The Dive Briefing | Hartley Helmet Diving in Bermuda

Briefing aboard helmet diving vessel under way to reefr

Chairs are rarely used, now that the limit is three dives (21 passengers)

During the briefing I explain how the helmet works like a drinking glass held upside down in water. As long as the open end is held downward, the air is trapped underneath. This is similar but opposite to how a drink is trapped in a glass held right side up. The helmet has one main viewing window in front and a smaller window on each side, good for smiling at the person next to you. The helmet diving windows, or any flat glass having water on one side and air on the other, magnifies by about a third. Everything appears larger, therefore closer. Folks figure this out and adapt quite easily.
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I further explain how the ladder, which is attached to the large and wide platform goes almost to the bottom. The top three rungs of the ladder are flat pads for tender-footed land lubbers. Once you are standing on the ladder with the water at your shoulders, the helmet is placed on your shoulders and we scramble down. Wiggling your jaw or yawning is usually enough to clear your ears. If that does not work then you stop descending, reach up inside (simply follow your neck), hold your nose, close your mouth and blow. You would then feel/hear a pop as air goes through your Eustachian tubes to the other side of your ear drums, thus equalizing the pressure on either side. Once on the bottom the anxiety disappears as you realize that this is as easy as it was claimed, and all you are left with is fun, excitement and the anticipation of the undersea magical mystery tour ahead.

You will also get a sugar-coated biology lesson on some of the marine aspects of this marvelous miracle we call life.

I will be arranging the divers in groups of 7 or so. With only 14 people we would have only two dives. This is great for you to have your dive, and then only wait for one other. Three dives is now considered full. Back in the day with Reaganomics we used to take five dives! We generally take the four hours allotted to this adventure, and make however many dives we have, as long as possible, as to give you the best value for your time and money.

The sooner people book, the easier it is for me to inform and nudge people around, so that the trips have about the same amount of people. If people wait till the last minute to book we can end up with 6 people in the morning and 28 in the afternoon.