The 5 Best Scuba Diving Accessories

Scuba diving is one of the most rewarding activities you can do during a luxury yacht charter but it also presents unique dangers, and divers rely heavily on their training and equipment to keep them safe.

Whether chartering a yacht in Sardinia or cruising Amalfi or the Balearics, help is at hand with a great range of useful diving accessories, from fun gadgets to lifesavers. Here are five you won't want to be without:  

 

 

Full-Sized Gear Bag

A decent bag is essential for organising, transporting and protecting your dive gear. Custom-made luggage is the best option since it’s designed specifically to protect diving equipment from wear and tear from natural elements like the sun and saltwater.

Over the years, dive luggage has also become smaller and lighter making it easier to handle while travelling around, not to mention size and weight restrictions on airlines. 

ScubaPro’s Dive’ N Roll is made from three separate compartments with a spacious hard-shelled main compartment that can easily hold all your tropical dive gear. It comes with a detachable soft travel backpack (which is perfect as a carry-on), padded handles, in-line wheels and a retractable pull handle. It also comes in a smaller, lighter version. Alternatively, a large duffel bag is the most versatile and easy to pack for those who don’t have to travel far.

High-Quality Dry Bag 

Once you have your luggage organised, you’ll need a smaller bag on hand to store your essentials while you're away from the yacht. A decent watertight bag for personal items like your phone and wallet is essential, particularly if you’re diving from a RIB.

We like Mares Dry Bag, an invaluable aid in keeping possessions safe from the water. Roll the top down to close it and make it watertight, then clip it onto the RIB itself for safekeeping.  
 

 

Carbon Monoxide Detector 

Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, tasteless and deadly. The signs of CO poisoning include a headache, nausea, fatigue and red lips, cheeks and fingernails, and unless you test the fill of your cylinder you won’t know until these symptoms appear.

The most common cause of abnormal levels of CO in a cylinder is an improperly placed, maintained or functioning fill compressor. The Analox EII CO Detector is a handheld device making it easy to check scuba tanks without the need for extra equipment. 

Surface-Signalling Device

This is a must-have safety item for divers who occasionally surface a long way down current from the boat. Kitting yourself out with good signalling gear can prepare you for this eventuality and the Nautilus Lifeline is the best around. It’s a clever blend of GPS receiver and VHF marine radio, giving divers the ability to communicate with their dive team up to eight miles away.

The system can also broadcast GPS coordinates of the diver’s location back to your yacht and other vessels nearby, and has a battery life of 24 hours. 

Dive Lights

Essential for night dives, dive lights are an often-overlooked necessity for daylight diving when exploring underwater caves and crevices. A good pocket light is vital for exploring reefs and other underwater nooks and crannies and it’s useful as a back up at night.

The Ikelite Gamma Dive Light is a small but powerful flashlight for looking inside the tiniest crevices of a reef. Meanwhile, the weatherproof Vizion headlamp is great for leaving your hands free to search through your gear bag and set up cameras. It provides up to 150 hours of battery and three beam patterns: spot, diffused, and navigation red.