Be a Good Buddy - Be aware of your diving buddy's capabilities. Be familiar with your buddy's equipment . Select compatible diving activities. Review hand signals and plan your dive in advance. Maintain relative position with your buddy. Monitor each other's air supply frequently. Have a plan if you get separated. Use common sense.

Practice your skills - When was the last time you practiced your skills. How about an emergency ascent? out of air emergency? Or removing and replacing your mask? Practice your skills on a regular basis! Update your training and education...no matter how experienced you are it doesn't hurt to take a refresher course.

Clear your ears before feeling pain or pressure - Clear your ears every few feet while descending. It is much more difficult to clear a blockage once you have gone too far and are feeling pain or pressure.

Maintain control of buoyancy - Always check your buoyancy at the surface and adjust your weight as required. As conditions change, you need to review your buoyancy at the beginning of each dive. Practice buoyancy control on a regular basis...practice hovering whenever possible.