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Scuba Skills: Practicing Regulator Retrieval

Scuba Skills: Practicing Regulator Retrieval

Written by Leisure Pro Staff
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Published on April 28, 2016

During your certification class, you learned all the skills you needed to keep you safe and sound under the water, and you had the chance to master these tasks under the watchful eye of your instructor. But once you’re fully certified and actively diving, how much time do you dedicate to keeping these lessons fresh in your mind? Regular practice of skills like regulator retrieval can help you build confidence and avoid panicking should an emergency ever arise.

There are many circumstances where expert regulator retrieval can come in handy. An accidental bump from another diver, or getting a hose caught on an outcropping or underwater obstacle could leave you suddenly without an air source. The important thing is not to panic.

There are a couple of different ways to get your regulator back where it belongs. First is the sweep method, which uses gravity to give you an assist. The diver leans to the right, allowing the regulator to naturally drop away from his body. He can then bring the right arm out in front and sweep it back in an arc to catch the dangling hose.

Another option is the over the shoulder method. Again, lean to the right, reaching back over your head with your right hand to the first stage of the regulator on your tank. Reach your left hand back around your waist to slightly raise your tank to help you see and reach the first stage. You can then grab the hose, and follow it with your right hand to reach the second stage.

Either of these methods takes just seconds and have two things in common:

  1. Don’t hold your breath while retrieving your air source, just exhale slowly
  2. Always remember to purge your regulator before breathing in.

Here’s a short video of an instructor demonstrating the over the shoulder reach technique of regulator retrieval. With regular practice, you can execute this skill as simply as the professional in this video.

Leisure Pro Staff

Leisure Pro Staff

Marketing Director for LeisurePro