Advice: hitting the ground running, or biting off more than I can chew?

[The Chairman]

To be clear: I'm not saying I plan on pushing the limits of any certification

I push limits all the time and that's a time honored Scuba tradition. I've been diving sidemount a lot longer than there has been a side mount cert. In fact, they had just come out with a ready made unit about the same time I built my own.

The trick is to never exceed your critical limits, including knowledge and skill. It'sThey may or may not entirely up to you to figure those out and to honor them.

 

[OldPhotog]

It's a top that has a tail in the back that comes up through the crotch and is attached to the front of the body. Typically it has an attached hood, with the zipper running from mid chest down. Very warm with the attached hood as there are few water entry points, though fun to get into if very thick.

Edit: Two of the images here are of beaver tails, one with, one without hood. Wetsuit - Wikipedia

Thank you. I had one once but did not know that was what it was called.

 

[EricTheDood]

I've got a trip planned to La Jolla in August, and am in touch with an instructor out there about doing some diving. Some of the options are > 60' and some are night dives.

Where are you going that'll be deeper than 60'?

If you're diving the wrecks, then yes, one should have an AOW cert. Since you haven't dived in the ocean, I would advise against it. Wrecks like the Yukon have certain hazards even if you don't penetrate and the water down there's often in the low to mid 50s.

 

[Steveed]

I am from MA, but have dived La Jolla, while out there for work, a few times. Scuba is very popular out there, it seems like a great scene. As for La Jolla shore, there's variable surf, variable viz, sand gradually sloping out to the canyon, which gets very deep. The water is cool. La Jolla shore is beautiful, there's a lot of life, have a great time, dive within your means!

 

[bowlofpetunias]

When I did my first Calfornia dives I had nearly 500 dives up in a wide variety of conditions and locations. I got some surprises.

Boat dives
On the boat dives I was used to a DM who got into the water, led the dive and "kept and eye out for divers having issues. On boat dives my experience had been that dive buddies were assigned on the boat if you didn't have your own. I had on occassion refused the buddy they wanted to assign me but that is another story. Your dive your safety.. your decision and responsibility. On California boat dives they are a taxi to the dive site. If you don't have a buddy and want local knowledge (a good idea) you need to arrange it before hand. I would suggest because of your experience level you arrange to hire a DM or Instructor before you get on the boat.

Shore dives
I had hundreds of shore dives again in a variety of conditions and similar temperatures before my first Calif entry. On my first surf entry mother ocean kicked my butt. Getting past those breakers is quite a trick. Doing it on sand instead of the rock ledges and more solid bottoms I was used to presented some different challenges. By the time I took on LaJolla Shores I was getting the knack of it because I was lucky enough to be diving with a friend who was local and knew the tricks. I was smart enough to listen to the advice and follow directions. The surf was not as challenging that day but the surge was bad enough that I wound up seasick from it. I am not intimidated by surge I actually enjoy letting the surge play with me and drifting with it. That dive was like we were in a "snow globe" someone was shaking back and forth. I remember looking at the sparkles of the silicate in the water as it reflected the sunlight. It was beautiful. Even my buddy wound up sick from the surge.

Local knowledge.
My best adivce when you travel is to find some good local advice. Ask them about the tips and tricks of diving their sites and listen. If possible arrange for a good experienced local buddy, watch what they do and mimic them.

As for taking courses you have already had lots of good advice. IMHO the only way you will waste money on a course is if you don't do your homework to make sure you are taking the training with a good instructor.

 

[ScubaSteve858]

I am a local San Diego Diver and dive the shores about once a week. In fact I had a great night dive just last night. The water was 72f at the surface and 55f below thermocline at 50fsw. I wear a drysuit and my buddy wears a 7mm with hood, 5mm gloves and boots. No surge or current and Viz varied from 5 -25ft depending on where we were. The walls change over time. Currently the first shelf of the wall starts at 55fsw and tapers down to about 85fsw. There is also a lover shelf starting around 65 and tapering to 90+. La Jolla Shores is different week to week based on surf, algae bloom, and current. However, it is where I completed all of my training dives. I would reccomend contacting San Diego Divers (in my opinion and most locals the best in SD) I was OW and AOW PADI and then certified by SD Divers (NAUI) for Nitrox and learned more in that class than my AOW. Give them a call and see if you can arrange something for when you are here for AOW. La Jolla shores is for the most part a large salty pool with sand and some waves.

 

[rjgiddings]

My .02 to all of this - is to get just more comfortable in the water. Means just go diving more. Get roughly 20 more dives in, and you'll see what I mean. You get better at all the gear management, and your air consumption. I read all the posts so far- so forgive me if I missed this- but are you diving in a drysuit? That to me made a world of difference.

If I could do it all over- For my own diving education I would take a GUE class at about 50 something dives. I think by that time I've got my buoyancy dialed in much better and Im not sucking down a tank quite so fast. And haven't learned a bunch of bad habits that my GUE instructor would need to break.

I got certified back in 2000 but I remember my first 20 dives were just managing buoyancy and air consumption and gear. Kind of all over the place. Trim was still wonky.

After your own scuba diving has settled down a bit, breathing SAC rates are decent, your underwater perception will expand. Your situational awareness will widen a bit. You'll start noticing little things more and more. Other divers, how they are swimming, their trim, and gear issues they might be struggling with. Or unaware of. An SPG getting dragged in the sand. A loose weight belt.

Have good time!

 

[EireDiver606]

. Personally, I believe most people gather too many certs and not enough experience for the training in the certs to really be meaningful. Try to perfect the skills you garner from each class before you add to your skill set.

I couldn't agree with this more, Im PADI open water and want to get some more dives under my belt before i go up to AOW or GUE Fundamentals to perfect my skills and buoyancy and to get more experienced. I have a reasonable number of dives under my belt considering i started diving 1 and a half years ago.

I was in South Africa 2 weeks ago on holiday and I met a DM there who had 90 dives under her belt. 90 Dives to be a PADI DM? How is this reasonable? My friend said that my trim and buoyancy was much better than hers and I'm only OW for Gods sake. She was also kneeling on the sand to look at fish, instead of hovering horizontally neutral above the seabed not disturbing floor marine life.

It just goes to show how easy it is to become "an apparent experienced diver" by "using your credit card."

Frank