Strap Your Dive Light to Your Wrist for Safekeeping

Plan your night dive to start at twilight. Not only do you get to watch the transition from dusk to darkness, you can orient yourself and rely more on natural light to see the underwater world around you.

Jarring can damage underwater lights. So when you leave the dive boat, ask someone to hand the strobe light down to you.

Make sure you strap your scuba light to your wrist. The last thing you want to do is drop it. Dive lights sink and in the panic of the moment you are unlikely to find them. Of course, you will be carrying a backup light, but just use that to navigate your way back to the boat.

Understand that it is easier to get disoriented during a night dive. You may not realize how quickly you descended or how far you have drifted from the dive party. Stay close to your buddy and do not attempt deep-water dives at night.

Try switching off your light to gauge the ambient light around you. The stars and moonlight may provide enough glow to illuminate the underwater theater of fish and sealife.