Solo diving after AOW ?

[Big-t-2538]

Karl_in_Calif once bubbled...


First lets re-phrase the question:

What exactly do you learn in a Divemaster Course that enables you to solo dive LESS DANGEROUSLY?

Well, in mine...I didn't learn anything about solo diving.

In a word, the answer is WATERMANSHIP. The perfection of your diving skills.

An OW1 or an AOW might have learned the skills, but they have not perfected them yet. In a D/M course, and instructor will work with you to make sure your skills are perfect.

You can only get this instruction in a DM course??? Who the hell are you doing your training with and why haven't you worked on basic skills before becoming a SCUBA diver at any level?

Removing and replacing your gear underwater, in the event you become entangled, since you do not have a buddy to help you.

If you are entangled I am not envisioning being able to doff the scuba unit.....now a knife being used I can see....

Long distance surface swimming with and without scuba gear, which is part of the D/M exam. Most agencies require D/Ms to be able to swim up to a half mile within a given time period like 20 to 30 minutes.

I would like to know what agency requires a distance swim of 1/2 mile for DMs...

 

[The Chairman]

This thread has been split for various reasons...

1) It has degenerated into name calling.

2) It has veered completely off the original topic.

3) There is obvious (and admitted) trolling/baiting.

This is NOT what this forum is all about. It is for the mutual exchange of information, not barbs. It is for further understanding, not for beating your agenda into our heads.

IF,
you have something to say to this gentleman about solo diving, then post it here.
IF,
you can refrain from trolling or baiting in that post, then please continue.
IF,
you can refrain from insulting others, then please finish it.

You don't have to like each other or agree with each other, but please take these word wars into PMs where the rest of us don't have to witness them.

One last thing... if you want to discuss who is at fault here, DON'T DO IT HERE! Go to site support and start another thread on the ins and outs of posting on a private board. All other replies that do not conform will just be deleted. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...

I would like to know what agency requires a distance swim of 1/2 mile for DMs...

PADI, NAUI, SSI, YMCA, CMAS, PDIC, MDEA I probably left a few out. At least your were supposed to do it. 800 M = approx 1/2 mile .. actually just over 1/2 mile.

800 yds. = just under a 1/2 mile.

You did do this for you DM didn't you? Either an 800 yarder or a 800 meter swim?

 

[Big-t-2538]

we had an 800 yd snorkel and a 450 (maybe it was 400) yd swim...

Swimming is totally different than snorkelling...

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

OK now. You should know me well enough by now to realize I know a little something. And that I know snorkeling is different from swimming.

You should do an 800 yd. swim to for PADI unless they changed that and I missed it. I embarrassingly did it in 16 minutes. I hadn't been in competition for a few years when I did the swim... I should have done it in like 10 or less. I know NAUI and the others REQUIRE IT hands down.

Just ask how well JBD did on his 800 yd. swim for his AI. Or did he even do it? I foget! LMAO... He may of had one of those instructors that had a mental lapse one day and didn't require him to do it before mailing off for the AI card. Or maybe JBD told his instructor he would do it for him but really never did it. I don't know...... I don't care It's all a done deal now

 

[The Chairman]

of 440 yds which you must complete in less than 12 minutes. They also have a timed 880 yds Skin Diver Swim which must be completed in less than 18 minutes. Swimming a mile is easy for me... but cracking the time for the 1/4 mile was a toughie.

 

[SA-Diver]

Don't know about the other agencies.

 

[Big-t-2538]

Frankly....I thought the snorkelling requirement was much harder than the swimming one.....but being a former distance swimming drug addict, that should be taken into consideration.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

BartBe, I'm going to ignore the other posts, and give you some advise. I've been solo diving for many years, but I advise against you doing it on this trip, for two reasons:

--First, you are asking the question. I have learned the hard way that if you are asking the question, your mind is actually telling you not to do something. The fact that you ask the question is the trigger for not doing it. Many years ago, my dive buddy and I looked over a dive site on the Oregon coast (rocky) in December for almost a half hour, before deciding (rationalizing) that it was divable. During the dive, the waves went from 4-6 feet to 18-20 feet, and had our girl friends not called the Coast Guard, we would not have made it ashore, at least until the next day (we were preparing for a whole night on the ocean when we were found and picked up). The Coast Guard was very happy, as we were their first live pickups in quite a long time. We were happy too, and I made a mental rule not to dive if I have a question about the dive.

--Second, what's your primary reason for the trip? Your girl friend (fiancee, wife??) will be there, with you. Do everything with her. Don't leave her out, watching you from afar. Take her to the water, enjoy it's warmth, colorful fish, with her. Move around, see new things, with her. Make this a special trip for her, and keep her comfortable. I took my family to Hawaii in 1986, snorkeling on several beaches. My wife had been practicing swimming, but not snorkeling. We went out a ways, and played around in 20 feet or so of water. The boys and I had great fun; my wife felt abandoned. We have not been back to Hawaii since, though we're still married. I still hear from her about it too; make this a special trip for you and your girl friend.

SeaRat

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

John C. Ratliff once bubbled...
--Second, what's your primary reason for the trip? Your girl friend (fiancee, wife??) will be there, with you. Do everything with her. Don't leave her out, watching you from afar. Take her to the water, enjoy it's warmth, colorful fish, with her. Move around, see new things, with her. Make this a special trip for her, and keep her comfortable. I took my family to Hawaii in 1986, snorkeling on several beaches. My wife had been practicing swimming, but not snorkeling. We went out a ways, and played around in 20 feet or so of water. The boys and I had great fun; my wife felt abandoned. We have not been back to Hawaii since, though we're still married. I still hear from her about it too; make this a special trip for you and your girl friend.

SeaRat

Agreed. Take her snorkeling, or freediving. She does not need to be scuba certified to do that.