14 Essential Tips for a Beginner Night Diver
August 29, 2023
Night diving is a unique way to observe marine life. Ocean creatures behave differently at night, and you might even spot animals you would never get to see in the daylight. Although night diving is extremely fun and exciting, it can be a little daunting on your first time. If you are interested in becoming a night diver, we have put together a list of tips to make sure that you are prepared, so you can descend into the darkness with confidence.
Read on for our 14 tips for a beginner night diver
1. Perfect your buoyancy
This is the best thing you can do before thinking of going night diving for the first time. Poor buoyancy control can lead to kicking up silt and sand from the sea floor, making visibility worse.
At nighttime, your visibility is already extremely limited, so you want to avoid making it any worse. It is also harder on a night dive to judge where you are in the water and keep tabs on your depth gauge. If you start to breathe heavier or kick too much, you could shallow up without realizing, or get too deep, and you might bump into rocks or coral and damage marine habitats. It is a good idea to sign up for a Perfect Buoyancy specialty program before going on a night dive.
2. Get some diving under your belt first
Night diving can be daunting if you are not yet comfortable scuba diving in the daylight. There is so much more to consider as a night diver: buoyancy control, hand signals, navigation, distance from your buddy, etc. So it is a good idea to get some experience diving in the daytime until you are sure you are ready to take it into the darkness.
3. Research the different marine life in the area
You are likely to spot different marine life on a night dive than you do on a day dive at the same site. Some marine life uses the nighttime to hunt, so you might see your usual marine-favorites acting differently.
Research the area in which you are diving or ask at your dive center to find out what marine life you are likely to spot at night, and what unique nighttime behaviors you can look out for on your night dive.
4. Dive the site in the daytime first
Getting to know the topography of a dive site in the daytime will make it much easier to navigate the dive site in the dark. Look out for certain rock formations, coral bombies, or other distinct landmarks that do not move. Then, when you spot them on the night dive, you will understand where you are on the dive route.
5. Listen carefully to the briefing
When you are heading out for your first night dive with a dive guide, make sure to listen carefully to the briefing that they give. This briefing will cover the dive route, the depth, unique marine life to look out for, what to do if someone gets lost, and hand signals.
Hand signals differ slightly on a night dive than on a dive in the daytime because you will be holding a flashlight in one of your hands.
This means that the hand signals you usually use two hands for will have to be adapted. Hand signals also have to be done under the light of the flashlight, so that others can see. You can even use the torchlight to indicate that you are ok to your guide or buddies by making a big circular "O" with the light. Your dive guide will cover all of this and make sure that you and your group all understand.
6. Bring a backup flashlight
It is not uncommon for the batteries of your flashlight to run out halfway through a night dive, or for the flashlight to break or flood. This is why having a spare flashlight is a very good idea on a night dive. Your primary flashlight can be carried in your hand and your spare can be kept in the pocket of your buoyancy control device or clipped onto it somewhere easy to find.
7. Descend before complete darkness
Dusk is the perfect time to descend as a night diver! This is because you can get all your equipment ready and perform your buddy checks before it is completely dark, and you can let your eyes gradually adjust as the visibility slowly becomes darker.
Dusk is a special time to dive as you do not necessarily need your flashlight yet, and you can observe the night-hunting marine life as they start to come to life.
8. Stay shallow
It is rarely necessary for any night dive to be a deep dive, but it is good to stay shallow in poor visibility, especially as a new night diver. This is because if you do panic or get lost from your group, you will be able to get to the surface quicker. That said, always remember to surface slowly, even in an emergency if possible.
Your first night dive will probably already be a little nerve-wracking, so do not make it scarier by also making it a deep dive.
9. Get to know your equipment
Although most scuba equipment is set up in the same way, it can differ slightly. If possible, dive with the same equipment set up in the daytime that you plan to take on your night dive. This is so you will know exactly where to find everything.
You will know where your octopus (spare regulator) is on your body, where your air gauge and depth gauge are tucked in, and how your inflator/deflator hose buttons work. If you can find all of these things easily in the daytime you can be confident of where they are in the dark, too.
Make sure to also streamline your equipment by tucking in or clipping hoses and gauges close to your body. You might not notice that something is dragging on the ground when it is dark.
10. Be careful where you are pointing your flashlight
It is important to be aware of where you are pointing your flashlight. Although we want to see as much awesome marine life as possible, we also need to respect our fishy friends and not blind them!
Shining your light directly into the eyes of sea life can cause them stress, so shine your light just to the side of them.
This will give you enough light to see but allow them to stay relaxed. The same goes for shining your light in your dive buddies’ eyes!
11. Look out for bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is a phenomenon that can only be seen at nighttime. Certain marine organisms give off glowing blue and green light and it is truly special to witness. Not all night dives will offer the chance to see bioluminescence, but you might get lucky!
12. Stay calm, breathe
You are likely to feel a little nervous on your first night dive; it is strange and there is a lot to think about and to take in. But try to relax, breathe calmly, remember your dive training, and you will soon get used to it – and probably love it!
13. Stay close to your buddy
It is always important to stay close to your dive buddy, but it does not hurt to get a little closer on a night dive. If your dive group crosses paths with another one, you might find yourself getting mixed up with who you are diving with. So, make sure you are within reaching distance of your buddy at all times.
Glow sticks and stick torches are popular with night divers. Glow sticks come in different colors and can be attached to your dive tank, making it easier to identify your buddy or dive group during a night dive.
14. Be prepared to warm up
Because you will be exiting the water in the dark, you will not have the help of the sunshine to warm you up. Make sure you have a towel and dry robe/coat/hoodie close by to wrap around you quickly after you exit the water. It is important to stay warm when you are diving. Get changed before taking your gear apart, and maybe have a hot tea ready, too.
Are you interested in becoming a night diver? Check out the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty to learn more!