Shore Duty

The large rock you see in the pic is the place where I spent most of my shore duty. It offers an excellent vantage point to see all the groups of bubbles.


As we went through the majority of our divemaster training last year, there was a nice group of us that got along very well. We rode together, chatted, shared the work and struggles.

Often when we arrived at the dive site, there were three or four of us, which was way more than needed for the actual classes, so we would switch off and rotate. Which meant someone was always pulling "shore duty."

Most of the people I dove with weren't crazy about shore duty, but I have to tell you, it has it's own responsibilities and perks.

Perk #1 - you can listen to music and be in the sun getting a tan


Perk #2 - you can get a drink, go to the bathroom, etc. (VERY quickly)





NOT a perk #1 - you better be keeping an eye on all sets of bubbles to make sure no one gets separated


NOT a perk #2 - you gotta watch the sky and be ready to head out with rocks to bang if a storm is coming/lightning, etc.


NOT a perk #3 - you better know your first aid/CPR/rescue stuff really well because YOU are gonna be the one in charge if there is a problem


NOT a perk #4 - if someone is shaky underwater and they come out, you need to know how to talk to them and help them through whatever it was that they couldn't work out the first time


NOT a perk #5 - it gets awfully hot when you are out of the water


NOT a perk #6 - know gear - how to adjust it, fix it, replace it, or find another one so whoever came out can finish up with an enjoyable dive


NOT a perk #7 - help the instructor, help your other dive buddies, and help the students get in and out of the water, take gear off and on, etc.

So while no really likes to go diving without ending up in the water, shore duty is pretty important. So the new term for shore duty? Land diving.