60 Ft??

[metalmat]

I was certified a few months ago SSI.... I have 11 dives in ..going to dutch springs this weekend st john next month
I have been reading my book over again and watching the video and can't seem to find where it states that I can't go below 60 ft is that true or is it something i just overheard someplace????? if so what courses do i need if i wanted to go deeper,,
probly never would though not enough light thanks in advance

 

[sandman12]

Technically "you are certifide to 60' ". If you feel comfortable going deeper then do it. It's all about your comfort level, don't ever get pushed into diving a depth or dive site you aren't comfortable with.

 

[TheRedHead]

Most of the sites in St. John are fairly shallow. You won't DIE if you go over 60 feet, say 70 feet, but you don't want to dive too much deeper than your previous experience. Deep diving is all about managing your gas until you go deeper and encounter impairment from narcosis. Tell the DM about your previous diving experience so you won't end up at a inappropriate depth.

 

[Packhorse]

probly never would though not enough light thanks in advance

Dont bet on it. Before long 60ft will seem like nothing. And there is plent of light at 60ft even at 100ft. Its color that really gets lost.
SSI do a "deep dive" specialty. If you get a decent instructor who should teach you gas planning and how to calculate your SAC/SCR/RVM (or what ever you want to call it) then it could ba a worthwhile course. They didnt really teach it in my class.
Silly thing was that I did a nitrox course and on the dives I was buddyed up with a newbie. The instructor told us to plan the dive and when I enquired about my buddys SAC the instructor said "We dont really bother with that". How are you supose to plan a dive without knowing how much air you are going to use?
I think this is the most important bit if info you can learn on a deep dive specialty. Everything else just seemed to be a rehash of OW.

 

[TheRedHead]

Packhorse, I also took the SSI Deep course. The "rule of thumb" in the text of 100 psi per 10 feet plus 500 psi actually works out close to rockbottom using 2 x 1.0 cu ft per min. It's just dumbed down.

 

[Packhorse]

Packhorse, I also took the SSI Deep course. The "rule of thumb" in the text of 100 psi per 10 feet plus 500 psi actually works out close to rockbottom using 2 x 1.0 cu ft per min. It's just dumbed down.

Sorry but that mean nothing to me.
first because I use metric and second because 100psi per 10 feet plus 500 psi all refers to pressure not volume.
I now know how to calculate gas usage and was able to teach my buddy how to do it in 5- 10 minutes. I just dont understand why SSI and other agencys cant do this properly in there deep specialty or even in OW.

 

[divingjd]

SSI does not say that you can't go below 60 ft. From what I have heard, that is the PADI approach. The fact that SSI does not limit your certification to a particular depth does not mean that you should not seek additional training and experience before attempting more challenging dives. You should have read in the book, and been taught by your instructor, that you should not exceed your training and experience. During open water, your first couple of dives should have been less than 40 ft and all dives should have been 60 ft or less. Remember, diving deeper means that you will be using air at a greater rate, so the air/gas planning and management the others are describing becomes more critical than on a shallow dive. As mentioned above, this doesn't mean you can't do a 70 ft dive, but consider taking the deep diving course before attempting significantly deeper dives.

 

[spectrum]

An OW certification should have prepared you to dive safely to 60 feet. Beyond that depth lot's of things become more critical. As mentioned gas planning needs to be carefully considered. A sucessful CESA is much less likely beyond 60 feet so buddy skill and gass management need to be good. In many colder water enviornments thermoclines can easilly plunge you into total darkness at high noon after you pass through several thermoclines, so you are in effect making a deep night dive. At some depth and on any given day narcosis can rear it's head though that's most likely as you approach 100 feet. As you pass through the thermoclines you may find yourself in water much much colder than where you began the dive, a 35-40F difference is not had to find in the middle of the summer around here.

So my point is that there are a lot of things to consider as you go deeper. At 11 dives I suggest you hold off and certainly do not make such a dive with a peer of similar experience. If you are diving with a mentor and the conditions will not be severe then it may be a tolerable risk.

Pete

 

[TheRedHead]

Sorry but that mean nothing to me.
first because I use metric and second because 100psi per 10 feet plus 500 psi all refers to pressure not volume.
I now know how to calculate gas usage and was able to teach my buddy how to do it in 5- 10 minutes. I just dont understand why SSI and other agencys cant do this properly in there deep specialty or even in OW.

Pressure and volume are related, of course, and divers think about pressure, not volume. People talk about "turn pressure." Your spg or computer shows a reading of pressure, in metric, bar not psi. Perhaps you instructor didn't stress gas planning, but the little rule does work, just like Lamont's battlefield caculations.

 

[TheRedHead]

So my point is that there are a lot of things to consider as you go deeper. At 11 dives I suggest you hold off and certainly do not make such a dive with a peer of similar experience. If you are diving with a mentor and the conditions will not be severe then it may be a tolerable risk.

Metalmat's post said he planned to make these dives in St. John, USVI and will very likely be diving with a divemaster who will likely base decisions on where to dive based on the group's experience. We're talking about 85 degree water with good visibility. St. John is an American island and the dive shops are run by Americans and they do a pretty good job there.