Dive boat dive guide VS my computer?

[kalvyn]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
The other thing that worries me here is that I teach divers as new as you folks are not to go that deep in the first place. This is why I don't go to any of these resorts. I could never enjoy myself being around that kind of slop.

Ironically, I asked my dive instructor about this very thing before I left for Hawaii. I remembered that my wife dove the wreck of the Rhone on our honeymoon in the BVI, getting down to 88 fsw (she was only on her 8th or 9th OW dive by then). He said that we're certified to dive "in conditions similar to those in which we trained", and perhaps DMs in warm water/high vis places figure that 80+ fsw conditions there are similar to 60 fsw and 10' vis (or less) here in the Sound. I know that Ed Robinson's would not let my wife and I go on their "3 tank adventure" dive trip, as we were not experienced enough. They also did not recommend the Lanai "Cathedral" dive trip for us, as it tends to have a lot of surge. Anyway, my dive instructor did not have any concerns with my diving in the 80 - 90 fsw range in Hawaii, but certainly said to go up (or not go in at all) if I felt uncomfortable with the dive in any way, shape or form.

ladycute1 gurgled...
If this DM was working for me, I'd want to know about this so I could take corrective action.

I know, I would just hate to get a guy in trouble for something I may have taken far more seriously than it was intended to be. If he had implied I was stupid or something, now that would have been different, but there was none of that.

Jimmie

 

[raviepoo]

The Suunto is a conservative computer for the first few dives of a repetitive series. After a few dive the other, less conservative computers will catch up to it and there won't be much difference in bottom time.

That being said, it's not a good idea to push your dive to (or beyond!) the limits of your allowed bottom time. The dive tables (and the algorythms used by your computer) are theoretical. Staying within the time limits of the dive tables (or your computer) will not guarantee that you won't take a hit. There are many other factors involved in addition to bottomw time. I know a man who had a bad case of the bends after a dive that was well within the limits of his computer. This man has been diving for 25 years and is the owner of a dive shop. He knows what he is doing. But some unknown factor on one specific day of diving put him in the chamber for a week.

Since you have no way of knowing whether you have risk factors, either permanent or transient, that make you suseptible to the bends, it's a good idea to dive conservatively.

If I learned one thing in my OW course it's that I am responsible for my own safety. I dive conservatively for safety's sake. I dive with two computers so I don't have to switch to tables if one of them fails during a trip. (It has happened to me.) If my computer tells me I have a deco obligation, I complete the deco, even if I know it's not REALLY necessary. (Case in point, diving Nitrox but leaving the O2 % on the computer set to 21%.) As others have mentioned, if you skip deco that you computer wants you to do the computer will lock you out, and render itself useless.

You did the right thing.

kalvyn once bubbled...

The DM that was talking about my Suunto being conservative did not imply to ignore it altogether, don't get me wrong. He was just saying that I could "fudge" a little on the no deco time counter, and this is what I didn't (and still don't) agree with.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

kalvyn once bubbled...
I know, I would just hate to get a guy in trouble for something I may have taken far more seriously than it was intended to be. If he had implied I was stupid or something, now that would have been different, but there was none of that.

Jimmie

If I were the dive shop manager, I would be very interested in knowing that one of my DM's was doing a bounce to beyond recreational diving limits on a guided dive. That is not acceptable behavior. The DM knows better, and deserves an earfull for this one.

 

[Genesis]

No excuse for that behavior.

 

[kalvyn]

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...


If I were the dive shop manager, I would be very interested in knowing that one of my DM's was doing a bounce to beyond recreational diving limits on a guided dive. That is not acceptable behavior. The DM knows better, and deserves an earfull for this one.

Just to be clear, he did no such thing on our guided dives. He had dove deep before, but on his own time (I assume).

The thing I wanted to ask him about wasn't being narced, but about the very real possibility of dying from the convulsions resulting from oxygen toxicity. Since I had just completed my certification classwork, I remembered that oxygen toxicity can quickly set in at about 220 fsw, when diving straight air. Going deeper than that without technical diving gear seemed (and still does) like sheer lunacy to me. I chickened out, though.

Jimmie

 

[djhall]

kalvyn once bubbled...
the whole reason I was asking my question was so I would feel more confident in my decision to dive what others might consider conservatively.

Be confident in that decision, and don't let anyone talk you out of it. What right does anyone (DM, instructor, certifying agency, or whatever) have to tell you that you are diving too conservatively? You have the right to decide how much risk you choose to take. Hypothetically speaking, if that means that you refuse to dive below 30 feet or for more than 30 minutes for your own personal reasons, then they have no business saying you are wrong. They may disagree with your choice, but so what? I ride a motorcycle, even though my sister died as a result of a motorcycle accident. Should I question your choice NOT to ride a motorcycle? The NAUI table is more conservative than the PADI table. If I chose to dive PADI, should I question your choice to dive NAUI? Of course not. Dive as conservatively as you like.

 

[Red Foreman]

kalvyn You did the RIGHT thing!!!!

 

[Spazzy]

Its a good idea to dive conservatively. That means staying well clear of deco (i.e. 2 mins NDL = bad) and following the most conservative dive plan (i.e. your computer not you guides). I hope this helps.

 

[rhwestfall]

Someone did a little digging to bring this back from 3 years ago. Things a little slow?

 

[Kiwi303]

Jan 2003.... Thats more than 3 years... or is it really only 2006 now?

Relevant tho, I'd trust what is on MY wrist or console, tracking My obligation from My profile over what someone elses which is tracking Their profile and hence Their obligation.