What should I review?

[Dchristian]

My wife and I were certified in March of this year. Since our certification we have not been able to go diving again. We have a dive scheduled for next saturday, September 1. Between now and then what should we review or do to make sure our upcoming dive is as safe and enjoyable as possible? Thanks.

 

[TMHeimer]

It's been almost 6 months, so the advice many will give is try to fit in a "Scuba Review". If you can't in this short time perhaps go over the skills in a pool. Before that, I would advise re-reading the OW manual, particularly the skills parts. If you don't feel comfortable best thing is to postpone the dive until you can get a review.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Whether or not you can fit in a Scuba Refresher Course, you should re-read the Open Water book. It's pretty easy reading. Concentrate on all of the safety aspects the most.

I'd still recommend the refresher course, considering you both have six or fewer dives led by a certified instructor. The course is pretty short.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

BEST advise has already been given,take a refresher course.I just started diving again after a LONG surface interval & the first thing I did was take a refresher course.Cost me $100.00 for a private,1 on 1 with an instructor,3 hours classroom & 2 hours in the pool,money well spent!If you can't do that & since it's only been a few months since your cert.use the most important tool at your disposal,your BRAIN.Sit down with your wife & discuss EVERYTHING you can remember about the class work & more importantly,the actual dives you completed.Talk about gearing up procedure,any problems or apprehensions you or she might have had before & during the dives.Go over & be sure of hand signals,buddy breathing,EVERYTHING!Practice pre-dive procedures(several times) even if you don't have any gear to actually put on.Are you going to rent gear,if you are you NEED to familiarize yourself with it BEFORE the actual dive trip.Will either of you be changing anything(gear wise)from what you used in your previous dives that might affect weighting?Do you remember how to perform a weighting/buoyancy check?
Just as importantly,get a good nights sleep the night before the dive,FOCUS & DON'T be afraid to abort your dives if either of you is unsure of conditions or skill level.Best of luck & have a great trip!

 

[jm]

My wife and I were certified in March of this year. Since our certification we have not been able to go diving again. We have a dive scheduled for next saturday, September 1. Between now and then what should we review or do to make sure our upcoming dive is as safe and enjoyable as possible? Thanks.

Tell the divemaster or instructor about your lack of recent experience if you are going on a guided dive. There is no guarantee that they will take it into account but you will have given them valuable information as to what you are (or are not) capable of doing. Also, make sure the dive is similar to conditions that you were trained in. If you learned in the Caribbean in a bathing suit and are doing a dive in Washington state in a thick wetsuit you will find it vastly different.

If you can get the rental gear early hop in a pool and play around a bit. You will be more comfortable and see what comes back to you from training. It will also allow you to determine if you will feel comfortable doing the open water dive.

 

[String]

Reg skills, mask skills, air sharing and buoyancy. Can take anything from 5 mins to an hour depending.

 

[alan_lee]

Yup, I agree with String. I find mask skills critical because new divers tend to get very uncomfortable when water get into their mask. In fact, when I'm teaching, I would make the student repeat mask skills until I can see that they're comfortable clearing and removing/replacing. Water over the face is a common cause of panic for divers, and I'll also make sure that the student is comfortable enough to do a no-mask swim as well, to be absolutely sure. If the student is proficient and moves along quickly, I like to get them to practice their buoyancy. Buoyancy control and anxiety is related.

 

[Dchristian]

Thanks for the responses and the suggestions. My wife and i both reviewed the open water manual prior to our dive. The dive was this past Saturday and went very well. We had two problems; i lost a weight pocket from my BC, and we couldn't remember exactly what depth to do a safety stop. I said 15 feet. She said 30. So we stopped at 30.

 

[Agility]

If not sure you should have stopped at 30 and 15 feet :blinking:
The important part is to go to the surface slowly from your safety stop (which should be held at 3m, easily remembered if you know the hand sign for safety stop which is three fingers touching the palm of the other hand from beneath)

 

[DukeAMO]

Hm, 3 meters is not 15 feet. I thought it was a 3 for 3 minutes?