Do you plan your rec (not tech) dives?

[Storker]

In another thread, it's claimed that one of the fundamental differences between a rec diver and a tec diver is the planning of the dive.:

one of the biggest differences between the usual recreational diver and the technical diver is the mindset. Recreational diving is often done in a reactive mode -- you go down and swim around until your deco limits are hit or your gas gets low, and then you come up. Technical diving is PLANNED -- you know where you are going to go and how long you are going to stay there, and how much deco you are going to incur, and how much gas you need to do it. You know what equipment you are going to need, and you know it all has to work . . . thus the care with predive checks that was mentioned in another post above.

This surprised me, because as a fairly inexperienced rec diver I always plan my dives. When diving from a boat or on a club outing, I've always been required to tell the dive leader my maximum depth and maximum bottom time. I've never been allowed to jump in the water without telling someone who's staying at the surface how long we're planing to stay down and how deep we're going.

Also, after a few dives with a very experienced mentor, I got into the habit of also planning my dive profile. Most of my dives have been close to the shore - either shore entry or boat entry from a boat moored to a cliff - and my default profile is:
1: Descend leisurely to my planned depth (usually a couple of meters shallower than my planned maximum depth)
2: Fin for a while in my predetermined direction at more or less constant depth while looking at the sights
3: Turn around
4: Ascend somewhat and fin about the same time back again.
5: Safety stop and ascend to the surface
It makes for a sound depth profile and makes my navigation easy, so I feel safer this way.

Since I've also been playing with some computer simulation software to calculate my air consumption at different depths and keeping a piece of paper with some rough numbers on said air consumption in my logbook, I'm also checking that my plan is somewhat consistent with surfacing with at least 40 bar left in my 15L tank (50 bar if I'm carrying a 10L tank). Naturally, I monitor my computer during the dive, and if my plan turns out to be less conservative than my computer (never happened so far, since I use my table for my planning), I defer to the computer's instructions.

Because I'm in the habit of always planning my dives, I was a bit surprised at the blanket statement that rec divers don't plan their dives. So, the obvious thing was to make a poll:

Do you plan your rec dives? And if so, what tool(s) are you using for the planning? Computer? Table? A multilevel planning tool like PADI's eRDPML?

 

[KeithG]

Your results will likely reflect the scubaboard reality as opposed to the "rec diver" reality.

We fully plan our dives and follow the plan. In my experience as a vacation diver, we are not the norm.

The majority of divers I encounter ALWAYS follow the DM in a group and let the DM plan & execute their dive. Every dive will see a few come back to the boat with less than the recommended 500 psi in their tank. Seeing an out of air surface swimmer is not uncommon. And this is in Bonaire, not Jamaica!

There is still a significant number of vacation divers that do not use computers, or tables for that matter. They do trust me dives. They jump in the water and swim around until the DM brings them back to the boat.

On our live aboard trips everyone now has a computer (mandated by the live aboards) but we also regularly see the DMs trying to teach divers how to read them, often mid week! It seems Every other trip some one gets their computer locked out.

 

[AfterDark]

I plan my max depth, time, compass headings and gas comsumption, also diving ID's I plan and record on a slate at what psi I'll be doing reg changes.

 

[James R]

I generally know the depth and approximate time I can dive for a given site, so I don't exactly plan a depth/time to follow. I do have a rough idea of the profile and monitor my computer often enough to make a safe ascent & safety stop (avoiding unplanned deco) should it fail using my bottom timer.

 

[jewelofnile69]

My husband and I (and whoever is with us if it isn't just the two of us) do a lot of shore diving. So we discuss heading, how far out we're going before turning around (first person to hit a certain PSI), and approximate max depth. We generally do the same thing even if from a boat.

 

[chrpai]

I determine what level of planning is needed for a particular dive and include that much information in my plan.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How much planning I do depends on the dive, and who I'm diving with. But I think I understand the context of what TSandM was saying.

How much planning does the typical diver on a resort boat in the tropics do? Mostly they just listen to the DM give a dive briefing and then jump in the water. They swim around till they get low on air or NDL, then they abort the dive. That's what she means by "reactive" mode. There is little to no thought put into how much air the dive will require, based on depth and time, and often none put into whether or not the conditions and topography are appropriate for their skill and experience level. They rely on someone else to make those decisions ... that's what they believe they are paying for when they sign up for the boat ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[rhwestfall]

Ditto "James R". Most of my diving is square profile as its down the line to the wreck, swim it, and return. turnn pressure is also documented. Local shore dives are air limited (shallow), and can only be done as drifts (ride the mighty Niagara), so its a very simple plan.

If I was somewhere else, more could kick in (direction, max depth/time, etc.) as others have said.

I dive with the table numbers on my slate, a depth gauge on my arm, and a timer running, but also have a computer that I monitor against the plan...

 

[tkdgodess]

Max depth,turn pressure and surface pressure. Not time - stay out of ndl.

 

[drbill]

As a marine biologist and underwater videographer, the only thing I generally plan is the direction I will initially take on a dive. The rest is governed by what critters happen to wander in front of my camera. It's Mother Nature's trip.