Diving Without certification...

[lmurtha1]

So I'm talking with this guy and he has been diving for years, he said he wants to take me out to a shallow reef with his dive buddy that's 10-15 ft deep max. I kind of laughed and said I'm not certified yet and will be in a the next coming weeks. He said its ok, its too shallow and it will help me "get my feet wet" before I actually dip into the class. Now I'm a pretty decent swimmer, and do plenty of spearfishing free diving, but with scuba diving, its not as simple as throwing on your mask and fins and jump in..

Question: Do people really just strap on a bunch of gear on and jump in with no training and leave their life in the hands of a couple guys just to get their feet wet?! Even though it is shallow water, what are your guys thoughts on this?

 

[stakanak]

NG...no good

 

[softballer]

So I'm talking with this guy and he has been diving for years, he said he wants to take me out to a shallow reef with his dive buddy that's 10-15 ft deep max. I kind of laughed and said I'm not certified yet and will be in a the next coming weeks. He said its ok, its too shallow and it will help me "get my feet wet" before I actually dip into the class. Now I'm a pretty decent swimmer, and do plenty of spearfishing free diving, but with scuba diving, its not as simple as throwing on your mask and fins and jump in..

Question: Do people really just strap on a bunch of gear on and jump in with no training and leave their life in the hands of a couple guys just to get their feet wet?! Even though it is shallow water, what are your guys thoughts on this?

I just finished confined water class and waiting for warm weather to complete outside dives.

I would advise against this even in shallow water

 

[Gambitt]

At 15 ft, you are at less than one added atm of pressure, so if worse came to worse, you could dump the gear, and head to the surface, with very minimal risk of an over expansion injury.

Seeing as you free-dive, you should be comfortable in the water, so that's to your benefit.

When you think about it, the first pool-lesson that you take as a scuba diver can be 15ft, and what experience do you really have? And at 15ft, Micheal Phelps couldn't stay down on a tank of air, long enough to hit a decompression limit, so that's not a concern either.

I guess the bottom line is, What do You know of his "experience", and are you comfortable putting your life in their hands,(at a minimal degree)?

 

[drrich2]

If nothing else, swimming over a reef wearing a weight-loaded BCD or weight belt without good buoyancy control, you're a threat to the corals.

Breathing through a regulator underwater can feel more 'constricted/restricted' than you're used to, and the thought that you're dependent on that regulator for air can up your anxiety levels. Anxious folks can burn through a tank of air a lot faster than other people expect (that's what I did during an open water training dive); running out of air suddenly (when you've just exhaled, by the way, not with a lung full of air to hold your breath) in a weighted BCD at 15' deep while the other divers are distracted meandering around sight-seeing, and you panic not knowing how to get their attention NOW or how long till you black out, well...

I recommend getting your OW cert. before you go play.

Richard.

 

[gbray]

IMO It all depends on their qualifications. This is exactly what happens on a discovery dive, after all who trained Jacques Cousteau? My very first dive was in the Comel river in texas with my brother. I was not certified nor even thought about it. He knew I would love it and talked me into it. Now to qualify it he was an army combat diver for 20 years, ran the dive locker at Fort Bragg for several years and trained navy seals. The first 10 minutes he never lost physical contact with me (held onto the back of my arm) and after was never more than 2 feet away from me. He also told me to now get formal training thru one of the certifying agencies.

Although PADI and the others are not the only ones in the world who are qualified to take you diving they do offer some reassurance you will receive proper training in a reasonably safe environment. The bottom line is can you seriously trust your life to these friends?

 

[FireInMyBones]

I would not recommend this. Without proper understanding of the fine details and techniques of diving, like those an instructor would provide, SCUBA can be very dangerous. You may be fine this time, but what if you are not?

Have some of us breathed off a regulator once or twice a foot or two underwater to see if we could get away with it? Sure, but even 15' can be a different world.

 

[lmurtha1]

IMO It all depends on their qualifications. This is exactly what happens on a discovery dive, after all who trained Jacques Cousteau? My very first dive was in the Comel river in texas with my brother. I was not certified nor even thought about it. He knew I would love it and talked me into it. Now to qualify it he was an army combat diver for 20 years, ran the dive locker at Fort Bragg for several years and trained navy seals. The first 10 minutes he never lost physical contact with me (held onto the back of my arm) and after was never more than 2 feet away from me. He also told me to now get formal training thru one of the certifying agencies.

Although PADI and the others are not the only ones in the world who are qualified to take you diving they do offer some reassurance you will receive proper training in a reasonably safe environment. The bottom line is can you seriously trust your life to these friends?

Very true. My father is an avid diver and while i was growing up, he brought me out into 5-8 ft water at our lake home and would show me everything. So I have in a sense been strapped up and in the water. So i know how a regulator works, purging, bc inflation and control, using gauges etc.. He is a very qualified diver and his buddy is DM. I do trust them fully, I'm more or less wondering if this is a common occurrence with divers going out without real training. 15-20 ft is really nothing deep considering ill hit 20-30 regularly free diving. I guess if they are monitoring my dive and instructing me rather than just going off into a tangent chasing fish, then its a different story. I just don't want to get out there and that 15 ft turns into "lets go deeper" or I end up hovering over 90+ft... But the integrity of these guys are legit, they are good friends with my wife and have yrs of experience. Still, what are your thoughts, should I give it a wurl?

 

[vladimir]

These days it is very much the exception for people to dive in advance of their certification unless they are under the supervision of a dive pro. (In fact, a lot of divers never dive without the supervision of a divemaster even after they are certified.) They are also, however, unlikely to be fit, skilled and comfortable in the water, knowledgeable about boats and the sea, etc. I don't think it would be reckless for an experienced free diver to do a shallow dive like that if you understand and follow the most basic rule: never close your airway.

 

[Gambitt]

Given your specifics, I'd say Go 4 it, and welcome to the world of diving! You know waaay more than I did, tossed in to the pool in Jamaica after 30 min of "lessons"

Given what you've said, and having seen HUNDREDS of ' Discover Scuba" courses all over the Cari bean, You're well ahead of a "newbie"