While I was gone...

[Rick Inman]

Ok, first a little history, then a question.

I was certified NASDS in 1972 at 14 years old in S. Ca., dove regulary for 12 years - beach, boat, night, wreck, etc - in S. Ca. and a few times in Kona, HI. Then I moved to Spokane, WA and discovered that the local diver's idea of a dive trip was somewhat more than just filling a couple of tanks, tossing your gear into the truck, driving for an hour and going diving. From Spokane you have to drive 8 hours just to dive the Sound. One excited local diver told me that there's an old car in our nearby Lake Coeur 'd Alene. Great.

That was more than 10 years ago and I was broke at the time, so I sold all my scuba stuff and took up the local sport, 'cause up here a river runs through it.

So I haven't been diving in 15 years and I miss it like crazy ( the snorkeling in Palos Verdes on my annual visits to my parents only makes it worse.)

But this year I'm getting a nice fat tax return (God Bless the IRS) and my wife and I are going for 2 weeks to Puerto Vallarta. Not the greatest diving in the world, but it sure beats Mud Lake.

Anyway, I found out that NASDS was purchased by SSI and that for a mere $40 they'll send me my new C Card. What, are they crazy?? I haven't breathed canned air for 15 years!

Well, I'M not crazy. So I signed up for a refresher at the LDS (the instructor even dives in the ocean once in a while).

That said, here comes the question. I have spent countless hours reading scuba stuff online (including this great board) and some things have changed. For example, I was taught that decompression was never an issue if you were just using a 72. Now I read about rolling decompression and saftey stops at 15 feet - well, it's amazing we didn't all explode back in the '70s 'cause we just came up. A buddy of mine took out a 2nd morgage in 1976 to buy a Scubapro decomp meter and we thought we had rocketed into the future. I owned a thing called an Atpac (the first BC attached around the tank that had auto-inflate) that I recently found listed online under, "The History of Scuba". Back then they told us that the most common symptom of the bends was paralysis. Today they say to look for body aches, joint pain and dizziness. Heck, I'm 44. I get that taking out the trash! Our dive plans back then were about as complex as, "Let's go down and check it out. See 'ya back at the boat." We had three hand signs: "OK," "Out of air," and the middle finger (a common responce to, "Out of air"). I'm exaggerating, of course. But before I dive in PV, I do need to move up into the 21st century. So here are my questions:

1) What questions do you suggest I ask the dive instructor during my refresher course?

2) No one had computers back then, but now it seems like expected gear. I'll be renting my stuff in PV and I'm sure computers won't be included. Do I really need one (never thought I did with a 72, but now with 80's...?) Dive tables? Those we never needed for single tank dives. Where can I find instructions on reading them - or do I need to?

3) Is there a source online for free academic information (I'd hate to go into the class thinking Boles Law is about a skin disease)?

4) I'll be using all rental gear (good thing I believe in prayer). There won't be a chance to hoover at 15 feet with an enpty tank to check buoyancy. The guy at the shop in PV said the water temp will be about 85 and all I need to wear is a "speedo" (yeah, right!)., so no wet suit. I'm 6' tall, weight 190. How much weight should I use?

5) Is there a internet site that gives a list of current hand signals?

6) One dive shop in PV said that to qualify for night dives you need to show your log book. I never even kept one when I dove all the time. Is this common for dive shops to require log books? What more than a C card might I need? Proof of my refresher course? I don't want to end up on the 10 min. cattle dive.

7) Lastly, what am I forgetting to ask about? What else has changed in the last 15 years?

8) If you were diving in PV, would you want to end up buddied with a guy like me who hasn't dived in 15 years?
That's what I thought...

Wow! Longest post I've ever made! Thank you in advance for your response!




;-0

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Much has changed, but many of the fundamentals remain the same. This is particularly the case if you are intending to perform recreational, no-decompression, open-water diving.

I hope your refresher course offers in-depth instruction. You will be well served by reading the threads on this board before taking the course, and in particular, use the 'search' feature to investigate in greater detail those areas where you have particular questions. For example, computers. While many recreational divers use them, they are not *required* equipment. You can get along fine without them.

Quick answers;

1. Go back and read any PADI, NAUI, SSI or YMCA basic open water scuba textbook. You tend to lose it if you don't use it. That said, the laws of physics have not changed. You will get plenty of input from the members of this board, who are great. Otherwise, develop a list of questions in advance from your own research. (Might not be a bad idea to give your list to the instructor of your course, also in advance.)

2. Computers are nice to have, but not necessary. IMHO, too much task loading. Start off by getting back into shape. Add computers later. Regain proficiency with tables first.

3. Tons of info online. You will get plenty of sites from board members. Spend as much time as possible researching topics yourself online. Track your questions. Start with meta-search engines. Again, though, a standard open water cert textbook might be a good place to begin. Available at your friendly LDS.

4. Get in the pool when you take your refresher course. Wear a wetsuit top or bottom and, of course, all your gear. Get your weighting correct. Use your instructor (see question 1 above). Then calculate difference for sea water. Again, ask your instructor. You'll be pretty close when you arrive in PV.

5. See #1.

6. Stand-by to end up on the 10 minute cattle dive. Take C-card and proof of refresher course. Logs are commonly required in some places. Reason why is covered in your question #8. Conventional wisdom attempts to pair diver experience levels to dive sites/levels of complexity, to avoid undue liability.

7. Too much to post. The best advice is to simply begin diving again, and to continue doing so. Over time, and with study/effort on your part, it will come back. Specifically, take a rescue course as soon as you are prepared/feel comfortable in the water. That may be one of the more important steps in regaining some fundamental proficiency.

8. No. No offense. Would you know how to rescue me if I blacked out at 60'? It will come back, but not instantly. Don't dive beyond your skill level. :doctor:

Feel free to PM me with other questions. My first certification was a NAUI card, in 1975.

Dive Safe,

Doc

 

[Arnaud]

Well, Doc Intrepid beat me to it!

Nice post, Rick. I only want to add that you may need more than a refresher course, but then again, you may not. It's hard to gauge your experience. I hope that the refresher course has more to offer than a one-hour classroom experience. You may want to consider starting all over and take the full OW course. You could do the check out dives in PV.

My $.02.

 

[Rick Inman]

I'd love to take the full course again, however I'll dive 3 times in PV and then that may be it for years. My experience (WAY back in the 70's and 80's) is over 200 dives - wreck, night, deep, cave, 0 vis, high current (we once rescued 2 men from Japan in strong current. It was at Point Dume, CA, and the current was so strong that we would overweight, drop to the bottom - 42 feet - and crawl around. We were after the incredibly hugh white abs on the rocks that we believed were left untouched due to the current. Anyway, these two Japenese guys pulled up in a rubber boat, dropped anchor, jumped out and sped off in the current. We sat in our boat and watched as the desended for 15 mins., then popped up about 1/4 mile away, unable to swim back to their boat, swimming like crazy WITHOUT BCs. So we motored over and picked them up before they ran out of strength. But again, I digress...). Anyway, even after the refresher course, I won't have the muscle memory and automatic response an experienced person has. However I once had an emergency happen to my buddy - an extreemly experienced diver - and watched him go into a panic that almost killed us both. You never know who you can really count on until the moment of truth. If I have to end up in the cattle herd, I really wonder if it's worth the cost and trouble. I have read that these dives last about 15 mins, you only get one dive, and you see nothing. If it comes to that, I'll keep my memories (which by the way, get better with age). But maybe if I don't blab, I can buddy up with someone, then be honest with that person. What do you think?

 

[Arnaud]

Rick Inman once bubbled...
What do you think?

You may want to post a message in the Mexican section of the board to find the best dive operation in PV and call them to arrange to dive with a DM or a really small group where you can have the DM's attention.

You may also want to try and get in a pool with all the gear a few times before going on your trip.

I'm not sure you'd want to rely on someone you met 5 minutes before getting back UW.

For the rest, you're the master of your own destiny...

 

[Dectek]

Get an open water text from any agency and read it. I am sure it will fill in most of the blanks. Don't worry about getting a computer. For the diving that you will be doing a set of dive tables, an SPG, and just a handful of brain cells will handle the situation. Welcome Back!


When the breathing gets hard....pull the rod....if it is already down....surface. Was that your old dive plan?

 

[Rick Inman]

...or, if your buddies eyes get wide, pull HIS rod down and back away.
... or, you know you've reached max dive depth when the blood from your nose is green.

 

[dvleemin]

I've been diving in PV. While the diving isn't great, its certainly worth doing. I don't have my log books in front of me, but the dives all lasted over 1/2 hour.

Darryl

 

[Tractor Tom]

Dove for a couple years in the late 70's and then got started back two years ago in St. Croix with a one-on-one refresher course with an instructor. First some classroom time, and then an hour in a pool, before making two dives off St. Croix's north shore. In the pool the instructor commented that I hadn't lost much...so it must be muscle memory, cause all those brain cells have been long killed by alcohol...

Lately I have been making a couple dives a year, and buying up new equipment. Currently I'm taking a drysuit class at the local dive shop (pool time tonght) and will be diving local lakes and the Great Lakes this summer.

I could still use some brushing up on my tables (as those have changed some) but other than that I feel like I'm ready to dive.

Go out and have a good time! Especially if you can find a good dive shop and DM for your dives, you'll be back to it in no time....

 

[oversea]

I'm sorry I nothing to contribut as I am new as well. Buy a cetification book from SSI, it'll tell you all you need. Your thread was great, sharing how things used to be done as oppose to now. there are so many things like that. Sorry for the useless post, but I got a good laugh reading this thread.