First post cert dive

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blackvans1234

Contributor
Messages
440
Reaction score
51
Location
Boca Raton, FLORIDIAN
# of dives
50 - 99
Hey SB, just want to hear some words o' wisdom for my first offical dive with no instructors.
My dive buddy and I were certified together.
We are going to the same location in which we were certified (dutch springs PA)

Advice that I already know

Plan your dive, dive your plan
Keep things slow
Don't exceed our training
Do buddy checks
Don't let the excitement take over
Stay with my buddy
Dont dive in extreme conditions

Any other words o' wisdom?
 
One thing I'd say is make sure your day is set up so you aren't hurried. Get your gear together the night before, so you have plenty of time to make sure you have everything.

You might want to read the articles at nwgratefuldiver.com on gas planning and buddy skills -- that's good information for planning your dive.
 
Just go and have a nice simple dive at the site you know and enjoy it. Welcome to the diving world.
 
Gratz on your cert. Just take it slow and get relaxed in the water make a plan and dive that plan. My first post cert dive was spent back at the platforms, at dutch, redoing skills with my buddy and then swimming around them for buoyancy practice. I thought it was fun to do these things at my own pace and get some work in. Just dont plan on hitting the hole, pump house or tanker and youll be fine. lol
 
Keep it shallow at first and have fun.
 
Go directly to the platform on the student side and check your buoyancy.
Take the rope to the firetruck (shallow) and play around there.
If your gas allows, go down the rope to the bus.
See how your buoyancy works coming up from the bus (45-50)

Then go play wherever you want. Just take your time and enjoy the dive.
 
Cancelled on a count of rain!
Boo

However we're going on sunday instead

When we had our first guided dive as ''certified divers'', our dm (awesome guy) took us all over the place. Our buoyancy was exceptional for beginners, so we went;
-Descend onto firetruck 25ft
-Follow rope to school bus
-Follow rope to airplane
-Photo-Op at airplane
-Took compass heading to the helicopter (supposed to be at 60+ feet, was only at 50, good for OW divers :D )
-Took heading until we came across a guide rope
-Followed guide rope , went left off of dive rope and saw japanese bomber
-Reciprocal heading back to rope, ascended wilt rope at angle (was this rope connected to schoolbus and fire truck?- I cant tell/remember)
-Rope took us back to school bus
-Looked at artifical reef ball things
-Swam along at the bottom of a 20'or so foot wall, pretty neat
-Looked for free lost gear along bottom (A college kid's gotta do, what a college kid's gotta do)
-Found none
-Ascended up gentle incline to student entrance area

Dive profile was 54ft for 30 minutes
We were boogying!
(other OW students were jelous)
(So was the DM that got stuck with the anxious student)

Im pretty sure that's an accurate description of the dive
 
Plan your dive to be conservative in all respects. Execute that plan. Don't do anything "stoopid." We all know that young adult males can be reckless at times. :D

You're probably going to be spending 90% of your mental bandwidth on buoyancy control and breathing. Don't forget to pay attention to your buddy and what's going on around you. Situational awareness is critical to dive safety.

Have fun!
 
You've got it covered!!!

Your familiar with the dive site. Great!
Think of any emergency issues you may encounter. Cover those.
If your planning night dives. Cover every aspect possible. Light, backup, emergencies, separating etc.

Otherwise have fun diving and enjoy the sport.

Fun Diving!!!
 
Good news in respect to those last two comments

1) I have no desire to be reckless in a hostile environment to human life
2) I won't be doing any night dives this trip- maybe next time when we go for more than one day and get some experience, but not this time
3) my dive buddy is my best friend/sister, wont forget about her!
4) we both are in some area of nursing
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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