The Ocean Giveth, the Ocean Taketh Away—and the Crew Still Has to Wash the Deck

Benjamin Hadfield   Oct 19, 2026

The Ocean Giveth, the Ocean Taketh Away—and the Crew Still Has to Wash the Deck

Good diving starts before the boat leaves the dock. A little preparation helps everyone have a better day, even when the ocean has other plans.

The experience matters.

Years ago, while managing a technical support group, I noticed that the brightest technicians weren’t always the ones who left customers happiest. They could spot a problem, fix it in seconds, and send the customer away feeling a little foolish.

Other technicians took more time. They worked through the possibilities with the customer and made them part of the solution. Their customers usually rated the experience higher. The difference wasn’t the repair. It was how the customer felt during it.

I see the same thing on dive boats.

Flat seas, good visibility, and a few spectacular animals can make a charter feel like a day the ocean planned just for you. Add a hammerhead—or a white shark, an eagle ray, and maybe a small orchestra—and people leave smiling.

Fast seas, lower vis, and shy marine life can change the mood. Add seasickness and even a whale shark in West Palm would have to compete with the horizon for attention.

The crew’s job stays the same. When conditions get harder, the work gets harder too. They help divers, bring water, keep people as comfortable as they can, and wash the deck afterward when a poor, unfortunate soul misses the ocean and hits the side of the boat with their Denny’s breakfast. The ocean controls the conditions. The crew controls how they look after you (The Diver).

Around our boat, we say, “The ocean giveth and the ocean taketh away.” It is not a vending machine. You can’t insert a dive ticket and select “flat seas, 100-foot visibility, two turtles and one photogenic shark.”

I don’t put much faith in a forecast more than four or five days out. At that distance, I might as well pick the Final Four. So what can divers, instructors, and dive shops do to help a charter go well?

Before the boat

1. Match the dive to your training and experience.

Check the depth and skills the dive may require. Certification is a starting point; it doesn't guarantee every diver is comfortable with every dive.

If you need more training, or you haven’t been in the water for a while, talk with an instructor before the charter. A refresher or a supervised tune-up is a sensible way to get current. There is no prize for surprising yourself at depth.

Dive professionals and shops can help by describing the dive plainly: expected depth, potential conditions, entry and exit, and the skills a diver should be comfortable using. Setting clear expectations is always the best policy. They also make the boat day less exciting for the wrong reasons.

2. Make a seasickness plan before you feel seasick.

Check the forecast a couple of days ahead, then check it again closer to departure. If the sea is likely to be uncomfortable for you, plan for that possibility. Even seasoned divers can get woozy. If you’re an inland diver from the Midwest—nothing against the Midwest—the ocean and a moving deck can be sneakier than you’d expect. Sea legs aren’t standard issue.

Our crew has learned to spot the early signs. A diver’s eyes start losing color, and suddenly they’re looking less like a customer and more like someone trying to remember where they left their lunch. Seasickness isn’t unusual; we see a few fish feeders a year. Let the crew know early so they can help.

Some divers use medication; others prefer a drug-free option. Read the product information and talk with a healthcare professional who understands diving before using medication on a dive day. Some common motion-sickness medicines can cause drowsiness, which can interfere with safe diving. DAN also recommends being rested, nourished, and hydrated, and notes that sitting near the center of the boat may mean less up-and-down movement.

One drug-free option is Reliefband Premier, which we carry in stock at Stuart Scuba. It’s an electronic wristband, not just a pressure band: worn snugly on the underside of the wrist with conductive gel, it sends gentle electrical pulses that stimulate the median nerve. The manufacturer says this stimulation helps regulate signals involved in nausea. We’ve tested Reliefband Premier on our boat and, in our experience, it provides quick relief. Everyone responds differently, so follow the product directions and keep a plan. It’s not a force field; the Atlantic remains unimpressed.

Whatever you use, tell the crew early if you start feeling unwell. Waiting until you’re green and negotiating with the horizon makes the conversation harder for everyone. For dive operators, a quick word about where to sit, where to look, and how to ask for help can make a sick diver feel cared for instead of embarrassed. Nobody needs a microphone to explain their stomach’s decisions to the whole boat.

3. Practice with the gear you plan to use.

A pool session before a big trip is a good time to check fit, weighting, and equipment. Wear the exposure protection you expect to dive in, and use the same type of cylinder if you can.

Your weighting needs can change with your suit, equipment, cylinder, and whether you are diving in fresh or salt water. An aluminum cylinder also becomes more buoyant as gas is used. Practice an end-of-dive buoyancy check with an instructor, using a low cylinder pressure that fits your equipment and dive plan. A fixed pressure such as 700 psi is not a universal magic number; DAN describes checking that a diver can hold position near the end of a dive with a nearly empty cylinder. 

The pool is also a fine place to learn that your new mask leaks, your fins don’t fit, or your brand-new wetsuit has a personality of its own. Better to discover that in shallow water than halfway through an expensive trip.

4. Don’t make the big trip your gear’s first day at work.

New equipment deserves a test dive before it becomes responsible for your vacation. Practice with it, check that it fits, and make sure you know how it works.

The ocean is a poor classroom for figuring out where the buttons are. It has no pause button, and the instructor may be busy doing instructor things.

5. Pack a small save-a-dive kit.

A few common O-rings, a pick, a small multi-tool, and the right wrenches can save time when a minor issue comes up. Keep spares secured and accessible. Nothing should dangle where it can snag on a hose, valve, ladder, or something you would rather not explain to the captain.

I keep common DIN and yoke O-rings with my gear on a double ender (which, btw, you can never seem to have enough double enders), and spares in the truck bed for shore dives on a double ender. 

If you don’t know how to make a repair, ask the crew or a qualified technician. Life-support equipment is not the place to discover your inner television repairman.

On the boat

6. Stow your gear and keep the deck clear.

Use the storage area the crew assigns. A good bag helps, but a bag that migrates across the deck every time the boat moves becomes an obstacle with a zipper.

Keep walkways, exits, and work areas clear. The crew needs room to move, and other divers need a clear path. A dive boat is not a studio apartment with a very large shower.

Everything moves, the deck is always wet, and space is at a premium. If you don’t want it to get wet, leave it in your car. If you don’t need it for diving, put it in your bag and store your bag in a forward V-berth and not under your seat.

Now, for those of you who use a huge pack-out box for your gear… Great use of storage, but NOT under your seat, please. 

7. Give divers room to get back aboard.

After your dive, follow the crew’s directions and keep the aisle clear until everyone is back and seated. Packing your gear while another diver is climbing out of the water is a poor time to set up a one-person yard sale.

The crew will tell you when it is a good time to move, rinse, and stow equipment. Their timing is usually based on more than a desire to admire the deck.

8. Bring a wind- and rain-resistant layer.

Florida water can stay comfortable while the air on an exposed deck gets cold. Winter air can drop into the 50s, and wind across wet skin has a way of making 50 feel like it has a personal grudge.

A light rain jacket or windbreaker takes little space and can make the ride home much more pleasant. You can always leave it in the bag. You cannot borrow the captain’s.

9. Be kind to the crew—and please don’t forget to tip them.

The crew gets the boat ready, carries tanks, fills the freshwater tank, keeps the head clean, watches the divers, and helps when someone is having a rough day. They may drag the flag, bring you a cold soda, and then take the trash off the boat and wash the deck after you leave.

When the seas are rough, they are usually working harder to keep you comfortable: helping people move safely, checking on divers, fetching water, cleaning up, and staying ready for the next need. They did not order the waves. If they could, I suspect the Atlantic would be flat, sunny, and scheduled around lunch.

Please don’t mistake rough conditions for poor crew effort. The ocean can make the day uncomfortable; the crew can still make sure you are cared for. Tip them for the work and attention they gave you, not for whether the sea delivered a postcard. A tip won’t calm the water, but it does tell the people who looked after you that you noticed.

And if you’re having a miserable time, tell the crew what you need. They may not be able to settle your stomach, but they can often help you find a better spot, get some water, or keep you from becoming the deck’s newest cleaning assignment.

10. Leave the marine life where you found it.

Look, enjoy, take a photograph if you can do it without disturbing anything, and leave the animal where it belongs. Don’t touch, chase, harass, feed, or deliberately attract marine life. The best souvenir is a memory—not a fish that now thinks every diver is its lunch delivery service.

That includes Jasper, the Goliath Grouper. He may look like he’s waiting for a snack, but he is a wild animal, not a reef-side pet. Feeding fish can teach them to associate people with food and disrupt their normal foraging. FWC warns that conditioned fish may become stressed or malnourished, and competition for handouts can injure animals. Feeding can also make fish bolder around people, which creates risks for divers and the fish. Jasper taking a handout doesn’t mean the handout is good for him. 

There’s a legal issue, too. Florida prohibits divers and snorkelers from feeding fish, sharks, or other marine species. FWC defines this as putting food or another substance into the water to feed or attract marine life. It also prohibits a for-hire vessel from taking passengers to a site in Florida state waters to feed fish or watch someone else feed them. On Florida’s Atlantic coast, state waters extend three nautical miles offshore; in the Gulf, they extend nine. Legal bait or chumming for fishing is a separate matter, with its own restrictions, so don’t assume that rules for fishing make it okay to feed wildlife during a dive.

And if you hunt, know the current rules before you get in the water. Don’t take fish out of season, undersized, protected, over the limit—or anything you don’t plan to eat. If you’re unsure, leave it. The fish does not need to become an expensive lesson in regulations.

Enjoy the encounter. Take the picture. Let Jasper keep his natural diet and his opinion of divers.

11. If you hunt, know the current rules and make a responsible shot.

Regulations can depend on the species and location. Check current official rules before the dive, including what may be harvested, size and bag limits, seasons, licenses, gear restrictions, and protected areas. Florida’s FWC guidance, for example, lists species that cannot be harvested by spearing and restrictions on where spearfishing is allowed.

If it is short, leave it. If you are not going to eat it, leave it. Don’t feed fish or sharks. A dive site is not a buffet where the next guest gets to deal with the habits we taught the wildlife.

The part we can control

Divers, instructors, shops and crews all help shape the day. Divers can prepare and speak up when something feels wrong. Instructors can help people get current and comfortable. Shops and operators can set honest expectations, explain the conditions, and make sure guests know how the boat works.

We cannot promise flat seas, clear water, or a shark on schedule. We can prepare well, communicate clearly, and treat people kindly when the ocean changes the plan.

A great day doesn’t require perfect conditions. It does require people who look after one another—and a crew that remembers where the deck brush is.