Plan your dive and dive your plan

[emoreira]

This is one of the first rules that we are taught in the OWD course.
This means that we should know the profile we will follow underwater, what is going to be our gas consumption rate, and the time we will emerge back, considering the available gas in the tank. Our gas consumption rate will depend also on currents, effort, temperature, and so.
Any PDC has a Planning mode, that shows the time you can dive at a given depth considering what you have just done before.
You will be given the briefing before going to the water in each dive site, but this means that the site goes from x to y depth, currents, temperature and things you can find, but by no means you will have your exact profile.
Diving with a PDC allows diving more time than what you can calculate with Dive tables, as you can only suppose a square profile. The PDC Planning mode also supposes a square profile.
Ok, what´s the point. Where this phrase goes now. You know the depth of the site, how much gas you have in your tank, and what you are going to do underwater. Look frecuently your SPG and your PDC. Follow the 1/3 rule.
Is this considered a dive plan or I´m still missing something ?

 

[shmuggy]

No one uses dive tables anymore- you need to invest in a dive computer and you will be free of this hassle. Dive travel is so expensiveit is well worth the investment and if you do exceed your planned dive depth- you know what your limitations are.

 

[PfcAJ]

I use tables... But I don't think the 'rule of 1/3s' is appropriate for most OW dives.

 

[mainedvr]

I still use tables...but also use a computer.

Im someone

No one uses dive tables anymore- you need to invest in a dive computer and you will be free of this hassle. Dive travel is so expensiveit is well worth the investment and if you do exceed your planned dive depth- you know what your limitations are.

 

[BDSC]

I have found that for typical recreational diving, like I do a lot of in the Caribbean, the phrase "Plan your dive and dive your plan" has little meaning when you have a computer. Of course it depends on how folks define "plan your dive". Pretty much our plan is "be back on the boat in 60 minutes with at least 500 psi." Being that my computer is AI, I don't see the need for calculating anything before the dive. Just check your computer on a regular basis and for the most part you're good to go.

 

[t-mac]

It's not just about the dive profile you will do and the rule of thirds. It's also about setting objectives and some kind of overview of what you will do on the dive. This is less important on shallow reef dives where the objective may just be to look around, but on deeper or otherwise complicated dives it can be important. This sets expectations and it can help you detect when something goes wrong. Also, your objectives are circumscribed by your planned profile so if you stick to your objectives, you are more likely to dive your planned profile. Overall, dive planning for me it is about thinking your dive through and discussing it with your buddy, anticipating and managing proactively, rather than reactively. It's easier to agree on everything on the boat with your buddy than trying to figure it out as you go. It's also not only agreeing on what you want to do, but what you will do in different circumstances.

 

[supergaijin]

It depends a bit on your intended profile- if you're doing a profile per the tables ie. start your time, descend, reach NDL, stop time, make your way to the surface, safety stop and ascend, OR making a multi-level dive which requires a computer.

The planning function is there to help you in as many ways as you can think of, but it is definitely useful in planning a dive on say a wreck where the interesting part of the dive is at a given depth. The planning function will give you a close approximation on your NDL and if it's a repetitive dive your adjusted NDL. You can then choose to extend your surface interval to give yourselves a few more mins at depth.

Add to your plan the 'what if' factors and yeah that sounds to me like a plan. Diving can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it IMO.

 

[emoreira]

No one uses dive tables anymore- you need to invest in a dive computer and you will be free of this hassle. Dive travel is so expensiveit is well worth the investment and if you do exceed your planned dive depth- you know what your limitations are.

I do have my own PDC.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2012 at 12:24 PM ----------

Pretty much our plan is "be back on the boat in 60 minutes with at least 500 psi."

Yes, I´ve been in dive boats with that rule.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So it begs the question ... what does "Plan your dive" really mean?

At the highest level, it means put some thought into your dive before you hop in the water. So what should you be thinking about?

- Objective ... are you going sightseeing? hunting? picture taking? where? how deep? how long? how far? how are you getting in? how are you getting out?
- Equipment ... are you carrying enough air? will you be warm enough? is everything functional and does it fit sufficient for comfort? do you have all the gear you need to achieve your objectives? do you have, or need, any backups?
- Buddy ... do you know who you're diving with? have you talked about the dive? have you talked about what you'll do if the dive doesn't go according to plan? are you familiar with each other's signals? are you comfortable getting in the water with this person?

Dive planning can involve any or all of this stuff ... depending on the dive, it can involve much more. The salient point is that you think about it before getting in the water ... ask yourself as many "what if" questions as are appropriate for the dive you're planning, and put some thought into making sure that if something goes wrong, you're prepared to deal with it.

Diving when nothing goes wrong is extremely easy. You don't plan your dive based on the assumption that nothing will go wrong, however ... the whole point of a plan is to reduce the potential for that to happen, and to prepare yourself mentally and physically for dealing with it if something does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[emoreira]

So it begs the question ... what does "Plan your dive" really mean?

At the highest level, it means put some thought into your dive before you hop in the water. So what should you be thinking about?

- Objective ... are you going sightseeing? hunting? picture taking? where? how deep? how long? how far? how are you getting in? how are you getting out?
- Equipment ... are you carrying enough air? will you be warm enough? is everything functional and does it fit sufficient for comfort? do you have all the gear you need to achieve your objectives? do you have, or need, any backups?
- Buddy ... do you know who you're diving with? have you talked about the dive? have you talked about what you'll do if the dive doesn't go according to plan? are you familiar with each other's signals? are you comfortable getting in the water with this person?

Dive planning can involve any or all of this stuff ... depending on the dive, it can involve much more. The salient point is that you think about it before getting in the water ... ask yourself as many "what if" questions as are appropriate for the dive you're planning, and put some thought into making sure that if something goes wrong, you're prepared to deal with it.

Diving when nothing goes wrong is extremely easy. You don't plan your dive based on the assumption that nothing will go wrong, however ... the whole point of a plan is to reduce the potential for that to happen, and to prepare yourself mentally and physically for dealing with it if something does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Ok, with the answers up to now, I can rest, as I´m doing all what has been mentioned, I do definitivelly plan my dive and dive my plan. I thought that it should be more detailed or more precise regarding emerging time, when not needed a sharp emerging time as a rule for a dive boat that has to return to shore.