Know Before You Go: Dive Planning Made Easy with Reef Smart Guides | DEMA 2025

How to Use Reef Smart Guides to Plan Safer, Smarter Dives — DEMA Interview with Cartographer Peter McDougall

Today at DEMA, I’m sitting down with Peter McDougall, the cartographer behind Reef Smart Guides — the dive-mapping system trusted by divers all over the world. If you’ve ever wondered how to actually use these maps to make your dive safer, easier, and more enjoyable, this interview is for you.

We cover:
• How Reef Smart got started (the Vandenberg story!)
• Why traditional dive briefings are often not enough
• How to use 3D dive maps to reduce task-loading and stress
• Navigation tips for wrecks, reefs, and strong-current sites
• How to mentally visualize a site before you even back-roll
• Why the Bonaire Guidebook is a must for shore divers
• Peter’s favorite dive site & favorite fish (you’ll love this part!)

I personally use Reef Smart Guides on my phone in Kindle form — I load the map right after the dive briefing so I can review entry/exit, hazards, currents, and route planning. It’s a simple step that changes your entire dive.

Whether you’re new to diving or 500 dives in, this gives you new tools to stay safe, stay oriented, and truly enjoy the sites we’re lucky enough to explore.

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📍 CHAPTERS

(All synced to your 05:15;12 Bonaire reference + total runtime 09:40)

00:00 – Intro: Susan welcomes viewers & Peter at DEMA
00:15 – Who Peter is & why his maps matter
00:33 – The Vandenberg story: how Reef Smart Guides began
01:27 – Early briefing charts & the danger of oversimplified maps
02:10 – How the idea evolved into full guidebooks & 3D models
02:55 – Mission: safer, clearer dive briefings for all divers

03:28 – Explaining the Vandenberg buoy system
03:55 – Why divers surface on the wrong boat
04:18 – The “funky sock trick” for finding your ascent line
04:58 – Task loading, new environments & risk awareness
05:18 – Why pre-dive familiarization improves safety

05:15 – The updated Bonaire book (2nd edition)
05:41 – Why Bonaire is special: drive-and-dive freedom
06:06 – The challenge: no divemasters to guide you
06:26 – Why maps matter more in Bonaire (entries, routes, terrain)
06:50 – Knowing left/right decisions, parking, hazards

07:18 – Vista Blue: the peaceful, stillness dive
07:40 – Watching a cleaning station & soft coral forest
08:02 – Why rushing through dive sites makes you miss everything
08:25 – The power of being still & letting the reef come alive

08:55 – Peter’s favorite fish: the dusky damselfish
09:15 – Territorial, feisty, and totally underrated
09:32 – Studying them for his master’s research

09:18 – Interview ends (before SDR outro)
09:40 – SDR branded outro ends

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