plan your dive, or not?
- Thread starter Crush
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Mike Boswell
Contributor
Whenever I have gotten myself into trouble, it has been due to the fact that I did something I should not have done and knew before I did it that I shouldn't do it, or, I didn't do something I should have done and knew I should have done before I didn't do it.
I go back to "what is a dive plan" issue. The OP appears to believe that with computers, especially AI computers?, no "dive plan" is necessary -- I suppose because it will all be on on the fly. No.
There are some things you really should know when you start a dive:
a. What will be the max depth? Even if the bottom is unknown, you should have SOME idea of "Below that I will not go."
b. What will be the max time? Although perhaps a more fluid concept, one should have an idea of how long they want to be in the water -- 45 minutes, 90 minutes -- but at least some vague boundary. (Why one should ask? There is always the issue of total gas supply but in addition, "thermal units" (even in warm water) and just plain old scheduling.)
c. You should have some vague notion of where you are going -- even IF that notion is just to go down and look around here and there. Why? So that you and your buddy have some vague notion of having the same plan!
Even on a cave dive I'm quite willing to say -- "Let's go up this line and if we find a jump that looks interesting, let's take it" as part of my plan. A plan does not mean there is no spontaneity -- it just means that at least the basic parameters have been acknowledged by all team members.
There are some things you really should know when you start a dive:
a. What will be the max depth? Even if the bottom is unknown, you should have SOME idea of "Below that I will not go."
b. What will be the max time? Although perhaps a more fluid concept, one should have an idea of how long they want to be in the water -- 45 minutes, 90 minutes -- but at least some vague boundary. (Why one should ask? There is always the issue of total gas supply but in addition, "thermal units" (even in warm water) and just plain old scheduling.)
c. You should have some vague notion of where you are going -- even IF that notion is just to go down and look around here and there. Why? So that you and your buddy have some vague notion of having the same plan!
Even on a cave dive I'm quite willing to say -- "Let's go up this line and if we find a jump that looks interesting, let's take it" as part of my plan. A plan does not mean there is no spontaneity -- it just means that at least the basic parameters have been acknowledged by all team members.
OP
Crush
Contributor
That would be an incorrect assumption. However, I agree with the statement that it all depends upon what you consider to be part of a dive plan. For example, I discuss max depth and max time is usually a function of turn pressure or cold. Sometimes I only have the vaguest idea of where I am going, the only certainty being "down" followed by "up."
Perhaps much of what constitutes a dive plan is stuff that I naturally chat about with an insta-buddy, or info that my regular buddy and I know and take for granted.
Yes. Baring unforeseen complications, I try to always dive my dive plan. I've found that if it was important enough to put into the plan, it's important enough for me to follow.
No I don't. Computers don't address current, temperature, wave action, communication, gas consumption, or emergencies. A proper dive plan should be inclusive. Including planning for the worst or unexpected. We can't see into the future, but a good plan mitigates risk.
I'm an ex-Navy, ex-Commercial Saturation Diver, Supervisor and Diving Superintendent, currently a Diving Consultant to Big Oil. I teach SCUBA for fun and seriously plan most personal dives in detail. I enjoy deep wreck diving and exploration diving activities.
Obviously there are some dives (no overhead, non-decompression) in some locations (no current, tidal flow, waves, great visibility) where I don't have to plan as much. At other times the plan requires much more attention.
OP
Crush
Contributor
I agree with your sentiments. Again, I think that I may have a different (any likely incorrect) idea of what a "dive plan" is. By way of clarification, for me, "dive plan" is synonymous with dive tables or dive simulations where you plan depths and times - this is not to say that this is the correct definition of dive plan, it is just what I had stuck in my head when I typed out the OP. If you believe "dive plan" includes entry and egress, communication underwater, and pre-dive checks, current, etc., then I will have to modify my poll response to "Non-tech diver: I usually plan my dive, but I am happy to deviate." In retrospect I can see how the confusion has arisen, but I also think that the option "I always plan to dive, and dive my computer" should have given insight into the intent of the question, unless there is a dive computer out there that also helps with current calculation.
- Messages
- 93,495
- Reaction score
- 91,880
- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
There's always a plan ... how much effort goes into it depends on the dive.
If it's an easy dive, or a dive I've done dozens of times before, the plan may be as simple as "go that way till I see something interesting, stay till I get cold, come up."
If it's at a current-sensitive site, I'll plan my dive around slack ... or around using the prevailing current to my advantage... and choose my depth and time accordingly.
If it's any kind of overhead dive, I'll put a lot of effort into planning the type and amount of gas I'm bringing, what the terrain will allow me to do, and put together a depth and time profile accordingly.
Diving an anchored boat means paying more attention to where you're going than diving a live boat. So the plan may involve more navigational concerns, or a decision based on what the current's doing.
The "dive your plan" part usually just boils down to paying attention ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
If it's an easy dive, or a dive I've done dozens of times before, the plan may be as simple as "go that way till I see something interesting, stay till I get cold, come up."
If it's at a current-sensitive site, I'll plan my dive around slack ... or around using the prevailing current to my advantage... and choose my depth and time accordingly.
If it's any kind of overhead dive, I'll put a lot of effort into planning the type and amount of gas I'm bringing, what the terrain will allow me to do, and put together a depth and time profile accordingly.
Diving an anchored boat means paying more attention to where you're going than diving a live boat. So the plan may involve more navigational concerns, or a decision based on what the current's doing.
The "dive your plan" part usually just boils down to paying attention ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
kanonfodr
Contributor
Granted, I live in Oahu, the world's largest open aquarium, but I generally plan for the maximums I will not go past: max air used (Rock Bottom), Max Depth, Max Exposure (cold), and finally the MDL tables. It allows a lot of flexibility since I have lately been diving sites that aren't dived much (good and bad results) or boat dives with insta-buddies.
For example, a dive a few weekends ago, I planned for a max bottom of 60 feet, giving me a max bottomtime of 50 minutes to the table, with rock bottom of 700 PSI, with allowances for cold (I'm a weenie, I know). We ended up finding one hole that was 20 feet deep and I was down for about 45 minutes before I was too cold and bored to continue having fun, so the dive was over and ascent was made. Next time I dive that site I can cut down on the conservatism and maybe bulk up on the thermal protection so I can have more fun with a more applicable plan.
For a boat dive, I try to get as much info as possible on the dive site and construct a quick plan. It's a bit easier for something like a wreck dive where you will be fairly close to the upline and your depth will be fairly constant or at least there won't be much difference.
However, on a reef dive where we will be following the contour of the bottom depth averaging is the key, but you should still understand the max depth, average depth if doing a multilevel dive, and then be able to construct a basic plan that allows for some flexibility by having some built-in conservatism until you are more knowledgeable about the site.
Peace,
Greg
For example, a dive a few weekends ago, I planned for a max bottom of 60 feet, giving me a max bottomtime of 50 minutes to the table, with rock bottom of 700 PSI, with allowances for cold (I'm a weenie, I know). We ended up finding one hole that was 20 feet deep and I was down for about 45 minutes before I was too cold and bored to continue having fun, so the dive was over and ascent was made. Next time I dive that site I can cut down on the conservatism and maybe bulk up on the thermal protection so I can have more fun with a more applicable plan.
For a boat dive, I try to get as much info as possible on the dive site and construct a quick plan. It's a bit easier for something like a wreck dive where you will be fairly close to the upline and your depth will be fairly constant or at least there won't be much difference.
However, on a reef dive where we will be following the contour of the bottom depth averaging is the key, but you should still understand the max depth, average depth if doing a multilevel dive, and then be able to construct a basic plan that allows for some flexibility by having some built-in conservatism until you are more knowledgeable about the site.
Peace,
Greg
Similar threads
