you’ll be blowing a small, continuous stream of bubbles (Remember: The #1 Rule in Scuba is Never Hold Your Breath). When you place the regulator back into your mouth, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and then give a forceful exhale like you’re trying to blow a bunch of leaves off a table. Now, take a cautious breathe in. That should have cleared all the water! That’s the first method (the exhalation method). With the purge method, you’ll do exactly the same thing, press the tongue to the roof of your mouth, except, instead of exhaling, you’ll press the purge valve on the regulator. This should force the water out. Again, take a cautious breath in to make sure all of the water has been cleared.

When you learn to recover your regulator, you take it out of your mouth and you’ll drop it, simulating a “lost” regulator. As with clearing your regulator, there are a couple of ways you can recover it. The first method is the arm-sweep method. To do the arm-sweep recovery, you’ll need to lower your right shoulder slightly, extend your right arm straight in front of you, bend it at a 90-degree angle and slide it back along your body, behind you. Then, you’ll extend your arm to the side and do a sweep forward, ultimately recovering the hose along your arm. You’ll now be able to run a hand up your arm and find the hose. Using the method you prefer, place the regulator back in your mouth and clear it. Remember to blow those tiny bubbles when the regulator is not in your mouth.

How to Equalize

If you’ve ever been in an airplane or driven in a car to altitude, you’re no stranger to equalizing your ears. Equalizing in water isn’t that much different. As with all of the other skills, there are a few ways you can do this. We’ll go through those below, but really, try a few and then pick the one that is easiest for you.

As you descend in the water column, pressure increases. This means that to dive comfortably you’ll need to equalize air spaces. Air spaces you’ll need to equalize include your mask, and your ears (sinuses). Equalizing your mask is as simple as blowing out through your nose. You’ll probably find you’re doing that without realizing most of the time. Equalizing your ears/sinuses is the one you get to experiment with.

Many divers prefer to use the Valsalva maneuver, if for no other reason than it’s the one most training agencies teach. Using this method, as you descend, you pinch your nose and blow gently against it. This equalizes the pressure in your middle ear and helps to alleviate any pain from outside pressure pressing in. Other methods for equalizing include swallowing, or moving your jaw from side to side, pinching your nose and swallowing and so on. Actually, DAN has written an excellent article on equalizing like a pro with a number of different methods you can try, many of which are much less likely to inadvertently damage your ears.

Remember, when it comes to equalization, gentle and often (every few feet/meter) is the trick. If you equalize really forcefully you risk doing damage to your ears. Do it more often and gently rather than less often and with more force. If you find you’re struggling to equalize, or if you feel any discomfort, ascend slightly until you’re comfortable and then continue the descent again. If you cannot equalize and feel pain, end the dive. You can seriously injure your ears if you do not do this.

How to Secure and Breathe From an Alternate Air Source

In the unlikely event that you run out of air underwater, or your buddy does, you’ll want to know how to breathe from or donate an alternate second stage regulator. Of course, you’re going to be checking your air plenty as you dive so hopefully you won’t ever get into this situation. That said, as always, it’s still a good idea to practice and be comfortable with this skill.

For the sake of this scenario, let’s assume you are the person who is out of air. In this instance, you’re going to get your buddy’s attention, give them the “out of air” signal (slashing your hand across your throat), and signal them to “share air.” Your buddy will do one of two things. They will either cover their own mouthpiece and expose their alternate regulator to you, or they will unclip and hand you their alternate. You, the receiving buddy, will get the regulator in place, ready to make the exchange. You will only take your own regulator out of your mouth when you have the alternate ready. Do not throw it away before this. At this point make sure it is oriented the correct way as not all regulators can be breathed facing up or down. Make sure to exhale a tiny stream of bubbles when you make the exchange.

As soon as you are breathing from your buddy’s alternate, secure your position near them by holding onto their right BCD strap. They should do the same to you. Right BCD shoulder strap to right BCD shoulder strap. In the video they link up elbow to elbow. Either method is fine. Once you’re okay, give each other the “okay” signal, and the signal to ascend. You should now get into the ascent position by holding your inflator hose up to the surface, finger at the ready to vent air. Your dive is done.

How to Do a Giant Stride

If you intend to do a lot of boat diving in the future, the Giant Stride is a great skill to master. It’s also a very easy skill to master. To perform a Giant Stride get kitted up outside of the water with your buddy’s helping. Ideally, you’ll want to do this very near the entry point. It’s no fun waddling around in fins like a duck!

Now you’re ready and you’ve done your buddy check, get right up to the edge of the pool or the boat. Make sure there is air in your BCD and that your mask is on. Also, be sure to check the area you will be “stepping onto” in the water is clear of divers and other obstructions.

Place your regulator in your mouth, find your pressure gauge if it’s dangling and hold it against your stomach (you don’t want any dangling hoses to hit your in the face after all). Now, place the palm of your right hand on your regulator and two fingers of that same hand on your mask. Looking straight out to the horizon, take a very large stride forward.

You should float once you’ve entered the water. Check your mask strap is still on by feeling for it against the back of your head and then give the dive boat or the person checking you into the water the “big okay” sign. Doing a nice “scuba okay with your thumb and forefinger is going to be hard to see from the boat, so make sure to do “the okay” that entails touching your hand to your head.