1st Ocean Dive Advice

[inter_alia]

Scubapilot,
on my first few Gulf dives I never understood why the deckhands would explain that it's best to grab onto the bottom rung of our particular ladder to get my fins off, then and only then reach up to hand off the fins, then start on the ladder climbing slowly in rhythm to the waves up the ladder... and only remove the reg once completely on the boat.
These were their instructions and it took a couple times (in sort-of rougher seas) for me to firgure out they were right. It was my nature just to get to the ladder, grab the rung in front of my face, reach down for fins (getting tossed around) and fight the surface to get the fins off, etc.

My point is: the deckhands will know the best way to get out of the water. Listen and follow directions even if they seem counterintuitive to landlubbers. They know the boat, you don't. Have fun, be safe.

 

[DiveExtreme22]

i went to 100 feet on my 10th logged dive this summer, and you can feel the narcosis but i actually like the feeling, its a pretty cool feeling...you just have to know its hitting you and stay aware of your surroundings and air...for some reason i remember it being really hard to concentrate on my guage...i was remembering to look at it, but the numbers were just harder to read i just had to concentrate hard, and your coordination gets a little messed up, but thats really all i felt at all...youll be fine, have fun in your first ocean dives, be safe

 

[android]

I would suggest finding a shallow, sheltered cove or inlet and checking your weight and bouyancy in saltwater before diving to 100ft.

Put on all your gear and use the rule of thumb formulas found other places on this board to get your weight right before jumping in the deep end.

 

[DandyDon]

All good advise so far. I'd rather see you learn boat diving off of Key Largo on a calm day. That's where and how I started...

On the other hand, I did a 100 foot boat dive on my Resort dive before even certifying (didn't know any better), then went on to learn re-boarding in 8-12 foot waves when I had not too many more than you. If you pay attention to instructions and follow your training, there's lots you can do to minimize risk. BTW, I don't care of diving Nx on Air computes; I like to know exactly what the machine really thinks, then work within very safe parameters.

I will suggest you carry a Safety Sausage and a Storm Whitle on every boat dive. Have fun. I'm going out of Morehead this weekend, too! :fish:

 

[herman]

ScubaPilot,

IPlease take Herman (Hello my BT buddy (I think we are finally going to meet at the quarry this month)) seriously when he talks about getting on and off the boat being tricky - at best it is tricky - at worst it can be very dangerous. Also the long bumpy boat ride out is worth taking Bonine in the night before and each morning before your dive. .

HI Mary and welcome to my other board home. Aren't Carolina Ladder Rides fun.

Scubapilot, in general, the procedure goes something like this.
Make your way up the tag line (rope behind the boat) until you are next in line, making SURE you are far enough back from the guy ahead of you that if he falls off, it's not on top of your head. When he has CLEARED the back of the boat (not just off the ladder) remove your fins and either hand them up to the mate or place them over your arms with the straps at your elbows. This is the tricky and critical part, watch the rhythm of the ladder and when the ladder just stops on it's downward motion, grab the ladder and plant both feet on the lower rung, put some weight on the ladder and ride the ladder until it had gotten to the top of its travel. At that point, start climbing. If you don't make it to the deck before it bottoms out again, wait and start again when it tops out again. The objective it to be moving in the opposite direction of the ladder. DON'T remove your reg until you have cleared the back of the boat, just in case you fall back in. And if you do find yourself falling back in, push away, you do not want to get hit by the ladder or the boat.

As far as seasick meds go, I have not heard of any problems with Bonine (or Dramine II). The original Dramine made me sick by it's self but I have had no ill effects from Bonine. If you do decide to use it, it's best to do the day before/morning dose. The first pill gets it into your system and the second acts as a booster.

Do watch your air, it goes surprisingly fast at depth, esp when you are in awe of the things around you.
Have fun and dive safe.

 

[SoCalOffshore]

Good luck and have fun. All of my 16 dives are in the ocean as i live in So Cal. In fact, I am not sure what a quarry is. lol. I agree with all the previous posts, don't get sea sick, watch out for currents, use the anchor line for assent and desent, watch your bottom time at depth and enjoy. Most people get narc'd around 100 feet or more. On our deep dive to 120 feet a couple got it and some did not. I didnt feel a thing except you seemed to get winded more while swimming around. Oh yeah, boarding can be fun in larger swells.

 

[RooLuvsToDive]

I just got back from Cozumel, where I did my first ocean dives. I had a Transderm Scop (scopolamine) patch on my head because I had traveled on a cruise ship. I dove to 75 feet for the first dive and had no troubles whatsoever. The patch seemed to work very well for me, and didn't cause any drowsiness that I could tell.

 

[ScubaPilot]

Thanks guys - I'll have to say I've learned a lot with this post. There are a lot of facets to this dive I didn't think through, but I feel better prepared now.

Hey do they have wireless network connections in decompression chambers? Just kidding. I'll let you know how everything went.

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[ScubaPilot]

I'll have to say the diving was awesome. Never seen so many barracuda!

The only bad thing. I've been on boats before, even out in the ocean. But for some reason, when this boat turned off the engine - we'll just say it was horrible. But just as quickly as it came on, it went away as soon as I was in the water. Then as soon as it went away, it came back as soon as I boarded the boat.

At the 28 mile ledge, we didn't wander too far from the anchor line because of the limited vis and lack of compass (first time I've rented a reg without a compass - wasn't on purpose) My depth meter read 107ft, maybe a tad bit of narcosis, but I felt better below 75ft than I did above.

When we got to the Hyde I was really dreading the boat stopping, but I found that if I stared at the inside fo the boat, things we're much smoother. Down at the Hyde the current swooping through the portals and doorways of the Hyde we're really cool. I even had a barracuda come up within a few feet of me as if he were curious as to what this very unmajestic creature (me) was.

All in all it was a very good learning experience. There is a lot to learn about boat diving, about deep diving, about safety stops (one guy was hanging completely upside down at the safety stop trying to keep from surfacing), and about the creatures beneath. But for me, since they occured at different stages of the dive, it wasn't too overwhelming.

Even with sea sickness, I'd do it again in a moments notice! And probably will again this month.

Oh - and if anyone is going off the coast of NC, visibility was only about 20feet, about like the clearest quarry, but the temperatures were about 77 degrees without any thermoclines. All in all an awesome day of diving.