Ally

Why do they do that...?

dalehall

When you can't giant stride off a boat, rolling is the next best way to enter the water. (I personally prefer to roll as opposed to G/S) The reason they roll backwards is to minimize the chance of the diver losing his/her mask and getting bonked in the head by the tank/other equipment by going in face first. (Being bonked in the US is quite different than in the UK) Plus, if you logistically look at trying to roll in face first, it would almost have to be a "dive" into the water wearing 40 lbs of gear on your back. Not a very safe thing to do. The backwards roll minimizes the distance the gear falls along with the minimizing the risk of losing or dislodging equipment.

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MgicTwnger

With a backroll as with any other entry, look before you leap. Many years ago I was diving sans wetsuit in Key Largo and backrolled off a small boat. As I decended I felt something gooey between my back and backpack. Then it started to sting.
I surfaced and got back aboard. I had landed on a Portugese man o' war, a very nasty stinging jellyfish. One of my companions scraped my back with his great big dive knife while I screamed words I didn't know I knew.

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