freewillie
Contributor
Night dives are my favorite dives. I love the darkness of the water with the flashlights. You also see different types of fish and are more likely to see eels and octopus. Ironically despite the dark you might have surprisingly good visibility if there is a full moon or other sources of light.
While you don't have to take a specific course for night diving it does help to make the diver aware of proper requirements. Obviously you need a dive light, but you also need to carry a back up light. I also use tank markers for me and my dive buddy. Doesn't have to be fancy, I stock up on cayalume glow sticks at a dollar store. Much cheaper than at my LDS. I've seen dive ops use the smaller bracelet versions that goes onto the top of the tank on the first stage.
As mentioned earlier don't shine your light in a diver's eyes. There are special signals with the light such as making a circle for "okay" and a horizontal back and forth to get your buddy's attention. It is somewhat easier to stick together as a buddy pair because you should be able to see your buddy's light at all times.
I did a formal night dive as part of my Advanced Open Water PADI classes. I was a little nervous on that dive. It can be a little unnerving to dive into the blackness. But once you do it for the first time it should be a lot of fun. My daughter went on her first night dive without any training at all. Just jumped in and followed the group and lights so no you don't really need a formal class. In fact when she did her AOW training she skipped that module and did underwater scooters instead.
My only other advice would be to make sure you turn you light on before you get in the water. It ensures that the light is working before you leave the boat. I would also leave the light on during the dive as I've been advised most light failures occur when you attempt to turn on and off the light. It's also easier to find a dropped flashlight if it's on so not only have it on when you get into the water but keep it on when exiting and getting back up the dive ladder in case you drop it then. My daughter dropped her light getting back on board so it does happen. Fortunately for me (or her) the light was on and was easy to find or I was going to be charged for a lost dive light. That would have come out of her allowance!
While you don't have to take a specific course for night diving it does help to make the diver aware of proper requirements. Obviously you need a dive light, but you also need to carry a back up light. I also use tank markers for me and my dive buddy. Doesn't have to be fancy, I stock up on cayalume glow sticks at a dollar store. Much cheaper than at my LDS. I've seen dive ops use the smaller bracelet versions that goes onto the top of the tank on the first stage.
As mentioned earlier don't shine your light in a diver's eyes. There are special signals with the light such as making a circle for "okay" and a horizontal back and forth to get your buddy's attention. It is somewhat easier to stick together as a buddy pair because you should be able to see your buddy's light at all times.
I did a formal night dive as part of my Advanced Open Water PADI classes. I was a little nervous on that dive. It can be a little unnerving to dive into the blackness. But once you do it for the first time it should be a lot of fun. My daughter went on her first night dive without any training at all. Just jumped in and followed the group and lights so no you don't really need a formal class. In fact when she did her AOW training she skipped that module and did underwater scooters instead.
My only other advice would be to make sure you turn you light on before you get in the water. It ensures that the light is working before you leave the boat. I would also leave the light on during the dive as I've been advised most light failures occur when you attempt to turn on and off the light. It's also easier to find a dropped flashlight if it's on so not only have it on when you get into the water but keep it on when exiting and getting back up the dive ladder in case you drop it then. My daughter dropped her light getting back on board so it does happen. Fortunately for me (or her) the light was on and was easy to find or I was going to be charged for a lost dive light. That would have come out of her allowance!
