How much experience to dive w/out others...

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TyTy

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My girlfriend and I have about 10 dives under our belts (all together) and are thinking about diving the jetties in Pensacola/Ft Walton Beach (between tides of course) by ourselves (meaning just the two of us, no other divers). Every other time we have dove we have been with a group.

We are a little aprehensive but then again so were we on our first dives and we made it through safely. I would say she and I are upper upper level beginners, our instructors said top 1% of people they have taught.

My pops has a boat to take us so it will be much cheaper to do these sorts of dives than charters.

Anyway, what Im saying is with us down and pops at the surface keeping a watchful eye are we moving into the diving with only eachother too quickly?

My thought is that we are dependant on only eachother as dive buddies. I dont think even considering getting help from a person in your group other than your buddy would be smart as my instinct tells me that it could create confusion and waste those precious decision making seconds.

If anything DM's have made us uncomfortable by suggesting 'group' type 'stay with the group' dives. My girlfriend and I have a permanant rule that it is her and I diving together, not as part of a group and that her and I will stay together thats that and thats all.


Anyway, how long after being certified before you started diving without a group/charter/divemasters in the water with you?
 
My first thought is get a few more dives in with a group that is lead by a DM. Now you have your card you can go out and do anything you want but it would be nice to practice navigation and other skills with a DM around just in case.
 
My opinion is that if you two are conifdent in your own as well as each other's abilities, you should be fine. Just know your limits and plan your dive/dive your plan. Diving with a buddy and having mutual confidence is not diving alone. Of course, I say all of this assuming that you both have some comfort in dealing with tides/currents, and have some navigation ability (getting back to the boat is always a good thing)
 
A few more group dives while practicing OOA, equipment problems, navigation sounds good......but in the end it's really up to you and how confident you feel.
 
TyTy:
Anyway, how long after being certified before you started diving without a group/charter/divemasters in the water with you?

With me, my first dive after certification was just me and a buddy. It was where we were both certified, so we were at least familiar with the area, so that helped, confidence-wise.
 
It really depends on your comfort level in the water, in each other, and in your skills.

I've seen divers who have gone out and done their first dives without guidance the day after they finished their checkout dives, and I've seen divers who probably shouldn't even be in a group led by a DM after having 100 dives.

I'm not familiar with the site you are talking about diving, but when boat diving, things like current, viz, sea conditions, etc. all come into play. If the spot you are considering diving is fairly well-know, it would be wise to talk to others who have experience diving the area to know what to expect while you are there. Some things to consider include:

Is the site well-sheltered?
Are there currents in the area?
Are there any hazards in the area of which you should be aware?
How does the tide effect this dive site?
What's the weather going to be like on the day you plan to dive (don't just check The Weather Channel - get the Marine forecast as well).
How comfortable are you with your girlfriend as your dive buddy?
Is there other equipment you should have / bring with you (wreck reels / pony bottles / signaling devices / whistles / etc)?
Is the depth of the site a depth at which you have dived before, and a depth at which you are comfortable?

That's jut off the top of my head, there are more questions to ask yourself.

The long and the short of it is that the only way to become a better diver is to get out there and dive. However, getting out there and diving should not involve you diving outside the limits of your training. It is entirely a judgement call, and a call that needs to be made by you.

One other option to consider is to find someone who has been at the site and is more experienced to go with you. In a lot of cases, if you tell an experienced diver you've got a boat, and just would like them to tag along for the comfort factor, they'll jump at it.

~Will
 
We went together on our own from dive one and were fine. Start with modest sites either shore of if you're comfortable going of the boat so be it. Know your lmits and don't add to task loading just yet. Avoid things like towing flags if avoidable, serious photography etc. You are certified divers and have paid your dues.

Pete
 
Good advice from all.

Thing is it is a shore dive that after Ivan you need to get a boat to. There are multiple jetties along the shore of Ft. Pickens in Pensacola Beach. They are heavily dived, only thing to watch out for is the current/diving at slack or nep tide. We plan to get a report on exactly when to dive that site, I know a LDS that will be out there on the same day because it is nep tide that day.

It is 55 ft max depth and we would stay close to the jettie to where it would be easy to tell if we were getting off course. The initial plan is to go down, go around the front of the jettie and back up the other side.

I feel very comfortable, its really my parents that even made me worry, they are all questioning me. My girlfriend is a little apprehensive but then again she was about diving at first and very nervous the first OW dive but she did it like a champ and was complimented on her composure and ability to handle it, now she is very comfortable in the water and her and I feel very comfortable with eachother.

I figure this is a great dive to cross this next boundary on being a shore dive, follow the contour of the bottom, we'll have the jettie as a great reference, max depth of 55ft, possibly other divers at the site, etc...
 
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