Dove Monastery 10/29

[fuzzybabybunny]

Conditions:

2ft waves, easy entry, crawled out.
Vis: ~30ft

At first I thought my depth gauge was completely broken. Dropped down at the same spot that Andrew, Kristina, and I dropped down when we went, but this time depth was 25ft instead of 45ft... then I arrived at the place Claude and I saw a seal, and it was only 25ft when I could have sworn it was at 45ft or more. But looking up at the kelp and surface, I figured that the gauge was right.

Of course this meant what was once 100ft was now 80ft. Went down to max of 132ft, started getting narced at 100ft and was pretty narced at 130. Boulder hopping, has having a hard time slowing my breathing (wasn't breathing fast, just wasn't breathing slooooow, remember thinking that my inability to control breathing was something I'd need to work on at depth), heart was beating faster (something else to work on), but still was able to comprehend instruments and remember the readings. Vision was different... not as crisp. Checked gauges religiously. The shop filled my LP100 steel to 3440PSI so I still had 2400 when I was at 130ft, lol. It's weird seeing so much air and yet your computer is saying you've only got 8 minutes and the N2 loading graph is borderline in the deco zone. Sat on a boulder and stared out at the expanse for 2 minutes. Spent total of 5-6 minutes at 130ft.

I noticed a sunken... bouy? Or some sort of marker or sign at 100ft. I could not make it out. A decorator crab was hanging on its face but when I gently removed him off I still couldn't make out the words. Warning or Beware? Anyone know when I'm talking about? Cylindrical bottom with a flat square sign sticking vertically off of it.

Ascended slowly, did safety stop at 50ft, then one at 20ft.

Kelp area was getting really surgy and the sandy bottom was littered with dead and broken kelp and vegetation.

Overall a good dive. Great way to end my long Thanksgiving weekend.

[aquaregia]

There's a memorial around 90' or so. I'd bet that's what you saw.

Your risk tolerance is way higher than mine. I've been to 110' there with 100cf of air with similarly equipped buddies that I knew well and that felt very very close. I'm taking way more gas next time. Some of my friends have been past 150' at Monastery, but that just scares the crap right out of me.

Glad the vis is nice. I'm planning going there Wednesday.


Edit: LP100? Who makes that?

[andrewy]

Dude dont attempt it alone again until you give me my light back !

[fuzzybabybunny]

Bah, I got the tank completely wrong. The whole 4 days I thought I was diving with a couple Low Pressure 100s, but it turns out they were a couple of Low Pressure 77s by XS Scuba.

[aquaregia]

Well, at 3440psi, that's 100cf :) That's a hell of a mistake to make though, on a 130' dive. I suppose your gas consumption is less than half of mine, or even better.

[fuzzybabybunny]

Yeah. I was really conservative with my pressure though. Crawled out of there with 1000psi left in the tank. 1 hour 4 minute dive, 50F temp.


Well, at 3440psi, that's 100cf :) That's a hell of a mistake to make though, on a 130' dive. I suppose your gas consumption is less than half of mine, or even better.

[aquaregia]

That blows my mind. I barely get that long out of a LP95 on a 40' dive. You really should get in contact with Scott/EnderW; I suspect your risk tolerances are similar.

[fuzzybabybunny]

I agree. I was like "I can NOT die right now because I still need to get Andrew's ligh back." :P

It worked great BTW... at 130ft it actually turned on by itself...


Dude dont attempt it alone again until you give me my light back !

[aquaregia]

It worked great BTW... at 130ft it actually turned on by itself...

Intova?

[Anti-Hero]

Please be careful.

[Paco II]

No doubt!


Please be careful.

[TSandM]

Okay -- you didn't ask for this, but you are going to get it.

You are risk averse -- you are the person who wanted to start the thread on how to cope with any possible problem underwater. Yet, you are deeper than 100 feet, at Monastery, by yourself? Aware you are experiencing narcosis (and, BTW, the heart pounding is CO2 intoxication, which means you weren't breathing ENOUGH for where you were), aware you are a long way from spare gas, aware you are close to going into deco, and sitting on a rock and contemplating?

I posit that you simply don't have enough experience to be doing what you were doing. You didn't even know how many cubic feet of gas you had -- you thought you had different tanks from what you were using -- so you couldn't calculate a rock bottom value for where you were. You were alone, at a place where exits can be VERY difficult, and where a lot of spare gas can be the difference between surviving being rolled and drowning.

I think this dive was poorly planned, poorly conceptualized, and poorly executed. I am very glad you came back okay. I think you should reexamine your assumptions and your strategies. I have roughly thirty times as many dives as you have, and I treat Monastery with profound respect.

[g1138]

I think you need to take it easy fuzzy
Stick to freediving at that depth.

I will say that I'm envious you were able to pull off such a long and deep dive.
But I feel that you were really lucky.
You only have 50 dives or less if your profile is correct. I can only assume you're still within a recreational cert, yet you nearly reached the recreational limits with a just a casual attitude. (going by the NAUI tables at least)
Don't you think that's a bit much?
Not to mention you were alone and carrying another's person's torch. ;D

Take it easy, there's plenty to see above 60ft.

Also I hope you're equipped for solo diving.

Keep it safe, have fun!

[Peter_C]

In less than 40 dives you have passed my deepest dive by 24 feet in my over 300 dives. Way to go! :shakehead: Did you see anything that you couldn't see at 100 feet?

You really need to head others advice, and take more classes too. Only said in your best interest. We met last weekend and you know I am just another local diver.

[claudehl]

FuzzyBunny:

Any idea on what happened to the dive computer? If it did malfunction, you should send it back to Oceanic for repair or replacement. Haven't heard too many complaints about the Data Max Pro Plus 2, if any at all. Also a low pressure 77/80 cft has a working pressure of 2400 + 10% overfill = 2640psi. Did your shop overfill your tanks to 3440psi?

I believe we saw a seal on both our dives. One was laying on the sandy flat and the other (on the second dive) swung around us several times. Although I do believe we were in no more than 30 feet of water. Do exercise restraint and caution on solo dives. If you must, stay within Monterey when there are plenty of other divers or within the shallow areas of Monastery Beach. Otter Cover, which is adjacent to Lover's Cover, has relatively shallow waters and a very thick kelp forest. You should try Coral Street, if the weather permits (has to be dead calm to even consider diving there).

The effects of nitrogen narcosis can lead to irrational decisions/actions. To me, it felt like a bout of terror. It's not a pleasant feeling and I was happy to have my buddy's presence as reassurance.

C.

[dannobee]

What I get out of this:

You didn't trust your depth gauge/computer on descent but went pretty deep anyway.

Solo deep without redundant gas or redundant computer/bottom timer.

Experienced narcosis and CO2 retention at the limit of recreational depths.

Glad it worked out for you this time. You were lucky.

The plaque you saw at 90 ft is a memorial plaque placed by friends of a deceased diver.

At least you watched your pressure gauge and completed safety stops. And surfaced with enough air to get through the surf if needed.

There's really not much to see at Monastery that deep but sand and occasional pelagics. It's more for chest thumping bravado than anything else.

[fuzzybabybunny]

Hey guys, I really get your concern for me and I want to thank you all.

Here's what I was doing before the dive:

I saw the wave model and it was mild. I knew that the wind was blowing from the east (the mountains) so that would flatten things out a bit as well. I drove there and stared at the ocean for about 20 minutes before making the decision to go. At this point I had made up my mind that I would go to the recreational depth limit of 132. A touch and go dive to experience that depth for just a few moments. I had read about ways to combat narcosis and knew that studies show that keeping my wits about me was going to be a top priority and that it was possible to still function well enough while narced. I was hellbent on checking gauges frequently because I knew people sometimes have trouble keeping track of time down there.

I saw that the shop had accidentally overfilled to 3442 psi so I knew I had a lot more gas than what I was used to. Not knowing my real tank size wasn't a problem - I had 10 dives prior to this on these same tanks sp I knew how long they lasted for me - 4 of them at Monastery. I knew I would be able to last at least an hour and most likely more. I made it a point to surface with a lot of air so I could deal with at least two safety stops and a crawling surf exit in case the waves picked up and I got laundry machined.

I didn't trust the depth gauge at first but as I said in my post, looking up at the kelp ceiling I visually estimated that the gauge was actually right. It looked like 25ft. It definitely did not look like the 45ft I thought I was at.

At 132ft I took a moment to just soak in the feeling of being there while making sure I was always present to my situation (checking my gauges, telling myself to stay calm, making slow, careful, calculated movements, looking ahead to see which boulder I would hop up to, etc). Did safety stops, and the rest of the dive was uneventful.

I surfaced right where I wanted to, and timed the waves so that one of them plopped me gently on the beach and I crawled the rest of the way.

I'm not risk averse, but I do like to have the bases covered according to my comfort level (which is wider than most), which is why I created that "What to do in the event that (something bad happens)" thread. I do a LOT of solo things, not just diving, and want to learn to be self sufficient to handle issues that may come up.

I'm looking into pony bottles. Thinking about a 40 so it can eventually be used as a deco bottle. Also very interested in rebreathers. And hang gliding. And base jumping :P

[rdjiv]

... recreational depth limit of 132...

Seeing as you are PADI certified, the recreational depth limit for your level of training is 130ft. That is the absolute maximum depth as stated by the RSTC (these standards are followed by PADI). You were off by 2ft in your post. Sure this could be a typo, but I would hope that this isn't an indication of the level of your attention to detail, especially being a solo diver.


I echo the sentiments above. You can do all the risk taking you want, just get the proper training FIRST. Don't just skip it because you have no patience. Instead, take the time to prepare now.

[fuzzybabybunny]

Seeing as you are PADI certified, the recreational depth limit for your level of training is 130ft. That is the absolute maximum depth as stated by the RSTC (these standards are followed by PADI). You were off by 2ft in your post. Sure this could be a typo, but I would hope that this isn't an indication of the level of your attention to detail, especially being a solo diver.


I echo the sentiments above. You can do all the risk taking you want, just get the proper training FIRST. Don't just skip it because you have no patience. Instead, take the time to prepare now.

I've always thought of things in terms of atmospheres. 132ft is what I meant, and it's 4 atmospheres. That to me is the recreational depth limit.

[Hinalo]

I've always thought of things in terms of atmospheres. 132ft is what I meant, and it's 4 atmospheres. That to me is the recreational depth limit.

You can decide for yourself what is your "recreational dive limit" but PADI's limit is not calculated in atmospheres, but in feet: 130 feet. If you are buddying with a PADI diver who takes standards literally, and many do, then you need to be sure to brief them on your standards before you go out with them, just to avoid confusion during the dive. 2 feet may not seem like much, but if you have a casual attitude about that, what else are you casual about?

[fuzzybabybunny]

You can decide for yourself what is your "recreational dive limit" but PADI's limit is not calculated in atmospheres, but in feet: 130 feet. If you are buddying with a PADI diver who takes standards literally, and many do, then you need to be sure to brief them on your standards before you go out with them, just to avoid confusion during the dive. 2 feet may not seem like much, but if you have a casual attitude about that, what else are you casual about?

No problem. I will brief with any dive buddies I encounter what I consider the limit is.

[fuzzybabybunny]

FuzzyBunny:

The effects of nitrogen narcosis can lead to irrational decisions/actions. To me, it felt like a bout of terror. It's not a pleasant feeling and I was happy to have my buddy's presence as reassurance.

C.

I had read about the dark narc and was actively watching out for it. I could tell that I was beginning to get narced, which in itself can make anyone uncomfortable, and I suspect if that discomfort was left unchecked it could quickly and even instantaneously turn to a dark narc?

[pacificgal]

Victor, might I remind you that your recreational dive limit as an OW diver is currently 60 ft. Note that when you are using Nitrox (after your certification) your recreational depth limits will be less than 130 ft, based upon the percentage of O2 you're using.
I feel partly responsible for your going solo at Monastery because we did it with Andrew on Friday, we should have stayed above 60 ft. based upon your level of experience and certification.

[g1138]

Fuzzy, you mentioned that you know how long your air will last, but is that at the depth you were going to?
As you depth increases, so too does your air consumption. Knowing how long your air lasts at 60 foot dives does not equate to knowing how long it will last at 130ft.
You need to know your average SAC rate and do a few calculations with boyle's law, your max depth, as well as other things.
Factor in the gas you'll use for your safety stop and gas you won't use (500psi out).

Once you do all that then and only then can you say you know how long your gas will last and how long your gas limited at that depth.

[fdog]

It saddens me when I read threads like this, and can see into the future.


All the best, James

[Jim Ernst]

Victor, Buddy, You are really pushing it WAY past your Skill Level, You are a very good diver as I found this last weekend, But Buddy, Many of us on this board have lost very good friends to diving , some pushed the envelope, Which you are, and some Like Cory Feder Died at Monastary for reasons unknown to us, Cory was a very skilled Tech Diver and a Divemaster that worked the Dive boats all of the time, and he had WAY more experience then you!!

My Point is Buddy, You Really need to rethink the levels of what you are pushing yourself to and past!!!

Read Fdog's Post and think of what he said!!

[fuzzybabybunny]

Victor, might I remind you that your recreational dive limit as an OW diver is currently 60 ft. Note that when you are using Nitrox (after your certification) your recreational depth limits will be less than 130 ft, based upon the percentage of O2 you're using.
I feel partly responsible for your going solo at Monastery because we did it with Andrew on Friday, we should have stayed above 60 ft. based upon your level of experience and certification.

Noted. And yes, I know about Nitrox. Decreases N2 absorption at the cost of a lower MOD.

You don't need to feel responsible or even partly responsible. People naturally assign causation to things when in reality there is no surefire way to do so. You can let it go. I mean, why I went down to 132ft in Monastery is because my mother gave birth to me. Or maybe it's because her mother gave birth to her? Or maybe because some chemical synapse shot off in my head and sealed my future on its own?

[fuzzybabybunny]

Victor, Buddy, You are really pushing it WAY past your Skill Level, You are a very good diver as I found this last weekend, But Buddy, Many of us on this board have lost very good friends to diving , some pushed the envelope, Which you are, and some Like Cory Feder Died at Monastary for reasons unknown to us, Cory was a very skilled Tech Diver and a Divemaster that worked the Dive boats all of the time, and he had WAY more experience then you!!

My Point is Buddy, You Really need to rethink the levels of what you are pushing yourself to and past!!!

Read Fdog's Post and think of what he said!!

Thanks man. I appreciate your concern. I'll do these things when I have attained the proper skills.

Not to throw the thread off topic or to bring up painful memories, but I read about Cory's death on this board and I'm very very confused. He went down to 250ft on straight air (as stated by his father), which is far over the MOD of even the most liberal max pp02. And he did so with buddies. So I'm confused as going down that deep on air makes a CNS hit an almost certainty.

[TSandM]

Fuzzy, sometimes I sound like my mother, even to me . . . I'm glad you sat down and thought through the obvious issues with your dive. That's more thought than a lot of newer divers give to things that push their limits. But I would like to warn you that it isn't what you KNOW that is going to hurt you, but what you don't yet know, either about diving or about yourself.

I used to dive quite often with a man who not only had a lot of experience with other water sports in the ocean (and therefore a HIGH degree of comfort in and under the water) but also had both diving talent and fantastic mentorship from day one. At 40 dives or so, he was confident, perhaps to the edge of being a bit cocky, but he wasn't pushing any limits. He was on a dive with me and another friend, when his mask flooded and he panicked. He bolted for shore, without even communicating with us what the problem was. He later said his brain simply wasn't working, and the only fixed idea he had was that he had to get to shallow water. (What he thought that would do for a flooded mask, I have no idea, but rational thought is not one of the hallmarks of panic.)

He was so badly shaken by discovering that he was CAPABLE of that degree of irrationality, that he almost gave up diving then and there.

What you probably don't know, at your experience level, is what the triggers are that will awaken the reptile brain inside you, or how well you will cope with it when it tries to take control. This is one of the big reasons for keeping dives conservative in the beginning, and also for having buddies (although I'll admit we were unable to do anything to assist my panicked friend).

We are not piling on you. Some of us have lost friends doing this sport, and those of us who have been at it a while have heard a lot of stories of near-accidents, so we know what the setup for a problem is. You are clearly a thoughtful person . . . consider that you don't know what you don't know, and that not all of the hazards of a dive are immediately obvious.

We like your screen name; we'd like to keep you around and posting for a while!

[pacificgal]

That was sweet, Lynne.
FBB, you are a reasonable guy. No one wants to see you get hurt or worse, and Monastery kills people every year. I know you experienced a free flow last weekend at Breakwater due to some o-ring in your reg? What if that had happened when you were narced and couldn't think through the problem? Can't safely do a CESA from 132 ft. You didn't have a buddy to supply the air, can you turn off your air supply by reaching behind you? Have you tried? I can't.
I've only been to the limit of recreational depths for my AOW class, with my instructor, to ascertain if I would feel narcosis or how I would react. I would never ever ever do it alone, that's an insane risk to take. Think those bunny ears may be affecting your reasoning.
Do your AOW and Nitrox classes this weekend and enjoy them, then consider getting further tech training if you want to dive deep.

[mikeguerrero]

Fuzzy,

I will try to be brief and to the point. I completely understand your excitement about diving on the California coast. Without mixing too many words it's just priceless. Like you, back in 2007 when I got certified, I had the heart of a Fuzzy, I would dive my heart out even if it meant pushing beyond standards.

Eveyone that is posting on your thread came in and sat me down and explained the inherent dangers in my activities, with time I began to understand, but it wasn't until many other divers succcumbed a more painful experience, some even with their life.

That could have been me and thankfully my senses started to match up with my level of diving and I slowed down and got more training. To me that's the pinnacle of success, keeping to the boundaries of the training.

Look up my post and you will see my adventures took me on a similar path that you are experiencing today.

Fuzzy keep diving but think about all the great advice you are getting and take with you what sounds plausible and become a better diver.

Also to biggy pack on what Lynne said about flooded mask; there is a post I did on a major experience I had when the same happened to me.

My mask flooded and I couldn't clear it and I froze and went into full blown panic, thankfully my buddies were there and a highly trained soon to be instructor pulled me through.

It was one of my most frightfull experiences in diving, you go temporarily blind and lose the ability to rationalize.

If anything Fuzzy, keep reading up on the board, all the anecdotes here have good messages, take what you can and become a more equipped diver to handle certain situations. But always remember to dive within your comfort zone and learn to walk away when you hear that little voice talking to you.

Clam chowder soup on the wall at Break Water is always better than getting thrown around in the heavy surf in scuba gear. :)

[fuzzybabybunny]

That was sweet, Lynne.
FBB, you are a reasonable guy. No one wants to see you get hurt or worse, and Monastery kills people every year. I know you experienced a free flow last weekend at Breakwater due to some o-ring in your reg? What if that had happened when you were narced and couldn't think through the problem? Can't safely do a CESA from 132 ft. You didn't have a buddy to supply the air, can you turn off your air supply by reaching behind you? Have you tried? I can't.
I've only been to the limit of recreational depths for my AOW class, with my instructor, to ascertain if I would feel narcosis or how I would react. I would never ever ever do it alone, that's an insane risk to take. Think those bunny ears may be affecting your reasoning.
Do your AOW and Nitrox classes this weekend and enjoy them, then consider getting further tech training if you want to dive deep.

Did you get narced on your AOW Deep Dive?

Yes, I can reach my tank valve. Before diving a bunch I read a ton of the accidents and incidents as well as other threads that criticized PADI or gave useful miscellaneous tips. When I realised that my OW class did not tell me that I had to be able to reach my valve, I immediately re-adjusted my gear layout so I could reach it. Had to do it twice over the weekend in fact. Once was when I did a systems check after I had donned the gear (I had done one while it was off, just doing it again because you never know what might have shifted after donning). Sure enough, the reg free flowed from a stuck purge, so I reached back and shut off the air.

The second time was actually that o-ring free flow you mentioned. I was at 42ft picking up trash and staring at a nudi when it suddenly happened. I switched to my octo, tried to tighten the connection, and when it kept doing that, I did a slow ascent while listening for boat traffic. Turned off the valve, then removed my BC in the water and fiddled around with the reg some more. When that still didn't work, I redonned the BC and swam back to shore.

BTW, I make it a point to dive with two seperate weight systems. I see very bad things happening when all the weight is in the BC (can't take it off underwater for one) so I put 14lb on my belt (which happens to be the exact weight I freedive with anyway) and the rest in the BC weight system either as regular weights or trim weights. That way not everything is in one basket, and I won't rocket to the surface should I need to remove my BC for whatever reason.

[fuzzybabybunny]

Fuzzy,

I will try to be brief and to the point. I completely understand your excitement about diving on the California coast. Without mixing too many words it's just priceless. Like you, back in 2007 when I got certified, I had the heart of a Fuzzy, I would dive my heart out even if it meant pushing beyond standards.

Eveyone that is posting on your thread came in and sat me down and explained the inherent dangers in my activities, with time I began to understand, but it wasn't until many other divers succcumbed a more painful experience, some even with their life.

That could have been me and thankfully my senses started to match up with my level of diving and I slowed down and got more training. To me that's the pinnacle of success, keeping to the boundaries of the training.

Look up my post and you will see my adventures took me on a similar path that you are experiencing today.

Fuzzy keep diving but think about all the great advice you are getting and take with you what sounds plausible and become a better diver.

Also to biggy pack on what Lynne said about flooded mask; there is a post I did on a major experience I had when the same happened to me.

My mask flooded and I couldn't clear it and I froze and went into full blown panic, thankfully my buddies were there and a highly trained soon to be instructor pulled me through.

It was one of my most frightfull experiences in diving, you go temporarily blind and lose the ability to rationalize.

If anything Fuzzy, keep reading up on the board, all the anecdotes here have good messages, take what you can and become a more equipped diver to handle certain situations. But always remember to dive within your comfort zone and learn to walk away when you hear that little voice talking to you.

Clam chowder soup on the wall at Break Water is always better than getting thrown around in the heavy surf in scuba gear. :)

Most important point first:

I don't get why everyone likes the clam chowder here! They get rave reviews on Yelp for the Montere style chowder and I tried it and don't think it's that earth shattering. It may be because I ate it alone :( I bet it would taste better with friends. While eating it I actually thought about how much cooler it would be to be laundered at Monastery instead, jk ;)

Thanks for the input. I'm going to dig up your post history now and see what shenanigans you were up to.

[Gombessa]

I've always thought of things in terms of atmospheres. 132ft is what I meant, and it's 4 atmospheres. That to me is the recreational depth limit.

I think you mean 5 atmospheres? :)

[Hepcat62]

I think you mean 5 atmospheres? :)

It depends on whether you pronounce "atmospheres" as ATM or ATA. Most PADI people I know pronounce ATM as "atmospheres", and use "atmospheres absolute" for ATA. :)

Back on topic... :D

I'll just say that I'm glad nobody got hurt this time, and that I hope this doesn't happen again. For my own sanity's sake, I'll include this link as a somewhat PADI'fied version of a very important concept that the OP can hopefully use to think about their dives even more concretely.

Rock Bottom and Gas Management for Recreational Divers | Spherical Chicken (http://www.scriptkiddie.org/blog/2010/09/19/rock-bottom-and-gas-management-for-recreational-divers/)

[pacificgal]

Did you get narced on your AOW Deep Dive?


No, I didn't get narced, actually I did the math faster on the bottom of the ocean than when we were sitting on the boat.
I really don't care for super deep dives, it's dark, it's cold, and there's a whole lot of water between me and the safety of the surface. Truthfully, 70' and above is my preferred range, occasionally I'll go down to 100' off a boat to see hydrocoral or something, but I've only done that a few times too. Friday was the first time I saw 100' depth from shore, and it wasn't as cool as the places you see off the boats, no hydrocoral, no corianactis, it was just OK.

[Gombessa]

It depends on whether you pronounce "atmospheres" as ATM or ATA. Most PADI people I know pronounce ATM as "atmospheres", and use "atmospheres absolute" for ATA. :)

That's obviously the case here, but I think in the context of depth limits most describe the total atmospheres of pressure involved and do not omit surface pressure. I think it helps to learn and use standard nomenclature whenever possible to avoid confusion. If I were skydiving, I wouldn't say I pull the chute at xxxx ft, and later clarify that I meant "above sea level." :)

[mikeguerrero]

Fuzzy,

You are right, clam chowder is much better when in the company of a diving friend and you are talking about the adventure that just took place. And the main characters are you and your buddy. It's like making a film and you are the star of the movie.

I have never eaten it alone and also don't solo dive, tried it only once at lover's point in 20 feet. End result was a paranoid state that everything that moved was a shark or sea monter that was going to eat me.

I will not forget that paranoid dive and I was only in 20 feet, it was the worse 1 hour dive I have dove. That was back in 2007 when I thought diving was like surfing a solo event.

Conclusion, diving with a buddy has more than just safety, you get to tell them after the dive that they diving stinks, I like to poke fun on my buddy and tell him, that his trim and bouyancy is off, when of course it's really me out of trim... LOL

[Hepcat62]

That's obviously the case here, but I think in the context of depth limits most describe the total atmospheres of pressure involved and do not omit surface pressure. I think it helps to learn and use standard nomenclature whenever possible to avoid confusion. If I were skydiving, I wouldn't say I pull the chute at xxxx ft, and later clarify that I meant "above sea level." :)

Totally agree. Most of the UTD and GUE materials I've seen generally just expand the formulas in terms of depth, which is fine by me from a teaching standpoint. I think it's less confusing for people that hated high-school physics and/or chemistry, and despise unit conversions. They can learn the atmosphere-units later to make the formulas shorter and easier to guesstimate.

[Anti-Hero]

I think you mean 5 atmospheres? :)

I'm glad somebody else caught that...

FuzzyBabyBunny - you're comfortable in the water and that's great, really. But remember this: You've got your whole life to dive, learn, dive, practice, dive, learn, etc.

You're doing WAY too much, WAY too fast. What's the rush?

[fuzzybabybunny]

I have never eaten it alone and also don't solo dive, tried it only once at lover's point in 20 feet. End result was a paranoid state that everything that moved was a shark or sea monter that was going to eat me.

I will not forget that paranoid dive and I was only in 20 feet, it was the worse 1 hour dive I have dove. That was back in 2007 when I thought diving was like surfing a solo event.

Conclusion, diving with a buddy has more than just safety, you get to tell them after the dive that they diving stinks, I like to poke fun on my buddy and tell him, that his trim and bouyancy is off, when of course it's really me out of trim... LOL

I moved to the bay area 2 years ago from Ohio. Before this, I had freedived in Hawaii and Arizona very briefly and in the diving well of my college's swimming pool.

First time I set foot in the water over here was at Lover's Point, at sunset. Seeing kelp for the first time, it completely freaked me out. The vis was 10 ft. It was dark and murky. I don't remember how long I stayed in the water for, but probably not long. The next day I jumped in again, only this time in the daytime, and I forced myself to get comfortable with the kelp. Saw the cool little snails living on it, the patterns in the leaves, the crispness of the stalks. I crawled into a mass of them and stayed until I was comfortable.

Later I played around with seals and sat at the bottom observing all the fish swimming by. I stared at the undulating seagrass for minutes at a time, mesmerized. Swam around the oblivious scuba divers. I would freedive Lover's for hours on end, come out of the water, sleep in my car at Lover's, and repeat. All solo.

I've done the same with hiking and backpacking and roadtripping. Needless to say I'm comfortable, but still wary, when I'm solo. I guess I'm a pretty introverted guy...

[ad6e]

Yes, be careful! Deep dives can be trouble. I was narced at 90ft once using air. I didn't see it coming. I just "woke up" and wondered why my reg was in my hand and why I had just exhaled and filled my mouth with water. Use Nitrox. I did a dive to 140ft using 26% mix and it increased my bottom time from 6 to 7 minutes. (Phantom dive, Subic Bay Philippines) Now I use it whenever I can.

Sounds like you had a great dive though .. wonderful!

[diddler]

Conditions:

2ft waves, easy entry, crawled out.
Vis: ~30ft

I noticed a sunken... bouy? Or some sort of marker or sign at 100ft. I could not make it out. A decorator crab was hanging on its face but when I gently removed him off I still couldn't make out the words. Warning or Beware? Anyone know when I'm talking about? Cylindrical bottom with a flat square sign sticking vertically off of it.

About the plaque, this is a link to the relevant thread on Scubaboard. You're probably not going to find a better collection of information than this:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/69124-monastery-memorial-plaque.html

Glad to hear it's still there, it's been over three years since it's
"re-sinking" and I haven't been to Monastery in a year and a half or so.

As to the solo diving, you're getting a lot of good advice. Many things could have gone wrong... I'm not saying "You got lucky" just that things could have ended up badly. Always remember that people die at that beach every year, when the conditions are -ideal- it is still an "Intermediate" skill level dive site at best. When they're not ideal then you're running anywhere from Advanced to (literally) lethal.

Have I been diving solo? Yes. I did a 2 hour 20 minute dive once at Del Monte. When I did it I had three fully independent air sources, three methods of buoyancy control, 2 lights, 2 masks, 3 cutting devices, etc. I went into the dive with prior planning and forethought, training and the ability to use all of this redundant gear should the need arise.

Personally, I believe solo diving without at LEAST a fully redundant air source is a poor choice. Deliberately going deep with gear that you're questioning is ill-advised. Doing that while bouncing off the absolute maximum depth limit while at a dive site like Monastery is bordering on suicidal. My comfort level would have gone completely out the window.

[Joe_Diver]

I feel that the question of solo diving should be a matter of personal choice and that automatic disparaging value judgments on those who choose to do it are counterproductive.

While not encouraging anyone else to follow my lead, I routinely go down solo to 160'+ at Monastery on a single tank with no redundant anything. BUT... I maintain my own regulator scrupulously and have total confidence in all of my equipment. And I've done over 3000 dives in all kinds of conditions. The way I look at it, I'm at far greater risk driving down Hwy 17 to Monterey than when I go out solo at Monastery.

[andrewy]

Joe @ 3000 dives you can have it your way any time :) because you probably seen it all.
At 30 dives , you simply have no idea of what can go wrong and how to get out of a jam.
on my 6th dive (yes day after my open water:) i also went to 145ft on single AL80 :) air, in HI on some wreck., albeit with 2 instructors.., would i try it now again? no way!. however with proper equipment, training, experience and mixes, perhaps.. except its boring and i cant share experience with no one.

[ad6e]

"on my 6th dive (yes day after my open water:) i also went to 145ft on single AL80 :) air, in HI on some wreck., albeit with 2 instructors..,"


Say What?? What dive shop did you walk into?

I can't imagine any self respecting shop taking a newbie to that depth on his first real dive after basic OW training. That said, I know it happens. Hope they gave you a crash course in deep on the boat ride out.

I had something similar happen to me in HI. I had a 15 year lapse in diving and walked into a HI dive shop. They took me to the Corsair wreck at 105ft with no questions. My previous dives were with a J valve and May West. I had no idea what a BC was, but I learned quickly.

Your comfort zone may have little to do with safety. In my early days I did some dives that .. well, let's say I'm happy I'm still alive today. Yet, they felt safe at the time. As I've gotten older, my comfort zone has become more realistic.

[Gombessa]

I had something similar happen to me in HI. I had a 15 year lapse in diving and walked into a HI dive shop. They took me to the Corsair wreck at 105ft with no questions.

That's the exact same dive I was offered immediately after my OW certification! I opted out, but on later trips to Oahu I ran into several newly certified divers who did exactly that.

Still, I would say a 12-minute-bottom-time, follow-the-DM hand-over-hand-on-the-line hop to 105ft, as imprudent as it already is for a new diver, is still very different from what's being discussed here.

[andrewy]

yeah i was told that i'll get high and stupid and watch out for sharp metal and that we do 50ft stop :) and then 15ft one. other than that i dont remember, that was in 97

[emttim]

132' solo dive at Monastery with no buddy and < 50 dives. Wow, I thought I was taking risks when I was contemplating diving solo at Breakwater with < 50 dives about a year and a half ago.

Everyone already touched on most everything else so I'll be brief.

1) You're gonna get yourself killed doing that sort of stuff. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

2) Why dive solo anyway? You don't need a pony bottle if you have a good buddy and they're far more useful if something goes wrong since it never hurts to have an extra pair of hands around. Hell, last time I picked up a random buddy off here I got engaged. Wouldn't hurt you to grab a buddy. Although if you're already married, I hope to god she never finds out about this trainwreck of a dive...you just may give her a heart attack.