Deep Diver Certification

[JimC]

So when you go out and do these dives with a single other person (your buddy) what are you going to do? No DM's with doubles around to save your *** this time. But then, you weren't taught how to do it. Which makes me wonder what the course covered. Gas planning being one big factor in pulling off a deep dive safely.

From 130 feet, how much gas do you need to safely ascend - under stress - with a buddy on your alternate? I'll even let you skip your safety stop even if that is farm animal stupid from a 130 foot dive. This stuff isn't rocket science and may save your life some day. Call me a tech head if you want, but when your down there and the brown stuff comes flying in drowning is just as dead for a rec diver.

OK. I guess I will have to get into the nitty gritty for those tech heads. The intent of the thread was just to talk about the fun time we had.

Here was the setup. 3 students, one instructor, three DMs, two of which are also deep instructors. The instructor and one of the DMs had large ponies slung on, and one had doubles. Part of the dive plan during the weekend was to do alternate air source, not part of the standards, but good to practice, during the safety stop, especially since we knew that air in the AL-80s would be close on that dive. That's why we had bigger tanks for the other dives.

And just because you are of the opinion that 500psi is bull snot doesn't mean that it's worthless for straight recreational diving. Did we have enough air for emergencies? Absolutely, with no worries.

Clayjar, we went 97, 67, 125 and 92 feet, all in fresh water.

 

[TheHobster]

Congrats!!! Part of a class is not only learning what to do, but also what not to do - seems you have - remember at 100', your ASP ways are quadrupled!!!best to work on your SAC through physical conditioning, relaxation, visualization and plain old experience

Congrats and whats next on your agenda? Wreck? Rescue?

 

[victor]

Colby
I think what JimC was trying to get across is

Yes you have done a deep dive.
Now you need to learn how to plan, prepare, and execute, a deep dive safely with your buddy.
Given you current air consumption the amount of gas your buddy needs to have available for an emergency needs to be calculated and could be more than either of you expect.

Rather than rush ahead buying bigger tanks and doing more classes why not work on your air consumption.
Fitness, relaxation, experience. Hell just do loads of shallow dives for fun.
Here is a link with some good ideas.
http://74.52.40.164/showthread.php?t=149969title=

 

[JimC]

Rather than rush ahead buying bigger tanks and doing more classes why not work on your air consumption.
Fitness, relaxation, experience. Hell just do loads of shallow dives for fun.

There are dozens of nice shallow shore dives in the Ottawa area. Hundreds if your a bit more adventurous and get off the beaten path. You could spend a few years of heavy diving here, never seeing the same site twice and never breaking 60 feet of depth. Added bonus, most of it is shore diving and free.

In fact the best dive I know about has a max depth of 30 feet, but only if you look for it. I had two wonderful dives, max depth 11 feet, max depth 12 feet there this weekend.

 

[Jason Ooi]

Good luck

Jason,

Thanks for the positive message. I know a couple of IANTD instructors and I will probably go that way at some point in time. I'm still pretty new in all of this, but getting pretty comfortable. My plan is to finish up the rescue course, do a few more specialties just because I feel that diving with an instructor really helps to reinforce some skills that you forget when you learn so much.

I'm sure that doubles are in my future, but probably next year. Baby steps for me

 

[colby]

Colby
I think what JimC was trying to get across is

Yes you have done a deep dive.
Now you need to learn how to plan, prepare, and execute, a deep dive safely with your buddy.
Given you current air consumption the amount of gas your buddy needs to have available for an emergency needs to be calculated and could be more than either of you expect.

Rather than rush ahead buying bigger tanks and doing more classes why not work on your air consumption.
Fitness, relaxation, experience. Hell just do loads of shallow dives for fun.
Here is a link with some good ideas.
http://74.52.40.164/showthread.php?t=149969title=

Victor,

I understand what JimC is trying to say, and I don't disagree with it, just the manner in which he and a few others seem to try and get it across. My plan for the next while is to dive, and there will be very few times I go to the depths that I went this past weekend. I want to get some experience in, as you say, relaxing, getting comfortable under the water etc. The PADI Deep course touches on SAC and planning, but doesn't really go into detail, and it's not touched in the Knowledge Reviews, so I don't know what the standards are and if the instructor missed it. Based on the Knowledge reviews and check out dives, there really isn't that much covered by the course.

I've been working on my fitness, and I am now running a couple of miles every other day. My body fat% is down to 13%, but I am 6'3" and I just breathe deeply, and suck air. I'm not sure I will ever get it down, at least that's the way it feels now. I'm pretty comfortable in the water having been a lifeguard when I was young, and growing up on the West coast swimming and snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean pretty consistently. I have my bouyancy down pretty good with my HP-130s and I am comfortable with that configuration, thus the desire to get another one. In fact on the really deep dive with my HP-130, I had almost 1100 PSI left after 39 total minutes, including reaching 125 feet at one point. I think that is enough remaining for my buddy and I...

I plan to move forward in this. I am just finishing my Rescue Course, with just the open water dives to do. I'm also doing club dives every Wednesday, which are mostly shore and drift dives, nothing deep, and a few charters on the weekends. I'll also get into some more technical aspects. Right now I'm trying to learn the mechanical parts, bouyancy, breathing, finning, mask clearing, etc. If I can do that part safely with a big can attached to my back so I don't have to worry about SAC rate, then I am happy with that at this point. There will come a point when calculating exact breathing rate, times, etc becomes very important, however I don't see it at this point in time in my development.

 

[colby]

There are dozens of nice shallow shore dives in the Ottawa area. Hundreds if your a bit more adventurous and get off the beaten path. You could spend a few years of heavy diving here, never seeing the same site twice and never breaking 60 feet of depth. Added bonus, most of it is shore diving and free.

In fact the best dive I know about has a max depth of 30 feet, but only if you look for it. I had two wonderful dives, max depth 11 feet, max depth 12 feet there this weekend.

Jim,

I agree, and I will probably be sticking to those for the most part. The Deep Diver course was just being offered, and I thought it would be interesting after getting my AOW a few weeks ago. I'm still learning at this, and it really appeals to the geek in me, so as I finish learning the basics, I will definately be moving into the more technical side of rec diving, if there is such a thing. The two dives on Sunday I enjoyed the most, and it wasn't going down to 125 on the drift, I was happy with what I saw at 60 and 85 feet! And the Kinghorn was neat, but again it is less than 100 feet.

At this point in my development, with the HP-130, I run out of no deco time on deep dives before I run out of air, even with safe margins of air for both my buddy and myself. It was something I learned the first dive on Saturday on the AL-80. An AL-80 at this point in time in my dive progression is not big enough for me to do anything with. I would have made it up safely, but what about my buddy if he had been in trouble. Lesosn learned and I stayed away from the 80's for the rest of the weekend. Even the AL-100 was tight on Sunday afternoon. So rather than plan a 10 minute dive because I suck air out an AL-80 and ruin my buddy's dive, I go with the big tank. At some point I may go doubles, but my new BC won't take them, so it's a single tank for me, and the HP-130's are fitting the bill at this date and time.

 

[colby]

Congrats!!! Part of a class is not only learning what to do, but also what not to do - seems you have - remember at 100', your ASP ways are quadrupled!!!best to work on your SAC through physical conditioning, relaxation, visualization and plain old experience

Congrats and whats next on your agenda? Wreck? Rescue?

Thanks, and I'm oh so aware of the 4x at 99 feet! I was watching my air pretty steadily.

I'm currently waiting to do my open water dives of the Rescue Course. I've enjoyed that one a lot! I think I will give Peak Performance a shot, I did that one for the AOW course, but I wasn't thrilled with the full dive. The one thing I did come away with is my weighting. I think Wreck will be another.

 

[JimC]

In fact on the really deep dive with my HP-130, I had almost 1100 PSI left after 39 total minutes, including reaching 125 feet at one point. I think that is enough remaining for my buddy and I..

I would want to KNOW I had enough gas. I would also want to KNOW my buddy had enough gas. I question the value of taking someone down deep without covering the gas planning that will get them back. I'm happy that your thinking for your self, and see the problems - now its your call on how to act on that thinking.

A large tank is an option, and a more gas is defiantly something I would be taking with me because your right, a 10 minute dive on an AL80 is... lame. But there is more to the picture than just strapping a water heater to your back. Stuff you can't get at the shop your going to.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

..... I had two wonderful dives, max depth 11 feet, max depth 12 feet there this weekend.

It's not like those were OW dives however

Or were those two other dives I hadn't heard about?