Galapagos with 19 dives - advice please

[Puffer Lover]

I learnt to dive last year in Bunaken, Sulawesi and have just completed more dives in the Red Sea. I was going to snorkel in the Galapagos in September but would now like to dive there. I am attending a bouyancy course next month in a quarry in England, which will take me to 19 dives

I have just read with alarm that it is recommended to have done 100 dives in order to dive in the Galapagos! I would like to dive in San Cristobal, for example, Kicker Rock, amongst others. And possibly on Isabela

My instructor in the Red Sea said I have good bouyancy and I am hoping that my upcoming course with help even further

I really would like to dive in the Galapagos - what do you think?

Thanks
Jane

 

[Wookie]

I'm thinking that buoyancy has some, but little to do with your problem. The reason they recommend that you have 100 dives is so that you are or have been exposed to a variety of conditions, you have had a few 'Aw Crap' moments, and you have survived them without becoming a freak show. Galapagos diving can include upwellings, downwellings, strong currents, sharks, sharks in your face, sharks biting your fins, buddy separation, divemaster separation, and a whole host of things you haven't even thought of yet. Without thinking of them, you wouldn't think through what to do if confronted by them, and therefore might not take appropriate action to save yourself before you do the wrong thing.

Now, you may be a natural and have awesome buoyancy, superb trim, and know exactly what to do int he event that anything goes wrong. If you are/do, you are one in a million, but if you say you are, I'm willing to concede it. But - the dive operator has seen a lot of divers, they have had to rescue a lot of divers, and they know the experience level required to be safe. They want you to be safe, and they probably know what they are talking about.

Edit. That hundred dives should not be in a quarry just to log 80 20 minute dives, BTW. They are interested in you having real dives in real conditions. Like in the English Channel. Those are the kind of dives they are talking about. If you have 20 dives in the channel, you are probably qualified for Galapagos.

 

[Brook Peterson]

I would have to agree with Capt. Frank. You need the experience more than the numbers. The Galapagos have strong and unpredictable currents and until you have greater experience, it would not be worth the risk to your life.

 

[RJP]

I really would like to dive in the Galapagos - what do you think?

See what happens to the DM at the 20sec mark on this video...

[video=youtube;dmG0SzvCTQ8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmG0SzvCTQ8[/video]

Buoyancy control has precious little to do with Galapagos diving.

 

[Bigd2722]

When I dove in Galapagos I had over 500 dives and was one of the least experienced divers on the boat. One lady hit her 200th dive on the trip and she had more struggles than anyone else. While experience is more important than numbers, numbers are how you measure the experience. 19 dives is not near enough experience

 

[Maverick17]

Maybe there is a more generalized thread for my question, but as a relative rookie I come to these threads on the various dive sites and it seems most posts are about dives that are good for anyone or they're very difficult and you should have many dives or much experience. I have a hard time figuring out what is an "intermediate" site where I can start to get used to currents, and get properly prepared for somewhere like Komodo or the Galapagos, for example. So do I just go to the "easy" places for 100 dives and figure at some point something will happen that's out of the ordinary? Is there a way to find sites that will give me good preparation for the tough currents and issues mentioned above? If I'm a rookie will any operation that's not a liveaboard help me get those 20 English Channel dives or do they only accept more experienced divers? It seems a bit of a Catch 22, like with work: You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience.

Not to hijack the thread hopefully, but I'm like this OP with plans and trips planned that put me near tough spots with great reputations that I don't want to miss, but not knowing the best way to get prepped for these tougher sites so I appreciate any comments.

 

[Frosty]

Maverick--yea there are plenty of dives where you are challenged beyond that perfect calm millpond that in theory you train in.
Current,surge,reduced vis, etc. Pity you aren't in my neck of the woods. They dive ops tend to run a morning trip for more experienced divers and the arvo is for newer divers.

 

[a878bob]

I would agree with everyone, I was just like the dm in that video, ass over tea kettle, until I could reach down and grab another rock. Did you notice the exhaust bubbles, completely sideways. And just wait a minute, the current will change to another direction. Tough conditions by any standard.

How do you prepare? GO DIVING ! Hopefully in less dangerous conditions with experienced partners to help keep/get you out of trouble.
Get lost at night, lose your buddy at night, swim against the current both ways, go hand over hand on the bottom the wrong way against a rip current. You don't plan on these things to happen, but you don't intentionally dive in those conditions, unless you have the confidence you can handle them alone.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

To me Galapagos is the destination that I would probably save for the last dive of my life! I would first exhaust my fascination with Caribbean. Once that becomes bland then I would go to Red Sea. After that I would do Asia Pacific destinations. Then it would be Socorro and Cocos and after all of it I save Galapagos for the lst. After that I would hang my fins and retire (NOT). If I did Galapagos then everything else on that list will look boring

 

[Wookie]

Advanced intermediate diving is available in California, Texas Flower Gardens, Yap, the Maldives, East Coast of Florida, parts of the inland passage of British Columbia, the English Channel, or anywhere a lot of water pours through a narrow cut during a tide change...