Would you dive with me?

[carrielsal]

1. Yes - but I would have my hand on the back of your tank until we got through the thermocline. I regularly DM for classes in our local lake. The first 20' this year has areas of 1-2 foot vis. This is what I do for students or with insta-dive buddies with limited experience. It's way too easy to get separated.
2. Yes - I wouldn't be depending on the DM except maybe to point out critters I might not see.
3. No - I have 2 reasons for this. 1-You have very little experience with dives greater than 60'. If I am there for fun and not working in a DM capacity, I would either want to dive with someone with similiar skills to mine. 2. I don't think you have the experience for this dive. This being said, as a Divecon (SSI DM and AI) I could be held liable in case of an accident in conditions that I really didn't feel that you were prepared for.

Carrie

 

[soamelt]

I don't do those dives. It is not realy a 'being comfortable in the water' thing but more of a, 'don't like my shins beat to hell' thing.

To clarify what I meant by not being comfortable, that could mean about anything. Not actually being comfortable in the water in those condtions, sea sick or getting bruised up on the boat, whatever.

Me, I've got more cuts/chaffe marks from my gear and bruises from my tank (walking a mile with my gear on to a different entry point). I'm sure in a few years I won't continue to beat myself up like that, but for now....

 

[paddler3d]

I love the amount of folks who have less experience (at least according to their profiles...you guys know who you are or should do a better job of reading the OP) who are saying "no" because the OP doesn't have enough experience or they would ask them for his log book to show he's done comparable dives!

This is fantastic!

 

[sabbath999]

Maybe on all 3, but here are the concerns and questions I would ask you .
1) Do you do safety stops on all dives?
2) Do you stick with your buddy or "wander off"?
3) Do you follow a 30 ft min assent rate?
3) Are you a know it all or do you listen to others?
4) Do you tend to go through air fast or slow?
5) Is your gear maintained properly?
6) Seems like you have done a lot of diving / classes in the last 2 years, are you sure you really did them?

A good list, thanks...

In case you are curious, 1) yes, 2) I am glue (we do eye-contact every 30 seconds as our norm, and no more than 15 feet in unlimited vis), 3) Usually I go a bit slower than 30 fpm, I ascend SLOWLY, 4) I don't even know where my car keys are, let alone "know it all", 5) Properly and regularly -- and it is all less than one year old, 6) am I sure I really did them? Yeah, I was there for all of em so I am pretty sure I did them. The good people at Y-Kiki in St. Louis laugh at us every Saturday when we drag in a car full of empty tanks waiting to get our "weekly fills"... last Saturday we only took in two tanks and the manager asked us if something was wrong that was keeping us from our usual diving....

Edited to add: I didn't notice you had two number 3's... I generally get 90 minutes out of my AL80's when diving locally (generally 35 feet and above) and about an hour when diving in the ocean if I am following somebody around, and more than that if I am left to do my own thing with my buddy which basically involves taking pictures at a very slow pace. Last weekend I got 95 minutes out of my AL80 on Saturday, which is a personal best, and 85 minutes on one on Sunday. Not bad, IMHO, for a 6'3 275 pound guy.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yes ... never dove a quarry, it'd be fun

Yes ... drift dive ... warm, clear water ... what could be easier

Maybe ... depends on how the first two dives went

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[paddler3d]

never dove a quarry, it'd be fun

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you really haven't been missing that much!

 

[sabbath999]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you really haven't been missing that much!

Depends on what your goals and interests are... if you are like me, and happen to LIKE fish and turtles and crayfish and snakes and muskrats and otters... then you might just like it

 

[Bazooka Joe]

1. Yes. I dive alot of Fresh water springs here and if you have ever dove Hudson Grotto, you can dive anywhere.
2. Yes. No problem the DM can drag the flag... Let's go take some pictures!!
3. HELL Yes! Been there done that, Plan the dive, dive the plan. Anchor your camera to you so it doesn't get beat up on the way down and back up. I'll even pack a cooler full of sandwiches for the SI between tanks. As a matter of fact, let's gets some 120CF tanks so we are not limited on time.

Seriously, every one of these dives can kill you if you don't plan them and plan for problems and sucess. Every dive can seem easy, but it is not. If the dive doesn't feel right, we aint diving.

But I have read enough of your posts to know that you dive plenty, and it is not just talk.
Just let me know when to be in the Keys and we'll hit the Spiegel and the Eagle.

Joe

 

[paddler3d]

Depends on what your goals and interests are... if you are like me, and happen to LIKE fish and turtles and crayfish and snakes and muskrats and otters... then you might just like it

I'm going to have to come to your quarry.

Mine have toilets, air planes, lawnmowers, cement mixer, bulldozer, boats, motocycle, helicopter, sewer pipes, school buses, subway cars, cranes, a few catfish, some bluegill, a couple of bass and I think I've only seen one crayfish.

Fantastic training grounds is what I tell myself.

 

[luckydays]

I would dive all three with you so long as you were comfortable and not freaking out at all. From what you wrote, the only way I would not dive with you was if you were a big photog. I have no interest staring at the same spot for 20 minutes while you wait for the blenny to come back out of the hole it went into. If you are just a point and shoot kind of a guy, we are good, just take a pic of me every now and again so I can show my friends that I was there and I will return the favor.

I dive the quarry almost every weekend. Good viz, bad viz, night, rain, cold, warm. I have dove it in all conditions and with newb's as well as divers with mucho experience. I have dived in 38 degrees F in a 7 mil, hood, and gloves. Burr. I have also dived the quarry in 75 degrees. Colder is better since the viz improves.

Drift dives are slow and easy, you hold the dive flag though because I will pay attention to where you are at all times (I am an observant dive buddy). If the DM was holding the flag, I would make sure that both of us had our SMB's and reels within easy reach. My first drift dive was at dive 15 and it was a blast. Also was the first time I saw turtle and a shark.

Diving the Speigal Grove in rough seas is no biggie to me (don't get sea sick at all) as the chop gets better once you get to 10 - 20 feet. We may have a nasty safety stop though. If the current is strong, I would prefer to stay close to the line and not get to far out, just to make sure we could get back. Average viz is better than what I am used to so I would be ok with it. Plus the cost of the charter would make me want to dive it. However, if you were not interested in it or did not feel good about the dive, I would call it and make you buy me the first round once we got off the boat.