The surf widget is reporting poor conditions. We know what that means – awesome conditions for diving.

This is so sad. His family must be overcome.

Accidents can happen. Running out of air can happen. Anything can happen. He was so young but, sadly I’ve seen lots of people take this risk – even older divers who should know better.

Always follow the second rule of scuba diving – always dive with a buddy.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Teen-Dead-in-Keys-Diving-Accident-124719154.html

Diving in the rain is not necessarily a bad thing. The visibility sometimes isn’t quite as good and because rain usually means cloud cover, the dive might not be as brightly lit, but it can be just as enjoyable as a dive on a sunny day. Surfacing as the little rain droplets come down can be very beautiful as this photo from the Maldives shows. Even if there is thunder and lightning, while you’re under the water, there is very little danger involved specifically with diving in the rain.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

However, boating in the rain and especially in a thunderstorm can be scary. Trying to navigate a boat in zero visibility as the rain pours down can be hazardous and there’s nothing more attractive to a bolt of lightning than a large metal object poking up out of the water. Many times, I remember the boat captain crawling up on the wood transom in the middle of the boat as we blissfully dove under the water in fear of being struck by lightning.

Anybody else have interesting experiences while diving in the rain?