Lake divers checkout dive?

[tr3a]

Been my experience that divers trained in lakes which are often cold, dark, crap vis. usually have an easier time transitioning to an ocean environment, especially a warm one than the other way around. Yes the challenges may be different, but most problems are a mind game, if you can control your mind and deal with issues in 41 degree water with 6" vis (and dark) you are over the hump.

 

[WartedEmperor]

Been my experience that divers trained in lakes which are often cold, dark, crap vis. usually have an easier time transitioning to an ocean environment, especially a warm one than the other way around. Yes the challenges may be different, but most problems are a mind game, if you can control your mind and deal with issues in 41 degree water with 6" vis (and dark) you are over the hump.

I completely agree with this statement.

Take a look at this video, if you don't think some of thes ocean currents don't get strong. About 3/4 way through, you will see a diver grab onto a rock, that breaks off in the current: YouTube - ‪Galapagos Diving‬‏ It was an E ticket ride!

I looked at that video about the current. I like how those divers damaged so much coral and grabbed everything in their reach. Great Divers

 

[tstormdiver]

I looked at that video about the current. I like how those divers damaged so much coral and grabbed everything in their reach. Great Divers

Don't be so quick to judge,..... It was not coral. It is barnacle covered volcanic rock. There is very little coral in the Galapagos. The water is too cold. That is how you get around in those currents in that region. In fact, most of the divers there are excellent divers.

 

[Guba]

I've only gone "one way" down this path...from being certified in lakes/quarries to ocean diving...so I can't provide any input of doing the opposite. What I can attest to is having no problem with making the transition at all. The current didn't provide any more stress than dealing with 3ft vis and 60 degree water.

As for an additional requirement that someone making the transition (either way) have an instructor check them out, I'd say it's a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. I've heard of very few divers who report having extreme difficulty, and the ones who did would have had trouble even AFTER the type of "course" described. A diver should be self-aware enough to realize whether he/she needs additional training or experience in a given environment. If one is unsure, they should seek out someone (paid DM, mentor, dive club, etc...) who can provide them with the insight they require. Remember, anyone can thumb a dive at any time, so if one is unsure of the conditions, stay out of the water.

Diving with a person experienced in the conditions and getting some mentoring is a good idea. Requiring a course and some sort of additional certification is not.

 

[scubadobadoo]

hey folks something that occurred to me. From what I can see on here a lot of folks are doing their "open water" dive training in calm lakes with very little if any current,wave action tides etc. Would it therefore make sense that if they are trained in such calm conditions that they should have a "checkout/sighnoff" dive with an instructor when perhaps doing a boat dive in the ocean or a shore dive in a bit of a sea. -Not a full on "course " as such just a single dive. Happy to stand corrected here.

It would be prudent for these divers to hire a DM to come along or maybe even sign up for an AOW class or even a Buoyancy class in the new environment. It helps ease fears and smooths the transition.

 

[shmuggy]

I would recommend you book dives where there is aready going to be DM in the water with you and that you stay in relative close proximity to the DM. Most of the DMs that I have observed enjoy showing people the interesting life down below. There is still a lot to learn after certifying in a quarry or lake or really any environment and you can also learn how to spot undersea life without bothering or damaging it and observe the DMs buoyancy skills etc. After you have dived in low vis, current, or otherwise unfavorable conditions, and done well, then going out with just your buddy if that is what you want. Also, when the boat briefing is being done- pay attention- that way you will learn what they recommend if there are high seas on the surface or any other situation unique to the area you are diving in.

 

[gcarter]

I qualified in Boracay, nice warm water, little exposure protection required, and came home to Canada. What a transition. 7+7 john & shorty + hood + gloves + a lot more weight. Have gone down to 54F, hoping to go to Tobomory in August, hear it is even colder. The hardest part of the transition for me is the claustaphobia inducing amount of *stuff* you have to wear in the cold water. Most of my time in the cold water so far has been in "safe" (quarry - no current, no boats) controlled environments to practice skills and get more comfortable. Having had such an easy time in the water in Boracay I think makes it harder to adjust now. It would definitely have been easier to go the other way.

 

[SoccerJeni]

The only experience I can draw from is my own. I did my OW checkout dives in Nassau, Bahamas four years ago and I felt pretty comfortable. I had no desire to do any local diving until the last year, then I went crazy. I had a lot of trouble transitioning in my first Lake dive. I was wearing a lot more neoprene that I was used to (went from 3mil to a 5mil farmer john) which meant I had a lot more weight on. The low vis caused me to tense up and caused me to have trouble getting down causing me to put on even more weight. So, of course I had to add a lot more air in my BCD than I was used to as well. I would say I was pretty much horrible on my first lake dive.

I will say, I have yet to deal with currents, and I'm sure they add their own challenges.

 

[Jaydubya]

I think divers are best served by learning scuba someplace easy- which could be a quarry, a lake, or an easy ocean location depending on where you train, and then move on to progressively more difficult environments as they gain experience.

As for quarry versus ocean, there are some easy ocean dives out there. Quarries are probably more challenging in general than those environments, for the reasons many have stated. A quarry dive is a walk in the park compared to much of the ocean diving I have done but of course no instructor in their right mind would ever take new divers there for checkout dives (if they could find a captain willing to take them).

 

[tstormdiver]

I think divers are best served by learning scuba someplace easy- which could be a quarry, a lake, or an easy ocean location depending on where you train, and then move on to progressively more difficult environments as they gain experience.

As for quarry versus ocean, there are some easy ocean dives out there. Quarries are probably more challenging in general than those environments, for the reasons many have stated. A quarry dive is a walk in the park compared to much of the ocean diving I have done but of course no instructor in their right mind would ever take new divers there for checkout dives (if they could find a captain willing to take them).

If you truly think quarries are easy, I'd be glad to take you down to 60+ ft (42 degree water) in 1- 2 ft vis. (on a good day). Sure, there is no currents, but the cold water & low vis can make for a pretty hostile environment. I personally will not dive deep in a quarry without redundant air supply. I've experienced a free flow at depth & have had a buddy had the same happen.