First ocean dive a disaster!

[blondzilla]

Hi! This is my first post on the forum, and I'm an extreme newbie to scuba so this may be a stupid question, but here goes:

I was recently certified to scuba and took a trip to Jamaica where I had my first ocean dive. My husband who was certified last year (about 12 dives under his belt) let the 5 star PADI dive shop know that it was my first and asked for a nice easy dive. "No problem" they said. Our first of 2 dives was to be at 60-70 feet. When we got in the water, 2 people turned and took off towards the bottom. They were out of sight in a matter of seconds. This left me, my husband and the second dive master. He had us kicking down, down, down until I was thinking "what the heck?" We finally see the bottom and by this time I'm having trouble breathing. We're at 130 feet and I am scared as anything, trying not to panic. Needless to say I use up my air quickly and signal low on air and I want to go up. They ignore me for a few minutes before letting us ascend. I never ever wanted to dive again.

I ended up going down on another dive to 40 feet with no problems.

Am I out of line for being upset about this? I'm of the opinion that I had no business being that deep, and am really mad that they lied about the depth when they knew it was my first. I feel like someone is going to be seriously hurt by this operation.

Am I overreacting? Or should I report the dive shop to PADI?

 

[cal2632]

I don't think you're overreacting. They should never have taken someone that deep on their first post-cert dive. Did you confront the dive master when you surfaced?

 

[TheRedHead]

Well, yes and no. PADI recommends that new divers dive no deeper than 60 feet. As certified divers, you and your buddy are responsible for yourselves and could have opted to call the dive or dive a shallower profile.

Was this by chance a wall type dive where several profiles are possible - 130 ft. being the deepest? If not, your DM erred in expecting you to do a multi-level dive (which I'm sure is the case) to 130 ft as your first dive post-cert when he had that information.

Did you discuss this with the dive shop/resort management?

Glad to hear that you did another dive to a more reasonable depth. Keep diving and continue your education so that you can be prepared for these types of situations.

 

[The Kraken]

No, you are not "out of line" about being upset about this episode.

You have every right to feel as you do.

However, and I do not mean this as an afront to you, YOU AND YOU ALONE are solely responsible for your safety when diving.

Instructors and D/M's are not hall monitors. They can't send you to the principal's office if you don't do as your told.

Always remember . . . it's YOUR dive.

the K

 

[mnj1233]

Hi! This is my first post on the forum, and I'm an extreme newbie to scuba so this may be a stupid question, but here goes:

I was recently certified to scuba and took a trip to Jamaica where I had my first ocean dive. My husband who was certified last year (about 12 dives under his belt) let the 5 star PADI dive shop know that it was my first and asked for a nice easy dive. "No problem" they said. Our first of 2 dives was to be at 60-70 feet. When we got in the water, 2 people turned and took off towards the bottom. They were out of sight in a matter of seconds. This left me, my husband and the second dive master. He had us kicking down, down, down until I was thinking "what the heck?" We finally see the bottom and by this time I'm having trouble breathing. We're at 130 feet and I am scared as anything, trying not to panic. Needless to say I use up my air quickly and signal low on air and I want to go up. They ignore me for a few minutes before letting us ascend. I never ever wanted to dive again.

I ended up going down on another dive to 40 feet with no problems.

Am I out of line for being upset about this? I'm of the opinion that I had no business being that deep, and am really mad that they lied about the depth when they knew it was my first. I feel like someone is going to be seriously hurt by this operation.

Am I overreacting? Or should I report the dive shop to PADI?

No your not over-reacting but you did AVOID a disaster by doing what you were supposed to do and that is thumb the dive. Traveling abroad you will run into many DM's that simply respond "No Prolem". Way to go getting back on the horse, dont let this sour you to a wonderful recreation. By the way were you outta air or was it the depth that spooked you???

 

[proyce]

Blondzilla may not have been OOA, but I bet she was low. My fourth dive after my OW cert I went to 95 fsw diving the Yukon off Mission Bay in San Diego. I wasn't scared or anything, but boy did my air go fast. Was only that deep for a couple of minutes, but most of the rest of the dive was approx. 75-80 fsw. New divers often use air quickly. So she pays for a dive and only gets 20 minutes of bottom time - not much fun. Better to look at all the pretty coral and fishes at 40 fsw and be down for an hour.

Blondzilla - stick with it. Diving is great! As you do more dives and get more comfortable you will have tons of fun. And no, I don't think they should have taken you that deep, especially when it is your first ocean dive just after OW cert - and you told them you didn't want to go deep. The K is right that it is your dive, but I know that being new you just follow along and then realize "Hey, I'm out of my depth!"

 

[blondzilla]

Yes, we let the dive master know that was too much for us. He didn't seem to have an explanation for why he took us so much deeper than planned.

 

[blondzilla]

I do realize that I am responsible for my dives, but as a first time diver, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I felt I was safer staying with the dive master.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Blondzilla, you did good. You didn't panic, completed the dive, watched your air, and then went up when you should have. What's more, you let the DM know that you weren't comfortable with what he did, and you went for the next dive. Congratulations!! You kicked azz on your first OW dives! Way to go! And yeah, you were right to feel agitated with the DM. My personal feeling is that he should have taken you no deeper than 60-80'.

Anyway, it only gets better from here. You went deeper than a lot of us usually dive, and nothing will probably scare you as much as that first dive, so use the experience to build your confidence.

Again: Way to go!

-Frank

 

[miskatonic]

No you are not out of line. 100 feet is the maximum depth for recreational diving. It sounds like the dive was not planned correctly or your group didn’t dive the plan. I know this sounds like simple advice but you are certified. Follow your training.

I know you felt safer with the dive master but 130 feet is way too deep for a fresh OW diver.

It sounds like you did good though. You knew when to assend.