by Sarah Cleaves

Created on: September 13, 2009

So you've made it to the dive site and you've assembled all your equipment, done your buddy checks and you're finally in the water. No doubt all you want to do is sink below the surface into the magical word below, but it's still of the upmost importance to take your time and remember the simple steps of a five point decent to ensure both you and your buddy reach the bottom safely and are well prepared for your dive.

The easiest way to remember the steps of a five point decent is to remember the acronym SORTED which leads you through all the steps before you are ready to descend. The word can be broken down into the following steps to remind you what you are supposed to be doing.

S Signal. Now that you are in the water give a clear OK sign to your buddy to show that you are prepared and to make sure that your buddy is as well. The last thing you want is to rush through the decent and find out too late that your buddy isn't ready.

O Orientation. Before you descend take a good look around and orientate yourself. Know where you are descending, what directions you intend to take once you're down there, and where you intend to come up. If you get lost underwater, it will be far easier to regain your bearings on ascent if you've had a good look around the area before descending. Use your compass so that you always know which direction the exit point is.

R Remove Snorkel and Replace with your Regulator. It's always best practice when at the surface to keep your snorkel in and preserve air, but you wouldn't want to descend without first replacing your snorkel with your regulator. Make sure that you have your air supply in place before you enter the underwater world.

T Time. Check your watches and make note of the time. It's vitally important that you know how long you've been down so that you don't exceed your planned dive times. After all being down longer than planned can be extremely dangerous, especially if the correct decompression stops aren't made. You can either adjust your watch bezel or memorize your dive start time to time your dive. You'll also want to remember it for later when it comes to logging your dive.

E Extend your BCD low-pressure hose and prepare to Equalize as you descend. It's important to extend you BCD hose in the air to allow the air to escape easily so that you can descend, and remembering to equalize is a fundamental part of arriving safely in the underwater world.

D Descend. Now you have completed the five steps of a five point descent and you can enjoy your dive safely knowing you have prepared yourself well.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Cleaves.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.