No Gloves When Diving? A Senseless Rule: Undercurrent 09/2024

No Gloves When Diving? A Senseless Rule

but maybe controversial

from the September, 2024 issue of Undercurrent

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I see you're looking askance at my gloves. Yes, I'm slipping them on before I dive this pristine coral reef. And I don't intend to maim the reef.

I have a letter from my doctor saying that my hands are prone to bad reactions and possible infections from stinging marine animals. The resort manager okayed my diving gloves even though the policy here is bare hands only. He asked that I don them after I submerge so that other divers wouldn't notice the gloves - but gloves go on much harder underwater than before the dive.

I think that you should be able to wear gloves as well, so why hide it?

Dive gloves are safety equipment. There are a lot of stinging creatures underwater that eventually nail even the most cautious divers. It's easy to brush accidentally against the feathery fronds of hydroids or to hold onto a hydroid-infested mooring line in current during a safety stop. Jellies' invisible tentacles burn on contact. And in a ripping current, any diver can accidentally make contact with the reef when whizzing by them....

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