Blackwater dive, seems a bit mysterious word itself, isn’t it? Among with mystery hidden in it, it’s also quite interesting. Actually, blackwater diving is a very unique type of diving that is done at night time. In fact, this a way to explore and even capture the magical world of the underwater creatures in the darkness and silence of water in the night because, in the night, a completely new universe of creatures come up near the surface of the water in the seas. At night, the sounds under the water are amplified and your visibility is limited according to the beams of your torches.
In this type of diving, the participants or the divers are taken miles away from the shore into the deep waters. The lines or the extensions are then tied to the boats and each diver is connected to that downline with the help of a comparatively shorter tagline.
Here we will describe some extensive details and interesting facts as well regarding blackwater diving. These are as follows:
Why Night Diving?
During the night, you can explore those creatures which can be rarely seen while diving in the day time. Moreover, the waters are silent at the night and you can easily take many interesting photographs of the deep-sea creatures. Many species of fish go to sleep and come near the surface hoping for the dawn. Interestingly, octopuses also come out in the night for hunting as well as playing. You can also see cuttlefish hunting at the night. Also, some people may find sharks and stingrays at night. Along with these relatively bigger creatures, you can also find some small creatures like crabs, lobsters, Walkman, stonefish, scorpionfish, etc. near the surface and can take some macro shots if you are a photographer.
Night Diving is Dangerous or Scary?
Many people consider blackwater diving dangerous or scary, but this thing should be made clear that diving at night can be as dangerous as diving at day time. Those people who claim this thing due to limited vision in the night, must understand that the waters are as deep and dark in the night as they are during the day. Only thing that should be taken into account while diving is to keep your senses connected and all the fear you feel is just in your brain. You can overcome the fear as well as your subconsciousness by just giving yourself some time to adjust in the water in order to enjoy your dive. Those who have dived even once can explain their condition better and all the fears vanish when your mind becomes contented.
Bioluminescence:
At night, in some specific areas, the ocean displays an outstanding and phenomenal scene known as bioluminescence. It’s as difficult to describe this phenomenon in words, as difficult the word bioluminescence is itself. But this effect can happen through the following ways:
- This effect somehow happens when you disturb the tiny particles or the microorganisms present in the water.
- When you move or wave your hand in the water which as a result looks like tiny sparkles twinkling like the stars.
- When breaking waves on the shore.
Diving protocols and Common Sense:
It’s necessary for everyone regardless of how many times they have dived to follow the diving protocols in order to ensure safety. And among diving protocols, you must efficiently use your common sense like what to do if you ran out of gas or to check the gas before diving. Also, taking an extra torch with you while diving can be a good example of common sense because if one stopped working deep down in the water, you can’t come up to take another one.
Children and Blackwater Diving:
There are different opinions available regarding allowing the children to do blackwater diving. Some say that you can allow your children to such activities but some dive medicine experts say that there are certain things which should be taken into account before allowing your children to do so like age factor, adequate training sessions, both physical as well as mental trainings. Also keep in mind that your single wrong decision can adversely affect your child’s health because of various factors like the pressure down there, the continuous fear, the toxicity of the gas etc. so, if your child has undergone adequate training sessions and is also certified for the blackwater diving from the medical experts, only then you should send your child under water.
Blackwater Diving and Photography:
Many people especially the photographers often ask the question that whether they can take pictures on their blackwater dive? The answer to the question is yes but make sure you are enough used to of the dark water diving. Must take into account that you have to keep your torch among with your camera and also have to focus on the object you are about to capture. If you have good diving skills then you can enjoy underwater photography.
Blackwater Diving and Communication Underneath:
The communication with your fellow divers or the staff while on a blackwater dive is done in the same way as you do while on a day dive. As in the water, you can’t communicate through your voice or hands and the only thing available for communication is your torch. Make sure that you all are wearing the torches on your heads and in order to say that you are okay, you will make an O with the help of your torch and if you have any problem or you are not okay, you can simply make a signal by moving the torch from side to side in the direction of the fellows.
Concluding Words:
We had tried our level best to put in all the sufficient information necessary to be known regarding blackwater diving. If you still have any queries or feel like we had missed anything important, do let us know, we would love to hear you.
