Ivy Lea campground / Rockport

[rfryza]

I am a new dive with 20 dives under my belt I like to do shore dive because i do not have a boat yet. I will be in the area of Rock Port Ontario staying at the Ivy Lea campground next week Aug 14 - 22nd. I have dove from the campground nice drift dive from the 105 site and under the Ivy Lea bridge and exit to the beach. I can only do this so many time before i get bored. I only dive with 1 tank. so I have 2 questions.

1) does any one know any more cool shore dives near Ivy Lea / Rock port.

2) do you think Rock port wall would be an OK dive for me only having 20 dives under my belt.

one more...

How deep can I dive with out having to do a deco stop i always do my 3 minute at 15'

Thanks in advance for all responces.

 

[boulderjohn]

How deep can I dive with out having to do a deco stop i always do my 3 minute at 15'

I am not sure what your training is or how recent it was. This should have been covered in that basic training.

You should have been taught that at any depth you dive, you have a specific amount of time you can stay at that depth without requiring a deco stop. For example, if you were trained with the PADI RDP, you would have learned that if you do a dive to 100 feet, you have a maximum bottom time of 20 minutes. Whatever depth you dive to, you have a maximum bottom time for that depth.

With PADI, if you exceed 130 feet for any time whatsoever, you have exceeded those limits.

Can you tell what system you learned for your initial certification?

 

[Diver Rick]

My first response to this message was deleted by an over zealous (in my opinion) Moderator of some kind for not being helpful enough. I think the deletion of my message was way overboard, but thats an argument for somewhere else.

I will at least try to be more constructive.

To the original poster. Please tell me when and from what agency you got your certification, because I am shocked that you indicate a lack of knowledge of the basics of no decompression limits.

I would like to warn anyone about taking such a course that certified you without this basic understanding. Surely you understand how your question has raised eyebrows.

Maybe you were joking? or perhaps you need to reword your question?

 

[Splitlip]

rf.

I saw in another thread you're doing 120 ft dives at this location.

Are you doing them with somebody who has experience? Maybe that person can help fill the voids in your training.

Boulderjohn kind of made reference to the old Navy/NAUI 120 rule. 60 ft 60 minutes. 80 ft 40 minutes. 100 ft 20 minutes. 90 ft 30 minutes and so on.

But don't rely on this. You need to refresh your training.

No decompression limits are a function of depth and time at depth.

The deco stop question

 

[merxlin]

rfryza- Please don't take some of the harsher replies personally. As you will find in diving as in life some people are very opinionated, and questions like yours raise some safety issues.

You should be able to refer to your dive tables to see what the no decompression limits are for various depths. What tables did you learn in your OW class? If you didn't learn tables, you should have a dive planner function on your computer. Use that to see what your no decompression limits are.

Just remember that those limits should not be pushed, and you should dive well within those limits. You should also dive within your training and ability. Having 20 dives and mostly in one location does not give you a very broad experience base. Be conservative as you try new depths and locations, and if possible dive with someone with local knowledge.

Also, going "deep" for the sake of going deep is not a good reason to do so. You might want to get your advanced OW training and do your deep diving with instruction and supervision before venturing there on your own. Know your limits and dive within them.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Considering there seems to be some uncertainty on your part over your OW training, I think perhaps an even better question for you to ask is if there are any "area experienced:" divers that would like to dive with you on shore dives that weekend. This would hopefully introduce you to some new sites but would also allow your dives to be planned and executed in a safe manner which right now, based on the questions, is not likely happening. A mentor is an incredible thing to have for a new diver. They help you learn (a diver that stops learning no matter how many dives they have logged is a dangerous diver IMO), help refine your skills, help you enjoy dives more and increase your comfort in the water......all without really trying.

 

[Steve SDI/TDI HQ]

I am a new dive with 20 dives under my belt I like to do shore dive because i do not have a boat yet. I will be in the area of Rock Port Ontario staying at the Ivy Lea campground next week Aug 14 - 22nd. I have dove from the campground nice drift dive from the 105 site and under the Ivy Lea bridge and exit to the beach. I can only do this so many time before i get bored. I only dive with 1 tank. so I have 2 questions.

1) does any one know any more cool shore dives near Ivy Lea / Rock port.

2) do you think Rock port wall would be an OK dive for me only having 20 dives under my belt.

one more...

How deep can I dive with out having to do a deco stop i always do my 3 minute at 15'

Thanks in advance for all responces.

Reading your profile, your Open Water Certification is from SDI. As a member of SDI staff, an former member of our Training Advisory Panel and an active instructor-trainer your question appalls me. I would STRONGLY suggest you return to the instructor and facility where you received your initial open water training and revise the modules on:

1/ Diving Physiology (particularly inert gas loading, decompression, diving within NDLs)
2/ Dive Planning
3/ The workings of a Personal Dive Computer

As an SDI open water graduate, you have been trained to conduct ALL dives wearing a Personal Dive Computer. If you are unfamiliar with its operation, please read the user manual supplied by the manufacturer and visit the store where it was purchased and ask for help. It sounds like you need it.

This sport is a fun one, but there are real risks associated with it. These risks include death. In the detailed analysis that follows dive "accidents" there are several issues identified as contributing causes; one is diving beyond the scope of one's training.

As an SDI open water graduate, your course work was limited to 18 metres (60 feet for America readers). You have also mentioned you have "advanced diver" certification. You do not have enough dives to hold an SDI Advanced Diver card, but you may have an Advanced Adventure card. Although we cannot police the diving habits of our associate members, we do expect them to understand the full gravity of pulling dives outside the purview of their training, experience, and equipment; most especially when they are novices with less than a few season's experience under their belt.

You have posted in another thread that you have logged a 120 feet dive. Allow me to share something with you. Although I teach TDI overhead programs and advanced trimix to 100 metres (330 feet) to divers and instructors, I would not willingly venture below 30 metres without a redundant air source of some description.

Please think about this posting. It took me a few minutes to write. I hope you take a few minutes to reflect on your situation.

My personal email address is in my signature. Please feel free to contact me for clarification.

 

[rfryza]

Thank-you all for the information.

I understand the question I asked is probably not a very smart one.

I was just wondering if I was diving in an area that the depth could go well beyond my skills set right now, and I went beyond 120 for some reason (maybe looking at the nice rock formations) would I have to increase my safety stop to 5min or so to be safe.

I do use a dive computer and watch it very closely. It was just a question of interest. I do know the recreational limits are 130' but when looking at my dive computer it does not show information on beyond what it shows as a no deco dive in the planning. Maybe I just do not know how to use fully.

When I logged the 120’ dive I was under instruction / Training with 6 other divers. I do not think this is something I would do by myself at this point.

I apologize the way I posed the question but as a new diver I tend to ask a lot of what if questions and I thought this would be the place to do it. I am always looking to learn more about this sport and all of the fun things we can do “SAFELY”.

Thanks

 

[boulderjohn]

I was just wondering if I was diving in an area that the depth could go well beyond my skills set right now, and I went beyond 120 for some reason (maybe looking at the nice rock formations) would I have to increase my safety stop to 5min or so to be safe.

You should not plan to exceed NDLs without additional training.

If you accidentally exceed NDLs, your computer will tell you what to do. Unfortunately, that will do you no good if you do not know what it is telling you. Read your manual carefully to see how your computer will guide you through an accidental decompression procedure.

Some computers are true decompression computers and can be used as such. Most computers however, will clearly state that they should not be used as such, and that the decompression information they give is for unintended violations of the NDLs.

 

[rfryza]

This was more of the answer I think Y was looking for. Thanks John


If you accidentally exceed NDLs, your computer will tell you what to do. Unfortunately, that will do you no good if you do not know what it is telling you. Read your manual carefully to see how your computer will guide you through an accidental decompression procedure.