Preparing For The Lobster Season
By Roee

Well well well, you have gone through several months just thinking about this coming lobster season. You didn't have time last year for much lobster hunting and you are determined to "catch up" this year. You are excited, anxious and a bit restless. Now come the day of the first "official" lobster season day and you are asking yourself, "Where did I put my Scuba gear?". Oh yeah, in the garage, safe and protected, waiting just for this special day. You don' really have time to check everything but you are sure you have left them in pristine condition the last time you used it. So it is a no brainer. Gather everything and throw in the back of the trunk and off you are to meet with your friends at the beach for that night lobster dive.

At the beach, the night is perfect. No surge, calm sea, and warm water temperature. The first step is to setup your gear at the shore along with your buddies. First thing you have noticied is that the wetsuit seems a bit on the tight side. You have probably just gain a few extra pounds during the off season. The ziper is a bit hard to zip, but hey, wiggle here, jiggle there, and a few up and down jumps later, you are in. OK, now, you noticed that one of the clips on your fin is ripped. Not a problem, one of your Rescue Certified Friends (shameless self promotion) had an extra piece in his dive kit. OK, now you are really ready to go in, but wait, you are missing some of your weight. By this time your friends are all ready to go, with their gear on their backs and "cooking" in their suits, they begin to wonder what the heck is going on with you.
You finally get yourself in the water and guess what? You can't get perfect buoyancy because you don't have enough weights and the air that you get from your regulator in "jolts" has a funny taste to it... What?! Ants in your regulator? Now does this sound like a perfect first day dive in the lobster season? Hmm, I would have to guess no.

It might sound farfetched, but that is exactly what could happen to you and what happened to divers all around that did not take their time to check their gear before they went on to their dives. Many divers are like bears, they hibernate during the off season and to only "wake up" during the lobster season thinking that their equipment will function 100% just like when they stored it months ago. Going beyond equipment, your body and techniques also need to be reacquainted, because unlike riding a bicycle, your diving techniques do rust and you need to prepare yourself if you want to enjoy your dive.

Equipment, at least 15 days prior to your dive, you should take all your equipment out and throughly check each and every one of your components. Make sure your computer has a working battery, flashlight with a good bulb, fin and mask straps in order and you still fit in that wetsuit of yours. These can be done by you but other items such as tanks and regulators need to be taken in to a skilled and certified technician for maintaince checks.

Tanks need to be hydro and visually tested. Regulators should be brought in so O-rings, valves and other components can be checked and the inside cleaned. Battery change for your computer? Yes, your computer is not powered by a nuclear reactor. The batteries need to be changed once in a while. Nothing worse than have your dive end before it even starts because your computer fails to initialize.

BCD, pay special attention to this item. You should wash and rinse the unit throughly inside and outside. The humidity is perfect for bateria and fungus to grow. Make sure you test both inflators. Also make sure the damp valves are properly seated in their locations. Leave the BCD filled with air to check for any micro pin-holes that might have escaped from your attention.

Wetsuit. Ah, yes, the infamous wetsuit. Make sure you have no damage due to dryness or bad seams. Also, make sure the zipper is properly lubed and in working order. Next, try it on to see if you still fit. No, no, the wetsuit does not shrink, you are the one still "growing"...

Dive knives. They might seem to be purely an extra item, but you should check for rust, especially if you own one of the steel blades. Also, you should check for its sharpness. A dull knive is nothing but a weight underwater and they serve you no good in case of an emergency.

Techniques. Now, after all your equipment has been checked, now is your own turn. Make sure you are still fit for diving. Scuba diving is a physically intensive sport. If you have been a couch potato the entire off season, you might want to get up and prepare yourself before you head back to the water. Also, before a complicated dive, you might want to head out to a calm beach and do an easy dive to get used to diving again. A shalow dive and prepare you and get yourself familarized with all the techniques again.

If you follow these few simple points, your lobster season should be a smooth and productive one. You will enjoy your dives a whole lot more and bring back with you many of our delicious friends from under the sea.