Advice For Water Activities
Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving. For advice, contact our office. The minimum age for introductory scuba diving in Queensland is 12 years.
Snorkelling can be a strenuous activity. Please use caution and inform our crew of any medical conditions.
Lycra Suits
Lycra suits are available for adults and children entering the water, providing sun protection and reducing the possibility of stings and irritations from marine stingers that can frequent tropical waters seasonally. The lycra suits have long sleeves and legs with a hood and mittens and they’re a great photo opportunity too!
General Safety Information FOR Scuba Diving
The following information is provided as a guide only.
Dive Medicals
When diving in Australia there are different regulations and requirements compared to those in other countries. The following rules apply in Queensland:
Introductory or Resort Dives
You will need to fill in a medical questionnaire onboard. If answering YES to any question it will not necessarily disqualify you from diving, but will indicate the need for a medical assessment by a qualified physician prior to diving that conforms to Australian Medical Standard AS4005-1.
Experienced Divers
Prior to diving, you will be asked to fill out a medical questionnaire; this is not a legal requirement but is done in the your own best interests. The purpose is to determine whether you should be examined by a doctor. There may be a pre-existing condition that has not stopped you from diving in your own country, but Australian laws do not allow; or perhaps a new condition may have developed since you became qualified to dive which may well affect your safety while diving now.
General Fitness
Divers should have a reasonable level of physical fitness to cope with the environmental stresses of being underwater. The environmental factors that place a physiological strain on the diver include:
- Exertion required for propulsion through the surrounding water
- Heat loss to water that is generally colder than body temperature
- Breathing gas of compressed density
- Changes in the cardio-respiratory system from using underwater breathing gear
- Changes in the gas volume and pressure within air spaces in the body for example ears and stomach.
- Introduction into the body of gases that can have toxic, narcotic, stimulatory or gas solubility effects on bodily functions.
- The human body, in reasonable condition and without injury or illness, can deal with the effects of most of these factors.
Flying After Diving
The pressure of diving causes nitrogen to go into solution in the blood, and it is the decrease in pressure as the diver returns to the surface that causes this nitrogen to come back out of solution over time and to bubble. A rapid ascent to the surface can cause complications as it represents too fast a transition across a pressure gradient for the body to effectively compensate for. Ascending to a high altitude after the dive is simply a continuation of your post-dive ascent to the surface and can also lead to decompression sickness.
It’s recommended that you should wait at least 12 hours after a single dive, or 24 hours after multiday, repetitive diving, within the no-decompression limits before you travel to more than 300m (or 1,000 feet) above sea level. Bear in mind that driving over a mountain range would also put you over this suggested altitude limit.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol before and during diving trips endangers not only yourself but your diving buddy. Alcohol reduces the ability of the individual to process information and impairs their ability in terms of:
- Reaction time
- Visual tracking performance
- Concentrated attention
- Ability to process information in divided attention tasks
- Perception (Judgment)
- The execution of psychomotor tasks.
Alcohol also cause dehydration which is considered to be one of the prime causes of decompression illness. Do not consume alcohol before diving or water activities.