Before you pull on your fins or test your regulators, the most critical piece of dive equipment you must check is yourself. While standard buddy checks like BWRAF focus entirely on your SCUBA gear, the I’M SAFE checklist evaluates the diver.
Originally developed in aviation, this mental pre-dive tool ensures you are physically and mentally fit to splash. Next time you’re prepping for a group shore dive, or when you’re on the boat for a ScubaMUDs adventure, run through these six quick self-checks:
The I’M SAFE Breakdown
- I – Illness: Are you suffering from an active cold, sinus congestion, or an upset stomach? Underwater, a minor head cold can cause a painful barotrauma (pressure injury) to your ears or sinuses. If you can’t equalize easily on the surface, don’t dive.
- M – Medication: Are you taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs? Even simple motion sickness pills or decongestants can cause drowsiness or interact unexpectedly with increased partial pressures of nitrogen and oxygen at depth.
- S – Stress: Is your head on straight? Is anxiety clouding your thoughts? Whether it’s a challenging entry, a heavy current, or a personal worry, mental distraction spikes your air consumption and leaves you vulnerable to panic.
- A – Alcohol: Never dive under the influence or with a hangover. Alcohol severely accelerates dehydration, clouds judgment, and increases your susceptibility to decompression sickness (DCS).
- F – Fatigue: Did you get a solid night’s sleep? Diving is physically demanding. Being overtired slows your reaction times and makes your body less efficient at off-gassing nitrogen.
- E – Emotion / Eating: Are you calm and focused? When was your last meal? If you are feeling hangry, frustrated, or pressured into a dive beyond your comfort level, it’s time to call it.
The Golden Rule: Anyone can call any dive at any time, for any reason.
If you hit a “no” on any letter of the I’M SAFE checklist, honour it. Your gear and setup might be flawless, but your dive is only as safe as you are.
One final note: Prevention is your responsibility. If you were to dive unprepared, and you needed to be rescued, ask yourself why you would want to put your buddy through something like that. Remember, we dive for fun and recreation. If you’re with me and just not feeling it before the dive, tell me. I would much rather go hang out at the pub with you and dive another day.
Include the I’M SAFE checklist in your setup and briefings.
Now get out there and find those GPO’s and Six Gills!
