OW last weekend...

[Scubadoobadoo]

Well, 6 weeks after my wife got certified, I did my OW and successfully completed the PADI OW certification. What a blast!!! I finished at 2:00pm on Sunday and we were diving recreationally by 4:00 that day. My second dive was a night wreck dive. Needless to say, I was a little bit nervous but being accompanied by extremely proficient divers made me feel better. As most of you already know, night dives are quite rewarding.

Oh, by the way, can someone lend me about $15,000.00 so I can by my own equipement??? ;-)

SDD

 

[dkerr]

CONGRADULATIONS

Scubadoobadoo once bubbled...

Oh, by the way, can someone lend me about $15,000.00 so I can by my own equipement??? ;-)

SDD

not a chance!!!

 

[Groundhog246]

Your second dive after OW certification was a WHAT!!!! What group did you dive with? So that I know NEVER to dive with them.
Did you exceed you certification level for depth too?

Scubadoobadoo once bubbled...
Well, 6 weeks after my wife got certified, I did my OW and successfully completed the PADI OW certification. What a blast!!! I finished at 2:00pm on Sunday and we were diving recreationally by 4:00 that day. My second dive was a night wreck dive.
SDD

 

[Scubadoobadoo]

It was in 20 ft of relatively calm water.... What's the big deal???

 

[detroit diver]

I think we're making the assumption here that you did not penetrate that wreck, yes?

 

[Scubadoobadoo]

That would be a very safe assumption. I apologize for not making that point clear. The wooden wreck has been in the water for 80+ years and as such is almost entirely caved in.

 

[DaveO]

Because I'm sure you can get the gear for $14,500.

Welcome!

 

[Groundhog246]

Scubadoobadoo once bubbled...
It was in 20 ft of relatively calm water.... What's the big deal???

There are many out there who would eliminate or regulate out of existance, recreational activities which they consider too dangerous, such as scuba. Injuries or deaths, especially of those exceeding their training level, give them more ammunition to use when they try to impose new/more rules.
I've also seen and dove with too many (of course one is too many) divers who consider "training" to get a C card "useless" except they need a card to purchase gear and air fills. I'm a lot pickier about who I buddy with now.

Even on shallow wrecks, I've seen enough monofilament fishing line to cause major problems. Hard enough for an experienced diver to deal with in daylight. On my first night training dive, my instructors light flooded and failed (new light, it's 3rd dive) 2 minutes into the dive.

I apologize if I read more into your post than you meant. To point out where I'm coming from, I've been certified a little less than a year, have complete 50 dives. In those 50, I've had one buddy whose reg free flowed on our second dive at 51 feet. One whose mask strap broke at 30 feet. The light flood/failure on my first night dive. A buddy who didn't keep an eye on me when descending and when I paused with a minor equalizing problem rapidly disappeared out of sight. I ascended to the surface and he showed up a couple of minutes later and asked what happened. And my mask kicked off by a diver who descended on top of me (another buddy pair). So while most dives were calm and uneventful, problems do occur and even in 20 feet, I don't think a person 2 dives after their open water is ready for night diving. I will also readily admit that my outlook has been affected by my training. The LDS I trained with, will NOT let you take your advanced until you've logged 12 to 15 dives after your OW and can demonstrate good bouyancy control.

<rant off>
Anyway, welcome to the underwater world. Please do enjoy yourself, but safety first. Above or below the surface, water does not give second chances if you don't get it right the first time.

 

[art.chick]

Nobody wants to rain on your parade. It sounds like you did fine on that dive. I, too have dived on the exterior of a wreck in 40' of calm, warm water at night with a large group & did fine.

However, there are newer divers (like my roommate) who jump to a lot of conclusions based on dives like that. Answering "yes" when someone asks if you have ever done a night or wreck dive without knowing what they are potentially committing you to can set you up for grave danger.


For instance, My roommate asked to come along on a dive with me, saying that she had done several cold water dives. I took her in the ocean, & at once she was panicked by the motion of the water & the presence of kelp! Turned out her dives were in a cold LAKE. (My mistake for not pressing the question further.)

The point is, an OW class is just the beginning, and there is a huge range of environments & conditions. YOurs & your buddy's good judgement is the only thing standing between the 2 of you & a very scary, perhaps fatal incident. Be very clear about your experience in the future, not letting anyone talk you into taking on risks bigger than your training has prepared you for. You clearly understand the difference between a penetration wreck dive & what you did. Make sure you are equally clear on the factors at work in all future dives.

 

[animian2002]

u did wreck dive and it is at nite... that is hmmmm.... a bit risky ...even though the water is calm..

IMHO.. without the proper training for Night dive and wreck dive.. that can be dangerous to both you and your buddy....