differences in men and women while diving

[bluejaykaren]

One time I forgot to connect the crotch strap on my ranger and I couldn't find the other end of it. I was already geared up,sitting with the tank bungeed to the boat. I had to ask the young crew member to fish around between my legs, find it and connect it for me. It was the one time I wished he had been a she.
Until this summer I had not used a dive op that set your gear up if you had you own gear. Recently we went to Grand Cayman and it seems to be standard procedure for the crew to set up everyones gear. The boat rides where so short there that the crew could set up all the gear while the dive was being briefed so it did save time. I found that it bothered me way more than I thought it would. I rechecked everything and for one dive my inflator hose hadn't been connected. I turned off the air and purged a regulator so I could connect it. A crew member must have seen me turn my air off because he turned it back on before I could stop him. He then had to turn it back off and purged the reg. so I could attach the hose. I would gladly accept help for zipping up or helping me up after I geared up if I needed it. If I didn't have one of my reg. diving buddies I would rather the dive master do my buddy check than an insta buddy.

 

[TSandM]

I'm 5'3" and between 145 and 148 pounds
diving with 14 pounds of lead (my "normal") just wasn't getting it this last couple of days so I added 2 more for our second dive yesterday
marginally better
he thinks I should look at ankle weights (?) or a tank weight

Well, my first question is, what is it about your safety stops that you aren't executing "perfectly"? Can you not hold depth, or is it that you aren't in horizontal trim, or that you can't sit still?

My second reaction is that, given the height and weight data and the lack of exposure protection, you are likely to be significantly overweighted with 14 lbs of lead. That's just about the amount that I use for warm water diving in my DRY SUIT, and I'm a floater. I think solving your problem should begin with a good, formal weight check.

If your difficulty is keeping depth at the stop, and particularly if you are tending to float up, it's likely that one of the issues is too much air in your BC, which makes any upward deviation from your precise depth highly likely to be self-perpetuating. If you can be at the stop with little or no air in the BC, then the only thing that will make you float is a change in your breathing pattern -- and if you're anxious about holding the stop, it's probable that you change your breathing to a more anxious pattern, holding more air in your lungs, when you begin to worry.

If your problem is trim, you solve that by moving weight around. But I think you should start by determining precisely how much weight you actually need to carry -- I suspect it's quite a bit less than you are using.

 

[angryjuliet]

I am agree with leelee . I have seen that there are some difference between men and women while diving .

 

[Tigerman]

Personally I HATE people who "insist" on helping me with my gear.
I dive a fair bit solo and part of my "ritual" is gearing up and checking everything as I go along. If I need help, Ill ask. If I dont ask, its not gonna affect your tip in any way, shape or form..

 

[dfx]

Recently we went to Grand Cayman and it seems to be standard procedure for the crew to set up everyones gear. The boat rides where so short there that the crew could set up all the gear while the dive was being briefed so it did save time. I found that it bothered me way more than I thought it would. I rechecked everything and for one dive my inflator hose hadn't been connected.

That reminds me of our most recent trip to Mexico. For the second dive of the morning, we left all of our gear on the boat and the crew would just swap the tanks. Some days, they would just leave our gear where we left it (on the floor or on the bench), other days they put it on the tanks for us and set it all up. Every time, the DM asked us that if they did in fact set it all up, to please double check everything. One day, we got back on the boat, the BCDs and the regs were put on the tank already, so yes, we went ahead and double checked everything. What do you know, the tank was put way up too high, the octo wasn't in the holder, and more importantly, the tank straps weren't done properly. So we pretty much had to do it all over again. In fact the straps were done so poorly that it would have been almost guaranteed that the tank would have come loose. And guess what, during the dive that's exactly what happened to one of the other guys in our group, who didn't pay heed to the DM's warning and didn't check his gear.

Which goes to show that it can go either way. Personally, I'll stick with the "I'll ask for help when I need it" crowd. However, the other guy would have needed help and didn't ask, or maybe just didn't care and/or blindly trusted the boat crew.

 

[uncfnp]

I dunno. I am all for helping each other. But honestly, I have had DMs trying to be helpful during equipment set-up, and they just end up making it more difficult for me. Maybe its just me and I'm not very bright, but I like to do things step by step, checking things as I go, in the ways that are most comfortable for me. To have a hand appear and all of a sudden start screwing my first stage reg into my tank (for example) throws me off. When I get alot of "help" from someone, the end result is usually that I forget something or something is twisted or not quite right.

However, I often ask for help with zipping up, and lifting a tank unto a table from the ground, and I do appreciate the assistance.

Linda

I use to be very much in the "I can do it myself Thank You very much" camp but I have found that as I get older, I am more willing to accept help with lifting and such. But I have a routine with setting up my gear and I too if I am distracted, even with well meaning assistance, will forget something. And I have also had the crew turn off my air.

 

[TSandM]

uncfnp, that's an interesting comment. I looked at Peter yesterday and said something to the effect that I've realized I have to give myself permission to be almost 60, and stop trying to do EVERYTHING for myself. It's sometimes quite difficult.

 

[raftingtigger]

... give myself permission to be almost 60, and stop trying to do EVERYTHING for myself. It's sometimes quite difficult.

When you figure out how, please clue me in to the process :blush:

 

[uncfnp]

TSandM, even just a few years ago I would have been "insulted" if someone, ie man, had tried to lift, carry, or otherwise do something for me. Multiple minor injuries and then a rotator cuff tear and surgery later, I have no trouble asking and accepting help. And I think after 50 some odd years, I have finally learned that it is not a sign of weakness or (probably more important to me) relinquishing control to ask for help. I now sometimes think that those "silly" girls that sought young men's help when I insisted on doing it all myself, were a lot smarter than me!

 

[Laurie S.]

I have no problem with a boat crew setting up my equipment, but I always carefully check everything and readjust where necessary.