Dive Plan — What It Is and Why It Matters
A dive plan is the pre-dive strategy covering all aspects of an upcoming dive: maximum depth, planned bottom time, gas management (turn pressure, reserve), entry and exit procedures, navigation route, buddy communication signals, and emergency procedures. Planning a dive and diving the plan is a fundamental principle of safe scuba diving.
For recreational dives, planning can be as simple as agreeing on a max depth, turn pressure, and exit direction with your buddy. For technical dives, planning involves detailed gas calculations, decompression schedules, bailout scenarios, and contingency plans. Dive computers assist planning by providing NDL calculations and historical data from previous dives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should every dive plan include?
At minimum: agreed maximum depth, turn pressure (when to head back), planned bottom time, entry and exit procedures, buddy communication signals, and what to do if you get separated. More thorough plans include navigation route, gas management calculations, and emergency contacts.
Can my dive computer plan my dive for me?
Dive computers with planning mode can show estimated NDLs at various depths based on your current tissue loading. Some companion apps offer interactive planning tools. However, a dive plan includes much more than just decompression limits — site knowledge, gas management, and emergency planning require human judgment.
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