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What To Wear Under Wetsuit

EQUIPMENT

DTS Contributor

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If you are pulling on a wetsuit for the first time, you might also be wondering what to wear under a wetsuit. Is there a special swimsuit to wear, are there items of clothing to avoid, and won’t everything get squished up down there?

Yes, yes, and maybe!

This is why it is important to be prepared before you get into the water and to know what to wear under a wetsuit for maximum enjoyment and comfort!

Table of contents

What to Wear Under Wetsuit
1. NeoSport Full Body Long Sleeve Lycra Sports Suit for Women and Men
2. Speedo Women’s Swimsuit One Piece
What Should I Wear Under A Wetsuit?
1. Speedo Men’s Swimsuit Square Leg
Do You Wear a Bathing Suit Under Wetsuit?
Rash Guard Under Wetsuit
1. Quiksilver Men’s All Time Short Sleeve Rashguard
What About a Wetsuit Bulge?
What Do Women Wear Under Wetsuits?
1. TYR Sport Women’s Solid Durafast Diamondback Workout Bikini
What Do Kids Wear Under a Wetsuit?
1. DIVE & SAIL Kids One Piece Long Suit

What to Wear Under Wetsuit

You will need to consider what to wear under a wetsuit to avoid discomfort such as chafing or bulging bits in your wetsuit. You will also want to ensure you still have freedom of movement when wearing a wetsuit. Here are a few options for wetsuit wearers:

Scuba Diving – Divers will often layer a rashguard or a skinsuit under their wetsuit. This makes it easier to put on and take off a wetsuit. It can also add an additional layer of warmth for the diver. This can be preferable to wearing a thick and restrictive wetsuit.

NeoSport Full Body Long Sleeve Lycra Sports Suit for Women and Men

Using a skinsuit as a base layer under a wetsuit will make it so much easier to get into and out of a wetsuit!

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Surfing – Surfers will often opt for less restriction when deciding what to wear under a wetsuit. They will usually wear boardshorts or bikinis that allow them to strip off a wetsuit when they get too warm. This also allows them to remain fashionable on the beach.

Triathlon – Athletes who are training for time will not want anything to slow them down or to slip out! This is why they will usually wear tight-fitting items that will hold everything in place. One-piece swimsuits, sports bras, or speedos are common to wear under a wetsuit for these swimmers.

Speedo Women’s Swimsuit One Piece

Opt for swimsuits or swim bottoms with no protruding knots or decorative fastenings. These bulky sections can be uncomfortable under a wetsuit.

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What Should I Wear Under A Wetsuit?

It is recommended to wear something under a wetsuit. This will stop the wetsuit’s neoprene material from chafing or rubbing against your skin. Especially in between your thighs and under your armpits.

It is also more hygienic to wear something under your wetsuit. Wetsuits can often be a costly investment when starting a water sport, so most people use a rental wetsuit for the first few times. You do not want to be sharing a wetsuit without wearing some form of underwear! You don’t need to wear anything under a personal wetsuit, but most people will still choose to do so.

Speedo Men’s Swimsuit Square Leg

Wearing swimming bottoms under a wetsuit, for men and women, is highly recommended for hygiene purposes.

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This is because it is still more hygienic to wear a layer between your skin and the wetsuit. The layer might be a bathing suit, boardshorts, or a rashguard. This layer will often be washed more frequently. You can clean and wash a wetsuit at home but should avoid hot water and strong detergents.

Do You Wear a Bathing Suit Under Wetsuit?

Bathing suits are a great option to wear under a wetsuit. It is obviously made to get wet and covers you up when you take off your wetsuit. However, you should avoid wearing any delicate or fancy bathing suits as they can wear down quickly when wearing it with a wetsuit due to the constant rubbing from the wetsuit.

Rash Guard Under Wetsuit

Wearing a rash guard under a wetsuit is a great option. Rash guards are made for heavy wear and tear in the water, and provides a smooth layer to make it easier when pulling on a wetsuit. Rash guards come in various styles; from short and long-sleeved tops to leggings, and also in full-suit versions.

Quiksilver Men’s All Time Short Sleeve Rashguard

Choose a skin-tight rashguard if you intend to wear it under a wetsuit. It is much more comfortable.

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A rash guard can also keep you warm, by allowing you to create layers under your wetsuit.

What About a Wetsuit Bulge?

Wetsuit bulges are common when you wear something too loose under a wetsuit. This can cause bunching or bulges in certain areas. It can be very uncomfortable and cause chafing and redness from constant rubbing under the wetsuit. To avoid this; wear tighter fitted items under the wetsuit such as swim shorts, diving shorts, or speedos.

For the males, if you are worried about an obvious wetsuit bulge in a certain area, then you should definitely wear something under your wetsuit. This will soften the obvious outline and keep it tucked in, rather than hanging loose. You may also need to turn around occasionally and adjust once in a while.

What Do Women Wear Under Wetsuits?

Women can also choose to wear a rash guard under a wetsuit. Or opt for bikini or swimsuit, or go naked under a wetsuit. Again, you will need to consider comfort, exposure, and movement when deciding what to wear under a wetsuit. Avoid bikinis with knots as these can be uncomfortable when the wetsuit is pressed against your skin. Some women may even choose to wear a sports-bra with their wetsuit.

TYR Sport Women’s Solid Durafast Diamondback Workout Bikini

Bikinis can be practical and stylish. Look for swimsuits or bikinis that are versatile so they are comfortable under a wetsuit, AND look great on the beach!

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What Do Kids Wear Under a Wetsuit?

Kids have the same option as their adult family members when deciding what to wear with a wetsuit. Rashguards, swimwear, or going naked. However, you will need to be more mindful of protecting their skin under the strong UV sun rays to avoid sunburn and skin damage. A good option for kids is to wear a full skin-suit as it makes it easier to slide on a wetsuit over it, and they can still run around in the sun when the wetsuit comes off!

DIVE & SAIL Kids One Piece Long Suit

We love bright and colorful designs for kids, girls and boy rashguards. Easy to spot them on the beach, and great protection from the sun’s UV rays!

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No Decompression Limit (NDL) – The Easy Answer

DTS Contributor

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No Decompression Limit (NDL) – The Easy Answer

As a scuba diver, you would have come across the term, No Decompression Limit or NDL. It is also referred to as no-stop time or zero time. So, what exactly are these limits or times? In layman’s terms, a no decompression limit is the maximum time divers are able to spend at certain depths before absorbing too much nitrogen in order to return to the surface without completing decompression stops.

Table of contents

No Decompression Limit
Partial Pressures in Practice
No-Decompression Limit Table
1. What is the No Decompression Limit for 60 feet?
  1. Suunto d4i Novo
2. What is the No-Decompression Limit for 100 feet?
  1. Shearwater Teric Dive Computer
Exceeding No Decompression Limits
What is a Decompression Stop?
Decompression Sickness Explained
Decompression Diving

So how do we know what our No Decompression Limit is, and what happens when we exceed these limits?

Let’s take a look.

No Decompression Limit

The No Decompression Limit is the time in minutes we can spend at a certain depth before we absorb too much nitrogen to simply return to the surface without stopping. In recreational diving, safety stops are non-essential stops to err on the side caution. Recreational divers learn how to stay inside the no-decompression zone to avoid mandatory decompression stops. The time in minutes depends on the pressure at the given depth. This is determined by Boyle’s Law, which states that the pressure of the gas increases as the volume decreases.

In short, the deeper we dive the faster we absorb the nitrogen. Also, the longer we stay at a certain depth the more nitrogen we absorb over time.

Here is an example table of Boyle’s Law.

Depth

Surface

10m

20m

30m

40m

Pressure

1 bar

2 bar

3 bar

4 bar

5 bar

Volume

1

1/2

1/3

1/4

1/5

Density

1x

2x

3x

4x

5x

A standard scuba tank is filled with normal air, which consists of 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen (ignoring the less than half a percentile of trace gases for simplicity). The pressures of these gases change the deeper we dive. This is referred to as a gas’ partial pressure.

Partial Pressures in Practice

On the surface in a 1 bar environment, the respective partial pressures are 0.21 O₂ and 0.79 N₂. Prior to a dive a diver’s body is saturated to this environment meaning all their body tissues such as bone, blood and flesh are saturated to 1 bar of air. Adding 0.21 and 0.79 equals 1.

In diving we refer to Oxygen as the active gas because it is metabolized in the body and required for survival. Nitrogen on the other hand is referred to as an inert gas that we do not require and simple expel with our breath. Our body’s tissues, however, absorb both active and inert gases.

Physics determines how fast gas pressures reach equilibrium. The higher the pressure difference the faster they attempt to equalize initially. So if we dive to 30 meters, we are saturated to 0.79 bar of Nitrogen and breathing 3.16 bar (4 * 0.79) of Nitrogen.

It does not harm us to fully saturate to 3.16 bar of Nitrogen. In fact, the human body can saturate to much higher pressures. What does harm us however is the rate at which we release the surrounding pressure. In diving this is equivalent to ascending to the surface.

It is precisely due to this reason that scuba divers learn safe ascent rates during their training. Safe ascent rates however only protect us up to a certain amount of absorbed nitrogen in our bodies. The no decompression limit determines the time needed to reach this limit.

No-Decompression Limit Table

Now we know that it is absolutely crucial to know how much nitrogen we absorb on a dive, we need to know where to find this information. This is where the No-Decompression Limit tables or Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) table come in.

These tables were created to tell us our time limits and how long we can stay at a certain depth before we are not able to simply ascend at the safe ascent rate.

Padi RDP Table No Decompression Limits — An example of the PADI Recreational Dive Planner in imperial measurements.

When divers dive repetitively they still hold a higher pressure of nitrogen in their body than they did before their first dive. This is known as residual nitrogen and can be converted to residual nitrogen time. This will determine shorter no decompression times on consecutive dives unless a diver waits long enough to be fully desaturated, which takes about 12-18 hours.

What is the No Decompression Limit for 60 feet?

The NDL or No-Stop time for 60 feet / 18 meters is 56 minutes according to the Recreational Dive Planner table.

On a Suunto dive computer using their algorithm, the NDL is 51 minutes for your first dive.

Suunto d4i Novo

Check it out

I have the Suunto d4i Novo (in pink, don’t judge) and it has a very conservative NDL.

This is especially noticeable on repetitive dives. I, personally, am comfortable with this as it means I am diving well within my No-Decompression Limits.

Regardless of which branded computer or dive table, you are using, always go with the most conservative and lowest number.

What is the No-Decompression Limit for 100 feet?

The NDL or No-Stop time for 100 feet / 30 meters is 20 minutes according to the Recreational Dive Planner table.

On a Suunto dive computer using their algorithm, the NDL is 17 minutes for your first dive.

Shearwater Teric Dive Computer

Check it out

This Shearwater Teric computer is currently the crème de la crème of dive computers on the market.

It is sleek, sexy, and always the envy of other divers on the boat.

The display is super easy to read underwater, and as it is a technical diver’s computer, it has a lot of fancy diving modes.

Exceeding No Decompression Limits

This is a common question among new scuba divers. It is the diver’s responsibility to monitor their NDLs during a dive and determine whether they have enough time to conduct consecutive dives.

Today, most divers rely on dive computers. This makes repetitive diving a lot easier. Divers can even set underwater alarms to warn them prior to reaching a no decompression limit. If a diver were to accidentally exceed their NDL, they need to do the required mandatory decompression stops dictated by either their dive computer or RDP.

What is a Decompression Stop?

When we adhere to no-decompression limits, we are conducting no-stop diving. This means at any point during our dive, we could in theory swim up to the surface without stopping. Yes, that is without safety stop too. It is imperative, however, that we remain within our given ascent rate defined by our dive computer or RDP.

However, if they were to exceed their limits, they would need to complete their decompression stops. They would do this by stopping at around 5 meters to allow our body to off-gas slowly under 1.5 bar of pressure. Recreational divers do not account for the extra gas required to do these stops and therefore refer to this procedure as emergency decompression.

Skipping a mandatory decompression stop means exposing yourself to a much higher risk of decompression sickness. When the body fails to expel excess nitrogen slowly enough, small bubbles form in a diver’s body, namely decompression sickness.

Decompression Sickness Explained

So we know that we should follow our No-Decompression Limits, and we know what to do if we accidentally exceed our limits. But what is decompression sickness and why is it so bad for our bodies?

Decompression sickness is when the absorbed nitrogen in our bodies forms little gas bubbles that can get stuck somewhere in our system. Post dive, a diver’s body contains silent bubbles. They are so small that they are undetectable by ultrasound. If we remember Boyle’s Law, ascending means expansion of volume. That means that some of these silent bubbles could expand to form a physical and observable bubble. This can cause a lot of destruction in someone’s body.

SIMPLIFIED: Imagine your body is a can of fizzy drink. If you shake it and open it, then the pressure will explode and your drink will be all over you. But if you shake it and open it slowly, release that pressure bit by bit, then you will be safe from a mess.

Read More: Tips to Ascend Safely in Scuba Diving

Symptoms of decompression sickness range from tingling in your arms and legs, pain in your joints, and even death. This sickness is also known as The Bends.

Decompression Diving

A Decompression dive is the opposite of a No-Decompression dive. Technical divers plan their dive including their expected decompression stops. They account for the additional time needed underwater in order to decompress and take more breathing gas to accommodate this. They do not exceed NDLs, they plan a decompression dive. We refer to exceeding NDLs in recreational diving since these divers do not plan for the required decompression stops. In fact, for a recreational diver, a decompression stop is an emergency procedure. This is why they refer to it as an emergency decompression stop. Technical divers prepare to handle a series of decompression stops during their ascent.

In order to keep decompression stops shorter, many technical divers learn to complete accelerated decompression stops using up to 100% O₂ as their breathing gas.

Technical or decompression diving is different from commercial or saturation diving. Saturation divers saturate their entire bodies to the breathing gas and pressure their work environment dictates. Often this is around 100 meters depth breathing Heliox, a mixture of Helium and Oxygen.

Learn more about commercial diving in our interview with Aiden, a Commercial Diver from Canada.

Q&A – Marine and Diving Coordinator in Film & TV

STORIES

DTS Contributor

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Q&A – Marine and Diving Coordinator in Film & TV

Bolívar Sánchez was born in the USA, and raised in the Dominican Republic where he lives and works (most of the time). He is currently a Marine and Diving Coordinator and has worked in television and film for the past six years. Some of his notable works include; Caught, The Mummy, and 47 Meters Down.

What is a Marine and Diving Coordinator?

Besides sourcing out boats, water equipment that a project needs and water locations, for me this job can be broken down in 3 parts:

Bolivar Sanchez and Director, Brennan Shroff — Bolívar Sánchez with director, Brennan Shroff. Photo courtesy of Bolívar Sánchez

Safety: As a Marine and Diving Coordinator you are responsible for the safety of all the crew and cast that are in or near a water environment. On a general level, after getting to know the story and the director’s vision, the Marine Coordinator will recommend locations, always thinking about what is the safest way possible to achieve the director’s vision.

A lot of this takes place during pre-production, but on shoot days, we are always paying attention to weather patterns to make sure we can go out and shoot on a safe environment.

Efficiency: Shooting in water environments is usually 4 times slower than a normal shoot. So I need to think ahead of the schedule to make sure everyone on my team knows what is coming up to make sure that the shot is more efficient.

If it is an underwater shoot, we set up the logistics in a way that we can shoot as much as we can in a short amount of time. This is because we have a policy of 4 hours total bottom time for all cast and crew.

This puts my position in close contact with the First Assistant Director who keeps close attention to the time it takes to make a shot or to complete a scene.

I believe that communication is efficiency, so I always keep very close communication with all Head of Departments to understand their needs during a shoot. This way I can provide a safe and efficient way that will allow them to do their jobs.

Results: At the end of the day achieving the footage, and not compromising the director’s vision, in a safe manner is what we do and take pride in.

Tell us about your scuba diving experience.

I started diving a long time ago with my best friend at his suggestion and it took over my life. I am a Dive Instructor, Technical Cave Diver, Trimix Diver, and CCR Trimix Diver. I haven’t kept count of my dives, but I’ve gone as deep as 100 meters.

Bolívar Sánchez with Vin Diesel at the beach — On-location with Vin Diesel for a GQ photoshoot. Photo courtesy of Bolívar Sánchez.

How did you get into the film industry? Did you scuba dive first, or were you working in the film industry prior?

I have been an avid photographer for most of my life, and when I started diving it made sense to take pictures and shoot videos underwater too.

I started shooting marine life but transitioned to shooting people underwater. This gave me a lot of experience with working with non-divers underwater. Even though it was all breath-hold and shallow water, it gave me an understanding of how to calm someone in order to achieve an image.

I was lucky enough that Pinewood Studios, in association with Lantica Media, decided to build a state of the art Water Tank in the Dominican Republic to service film projects.

After training in the UK for a while, Diving Services DR was born and I have been doing this ever since.

Split-level photo with boat and Bolivar Sanchez — Scoping out the set. Photo courtesy of Bolívar Sánchez.

What qualifications do you need to become a Marine and Diving Coordinator? Is there a specific course to take?

There is not really a course you can take. The best course is being in the ocean for years and having a safety-driven mentality. I took the diver’s route, but I have friends that do this job and have more of a sailing background.

Bolivar Sanchez working in the water — Working with cameras and water. Photo courtesy of Bolívar Sánchez.

Tell us about your role in the movie ’47 Meters Down’. Many scuba divers either love or hate this, what are your thoughts?

I was the Dominican Republic Marine and Diving Coordinator. If there is a course for this job then this film was it. I learned a lot from doing this project. We shot both on location and at the water tank and were able to use a lot of elements: wave machines, underwater set decoration, opacifier for the water, and even prop sharks.

I understand why some divers hate the film, but we have to take into account that films that have diving in them are usually not made for divers, because we can see some stuff that doesn’t make sense. But in this case, the director who is actually an avid diver and knows a lot about diving took some liberties to make the story move along. I personally think it worked and is a good film to sit back and enjoy.

Working on a film shoot with Bolivar Sanchez — Organizing the set. Photo courtesy of Bolívar Sánchez.

What is the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?

The best part about this job is that every shoot is different. At the same time, that is the most challenging, as there is no magic formula for this job. For every project, you have to break the script apart, have long conversations with the director and the heads of departments.

Oh, and the Producers… that’s ALWAYS a challenge!

Describe your most memorable diving experience.

I can’t really choose, but if I have to, it would be my first dive. Somehow, I knew this was a thing I was going to do for the rest of my life. I enjoy being underwater as it is my safe place. It could be deep in a cave system, 100 meters below, or just diving in the Water Tank hovering at the bottom blasting music through the underwater speaker system. I never take for granted being underwater… Continue Reading

Aerial shot of the water tank in DR — Aerial shot of the water tank. Photo courtesy of Bolivar Sanchez

Read Part 2 of Bolívar Sánchez’s Interview

What is a Typical Divemaster Salary in Thailand?

DIVE

Emma Ong - PADI MSDT

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What is a Typical Divemaster Salary in Thailand?

Thinking of heading to tropical Thailand to work and live as a divemaster? If you’re not, then you should be! Thailand is the land of sun, smiles, and some great scuba diving! So can you become a divemaster in Thailand and live off the diving? Let’s have a look at a typical divemaster salary in Thailand.

Table of contents

Divemaster Salary Thailand
Divemaster Salary
1. What is the Divemaster Commission?
2. Being a Divemaster on a Liveaboard
Why Be A Divemaster in Thailand?
How to Make More Money Scuba Diving?
Divemaster Course Koh Tao

Divemaster Salary Thailand

After seven years as a diving professional in Thailand, I have seen varying divemaster pay checks. They can range from a measly 5,000 THB to a respectable 60,000 THB. So why the large difference?

This is due to the fact that most diving salaries in Thailand, and in the general diving industry around the world, are based on commissions. Therefore, how many students or divers you take diving.

More Divers = More Dives = More Salary.

Less Divers = Less Dives = Less Salary.

But what impacts having more or less divers? Some factors will include:

High Season vs. Low Season

High season is the traditionally busy time for a holiday destination. It is also when accommodation prices generally go up due to popular demand. The high season is dependent on tourists during their holiday seasons.

Diving in Koh Tao, for example, has a high season in August, when the European school holidays begin. This is when backpackers who have just finished high school or university will go on a month-long South East Asian backpacking trip. Complete with elephant trousers and Chang singlets.

Another high season for Thailand is the Christmas and New Year break. Families will be taking their school-age children on a tropical resort holiday during this time. It is the perfect time for parents to lounge by the pool, and the kids to try scuba diving.

Read More: Diving in Koh Tao and the Best Seasons

When comparing high season vs. low season, you will see a big difference between the number of people on the beaches, in the restaurants, and on the dive boats. This greatly affects a divemaster’s salary.

Weather Conditions

The weather and diving conditions will affect a divemaster’s salary. Most people diving in Thailand are new divers who would like to tick scuba diving off their holiday bucket-list. They usually choose Thailand for a try-dive or to get their Open Water certification due to the possibility of diving in crystal-clear water, with calm surface conditions.

Most of the year we do have these conditions, but once in awhile, Thailand will have big monsoon rains, strong winds, and currents that greatly affect the diving conditions. This can be slightly off-putting to scuba divers, especially those who are new to diving. Diving in 2-meter waves with 1-meter visibility is not easy. In several years of working in Thailand, we do see cancellations on the morning of a dive if the weather is not amazing. This will affect your salary as a divemaster.

Luck of the Draw

One day four divers might walk into the dive center wanting to dive with you. Another day no-one might sign up for diving. At the end of the day it is a luck of the draw with how many divers you may get as a divemaster. This will affect how much you make that day, and your overall monthly salary.

Divemaster Salary

What is the Divemaster Commission?

We have mentioned commission-based salaries for a divemaster. So how much exactly do you make per commission? Dive centers will vary but an average commission will be 20% from the price the customer pays. Let’s say:

1,000 THB for a One-Tank Dive = 200 THB for the Divemaster

As you can see this is not a massive salary. However, as mentioned previously, if you have a great high season and take eight divers a day (four on the morning boat, and four in the afternoon, with a 2-dive trip) then you could potentially make 3,200 THB a day.

Being a Divemaster on a Liveaboard

Another option for being a divemaster in Thailand is working on a liveaboard, where you live, sleep, eat, and dive off a boat for several days in a row. This is a very popular type of holiday for recreational divers.

Being a divemaster on a liveaboard is a great way to make and save some money as you will not be spending on accommodation or food while you are living on the boat.

A typical starting salary will be around 30,000 THB/month, and you can also make an additional commission based on courses and other dive trips you sell to divers. This can be up to 20% in commission. Tipping the dive guide is very typical and expected on a liveaboard, so you can also make some great revenue on top of your salary.

Why Be A Divemaster in Thailand?

So if the salary is so unstable, and you might not make a lot of money as a divemaster in Thailand, then why would you be a divemaster in Thailand?

Lifestyle.

From my own experience and living in Thailand for 7 seasons, I can say that the lifestyle here is really nice. The weather is always warm, the sun is shining (therefore, our Vitamin-D levels are nice and high), you can get accommodation for cheap and spend next to nothing for a delicious Thai meal every day.

And of course, the diving is great, especially when whale shark season starts!

As a divemaster, you will be taking divers who are on their holidays. This means they are usually very friendly, love to be there, and enjoy diving. These people are great to hang around with and it makes your job very enjoyable.

They also really want to buy you a beer at the end of the day!

The essentials for a divemaster in Thailand — Being a divemaster is a fun job, but is it enough as a career?

How to Make More Money Scuba Diving?

If low-season wages are just not cutting it, and you are struggling to maintain a living in Thailand, then you can try to boost your divemaster salary.

Selling Equipment

Learning how to sell equipment can be a great way to supplement your divemaster salary. Most dive centers will offer a commission on the equipment that you sell. This can range from 5% to 25% of the retail price.

The easiest items to sell to your divers are a scuba diving mask, snorkel, and a computer. These are things that they can pack in their backpacks and travel with. They are also essential pieces of scuba diving equipment.

As a divemaster you should put in the time to properly fit your diver’s mask. Show them a range of masks, or even offer them to try on your mask. They will see a big difference between a budget rental mask compared to your fancy scuba diving mask.

Commission vs. Fixed Salary

As a valued divemaster, you can ask your management about having a fixed salary all-year-round, or just in low-season. This is a good way to ensure you have a minimum salary to cover your basic costs of accommodation and food when there are not many diving customers.

Up-Selling Divers

In low-season or bad weather conditions, there will always be a small group of dedicated divers who want to go diving no matter the conditions. These divers are the people you want to continue diving, which means you make more commission. Be the best divemaster; approachable, safe, and fun, and the divers will want to continue diving with you.

Be More Employable

If you hold specialty certifications, such as a Nitrox, Deep or you have a Wreck Specialty certification, then you can take the more specialized divers. This means you are more employable to a dive center as you can take different level divers.

Low-season is a great time to further your own scuba diving education. While you cannot teach the specialties as a divemaster, you can take divers on their specialty dives once they are certified by an instructor.

Divemaster Course Koh Tao

Koh Tao has an unfair reputation as a ‘factory’ of scuba divers, due to the amount of diving certifications that are taken on this small island. However, because there are so many dive shops, this means that most dive shops want to keep their reputation and standards high, which actually means safer diving than most places around the world.

Because so many people come to Koh Tao for their beginner scuba diving courses, this also means there are a lot of opportunities to ‘assist’ on courses as part of your divemaster training. You will see a lot of good and bad divers. You will also see various diving problems on the surface and underwater, and learn how to solve these efficiently and effectively. This all makes you a better divemaster in the long run.

Taking a divemaster course on Koh Tao is a great experience. I did it, and it was easily one of the most fun experiences in my life.

How to Make a Bubble Ring Underwater

DTS Contributor

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Article Updated 21 Aug 2022

Blowing a bubble ring underwater is definitely a cool way to show off. Many of my students are very interested in being able to make bubble rings underwater. You can blow bubble rings or you can create them with your hands when scuba diving, snorkeling or freediving. Let me teach you how to make a bubble ring underwater the right way.

You can skip to the section you like, by using our table of contents below.

Table of contents

What is a Bubble Ring?
How to Make a Bubble Ring Underwater?
How do Dolphins Make Bubble Rings?
Conclusion

What is a Bubble Ring?

What we see as the bubble ring underwater, is actually called a toroidal bubble. These bubbles form when air is trapped in an underwater vortex ring. The water around the air moves in a poloidal field propelling the bubble forward or upward.

There are several different ways to make bubble rings underwater. The most common is blowing a bubble ring as this can also be achieved when snorkeling or freediving.

Lionel Kobi blowing a bubble ring underwater during a scuba dive. — Scuba instructor, Lionel Kobi, blowing a bubble during a scuba dive underwater.

How to Make a Bubble Ring Underwater?

The short answer? Buy an underwater bubble ring gun. No, I’m not making it up. They exist. These guns connect to a diver’s LPI connection and use intermediate pressure to create the vortex in the water.

Seriously though, let’s look at the different bubble ring recipes below.

How to Blow Bubble Rings?

These bubble rings form when a person exhales some air underwater. They travel upward only. This type of bubble ring is also referred to as the freediving bubble ring.

Here is how to do it:

Position yourself parallel to the surface, tilting your head back slightly
Fill your cheeks with air and stick your tongue out
Pull your tongue in and release the air in your cheeks

Try not to force the air out too much. Too much air will create a normal bubble. You need to find a nice balance between the amount of air and pulling your tongue in. The goal is to create a small vortex. A successful bubble ring born this way starts off small with the bubbles not fully joined yet and grows in size on its way up.

You should observe the rotation in the smaller bubbles when you start practicing. This means you are on the right track. If you notice one side of the bubble always being bigger and “pulling” the ring apart, then you need to work on your position and release the air bubble as parallel to the surface as possible.

Pro Tip: If you do these scuba diving, make sure your next exhale and regulator purge don’t destroy your newest piece of art!

Safety Tip: If you are doing these scuba diving, be careful not to hold your breath by keeping a small exhale stream. You must have good buoyancy control and not rise while blowing bubble rings. Keep hold of your regulator.

Learn More: What Should Divers Do For Their Own Safety?

Two-Handed Bubble Rings

You can also use your hands to create bubble rings underwater. Using two hands is the easiest method when using making bubble rings this way.

A classic picture of Emma busting a bubble ring from my hood vent. — In our early diving days, Emma busting a bubble ring from my hood vent.

Here is how to do it:

Smash your exhaled bubbles into tiny bubbles using your hand
Try to create a cloud of tiny bubbles without too much turbulence
Make two fists and press your knuckles together slightly behind the slowly rising bubble cloud
Flick your wrists outward and slightly forward

The flicking motion creates the vortex. Try not to push your hands forward too much. Let the bubbles rest a little before you attempt to collect them into the vortex. Don’t rush it and create the bubble cloud well below your chest, after all, air rises. That’s how to make circle bubbles underwater.

Pro Tip: Experiment with the distance between your hands and the bubble cloud, the number of bubbles you create, and their size. Start practicing these with the current.

Safety Tip: When you smash your exhale, make sure you don’t smash your regulator out of your mouth. That’s if you are doing these when scuba diving.

One-Handed Bubble Ring

Time to graduate and proceed toward bubble ring mastery. This is the ninja bubble ring. The concept behind these rings is the same as with the two-handed bubble rings. You simple attempt to create the vortex with one hand only.

Here is how to do it:

Smash your exhaled bubbles into tiny bubbles using your hand
Try to create a cloud of tiny bubbles without too much turbulence, make sure they are tiny bubbles
Completely straighten your hand and keep your fingers closed
Pull your knuckles back slightly to create a small arch in your hand
Let the bubbles rise into your hand
Push your straight hand forward forcefully (the force coming from your shoulder)

Pro Tip: The forward motion only needs to be about 10cm. Don’t use your whole arm or elbow. A very slight rotation and tight spring back in your motion can help.

Don’t expect to make one of these on your first try.

Mastery of Tiny Bubble Rings

The coolest ones of them all. Tiny circles moving horizontally through the water. You can easily create quite a few of these in a row, which adds to the visual spectacle.

Here is how to do it:

Smash your exhaled bubbles into tiny bubbles using your hand
Keep pushing the rising bubbles down in front of you
You want the smallest possible bubbles and only a few with virtually no turbulence
Make two horizontal fists and bend your thumbs back as far as they go
Push the tips of your thumbs together
Wait for the bubbles to rise between your fists
Flick your thumbs to your index fingers’ knuckles

Pro Tip: No need to create excess force. Try not to move your wrists and arms at all. The force comes solely from your thumbs. Focus on creating the perfect bubble cloud with these ones.

How do Dolphins Make Bubble Rings?

Dolphins release a small amount of air from their blowholes and use their incredible agility in the water to keep the poloidal vortex of the water moving in any direction they desire. Dolphins are the true masters of underwater bubble rings.

Conclusion

I hope this guide helped you on your journey in learning how to make a bubble ring underwater. Practice makes perfect with a skill like this. During my Divemaster program I remember spending hours in the pool with a mask practicing both blowing bubble rings as well as creating the vortex with my hands. In order to do the latter, you simply push some air down from the surface of the ppool to create the cloud of small bubbles and then practive your hand movements.

Good luck!