Errol Kalayci
Contributor
I dove today with 2 divers going for their Fundamentals in January. This was a non-teaching, purely fun dive. They both have appropriate certifications for the dive on the Captain Dan that we dove. Water was still about 77, seas flat calm but wind picked up with the hint of the cold front coming in. While I was warm in the drysuit, they both were a bit cold.
It was my first time on Under Pressure and I found the boat and Randy to be very nice. We did a tour of the perimeter of the wreck and enjoyed all the tropical reef fish covering the wreck. We did a thorough dive plan following GUE EDGE where we agreed that our max depth would not exceed 100 and we would do 20 minutes bottom time max. There was a slight current moving to the south and vis was about 40. Our dive went exactly to plan as our max depth was 99 and we left at exactly 20 minutes of bottom time as we still had proper gas reserves but that was the agreed upon time. Following our agreed minimum deco schedule we did our stops without issue. We also did a great reef dive wherein we saw some nice lobster and tons of fish though we only observed the marine life and I shot some video.
Everyone had a great time and during the post dive debriefing the other 2 hopefully received some decent feedback about what they did great on each dive, what they can improve upon and how so they will be a little more prepared for class. I see a lot of posts about divers wanting to practice to get ready for Fundies. I think the best thing they can do is read and re-read all the information prior to class so we have more time in the water since a big part of what the instructors are paid for is to help them improve their skills and it is hard to practice without proper continuous feedback. They should come to class ready to learn, focused and as relaxed as possible.
Captain Dan is one of my favorate little wrecks as it is very photo friendly and generally pretty good conditions to dive for fun or work on skills for deeper dives. I also recommend Under Pressure after diving with them today.
__________________
Safe Dives,
Errol Kalayci
It was my first time on Under Pressure and I found the boat and Randy to be very nice. We did a tour of the perimeter of the wreck and enjoyed all the tropical reef fish covering the wreck. We did a thorough dive plan following GUE EDGE where we agreed that our max depth would not exceed 100 and we would do 20 minutes bottom time max. There was a slight current moving to the south and vis was about 40. Our dive went exactly to plan as our max depth was 99 and we left at exactly 20 minutes of bottom time as we still had proper gas reserves but that was the agreed upon time. Following our agreed minimum deco schedule we did our stops without issue. We also did a great reef dive wherein we saw some nice lobster and tons of fish though we only observed the marine life and I shot some video.
Everyone had a great time and during the post dive debriefing the other 2 hopefully received some decent feedback about what they did great on each dive, what they can improve upon and how so they will be a little more prepared for class. I see a lot of posts about divers wanting to practice to get ready for Fundies. I think the best thing they can do is read and re-read all the information prior to class so we have more time in the water since a big part of what the instructors are paid for is to help them improve their skills and it is hard to practice without proper continuous feedback. They should come to class ready to learn, focused and as relaxed as possible.
Captain Dan is one of my favorate little wrecks as it is very photo friendly and generally pretty good conditions to dive for fun or work on skills for deeper dives. I also recommend Under Pressure after diving with them today.
__________________
Safe Dives,
Errol Kalayci
