Advice on how to become a better / safe diver

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

CommanderKeen

Registered
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Location
Germany
I’ve just completed my OWD with my buddy. Now we’re planing a dive trip to the red sea in September.

I know that the OWD ist just a basic certification and you need to get some dives under your belt to get some experience.

But I am a bit concerned to go diving on my own (with my OWD buddy), because I think that I lack a some skills that are probably necessary/important to be safe. Especially dive planing, navigation as well as safety routines/drills. We did the no-air exercise quite a few times, but we where always on the bottom of the pool/lake and not bouyant.

Except from swimming pools, the only diving options in my area my are lakes which have a limited visibility, which does not make things easier.

Maybe I am too concerned right now, and should be a little more confident.

Most dive clubs around offer a pool session every two weeks, but it does not include any specific training. I came up with the following plan to improve my diving skills / knowledge.

1. Bouyancy and fin kick training in the pool

2. Practicing all the OWD drills while bouyant

3. Lake diving in shallow water (10m/30ft max)

4. Reading stuff about dive planning, especially air calculation, dive times, navigation, and how to react in emergency/critical situations.

I would be glad if you could give me any comments/advice on my training plan. Recommendations for good reads on point for are kindly appreciated.
 
Except from swimming pools, the only diving options in my area my are lakes which have a limited visibility, which does not make things easier.

Honestly diving in low vis made me a much better diver. If you can handle 3 feet vis, you are far better prepared to do any diving that has better vis. I wouldn't write off diving at home, then you can get in a lot more dives than just 2 tanks in a day as well. So you can progress faster.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
GUE is a good recommendation.....Rescue Diver is also a great class to hone your skills....continuing education include reading here and elsewhere is paramount to learning from others mistakes.
 
Honestly diving in low vis made me a much better diver. If you can handle 3 feet vis, you are far better prepared to do any diving that has better vis. I wouldn't write off diving at home, then you can get it in much more dives than just 2 tanks in a day as well. So you can progress faster.

Hope this helps.
This. My local dive spot is a small lake with a max depth of about 31' and absolutely horrible visibility this time of year. This past weekend it was maybe 2'-3' max. On top of that, the side we decided to dive is sometimes used by people fishing and I ended up getting entangled in some thin monofilament. This was after nearly running right into the branches of a submerged tree because we couldn't see anything until it was right in front of us. And I love every minute of these types of dives! Why? Because the terrible conditions force me to be very mindful while also remaining very calm and relaxed. The silty conditions force me to get better at buoyancy control and my frog kicking so I don't stir up the bottom, and the poor visibility means my buddy and I need to keep in close contact at all times. Lastly, having a spot to dive that is only a 30 minute drive away means I get to dive far more often than I would otherwise.

The fact that you are thinking very hard about this stuff means you are serious about diving. That's great! You are OWD certified, which means you learned the fundamentals of diving safely in an open water environment. Now get your buddy, head to the nearest lake, and practice! Heck, you can always descend and just practice hovering in place. Get a compass and set a reciprocal course out and back from the shoreline. Can't really get too lost that way, especially in a lake.
 
!) Dive at every opportunity - pool, mud hole or lake
2) Practice basics over and over

My recent post-- I underlined a few thoughts- hope it helps

Charters not accepting certain agencies?

As I recall

LA Co UW Instructors association was formed in the summer of 1954 and of course is the oldest certifying agency not only in the US but in the world. It is the grandfather of all other agencies, NAUI, PADI and the rest of the instructor alphabet

Their representative (s) were invited to the RSTC . In order to become a member LA Co would be required to water down their programs to conform to the RSTC structure which they refused and walked out .

When one becomes a LA Certified diver they are a complete diver - not one who was trained for transport from surface and back .and is required to take additional training courses to become some what safe- and still is only one who dives and is not a diver. There is a huge difference !

There is so much evidence of poor training as noted by people who dive but are terrified to dive with out a dive guide to hold their hand during the dive -- or panic when they loose contact with their hired dive guide--

They are people who dive but are not divers

The La Co UW Instructors program is a regional program in its 64h year. It is still producing extremely well trained knowable physically fit instructors who produce well trained knowledgeable divers -- not people who just dive

Yes Max their is a difference --- a huge difference !

Sam Miller, 111
LA Co UW Instructor
NAUI Instructor
PADI instructor
CMAS instructor
(and a lot of other Instructor programs )
 
I'm assuming you will be guided by a dive master? In that case just concentrate on your buoyancy and put in a lot of hours underwater and concentrate on relaxation and stress reduction. Whatever you do have fun.
 
There is no substitute for just going out and diving.

My first year I did a couple of things to help with areas I was concerned about. One example, I spent the better part of 2 hours one afternoon sitting on the bottom of a neighbor's pool doing nothing but flooding and clearing or removing and replacing my mask. That pretty much relegated my mask concerns to the level of minor nuisance. As a second example, I went off of a friend's dock on a lake where the silt was as deep as your arm. While holding a piling, I kicked up as much silt as I could so I could understand what it was like to have visibility go to zero. Being prepared for it made it much less scary and easier to deal with it when it happened on a "real" dive.

Figure out what you are least comfortable with and find safe controlled ways to get right in the middle of it. Best way to get over your fears IMO.

But mostly just dive when / wherever you can. The more you dive the more comfortable you get.
 
Thank you very much for all your input. I will definitely check out the links. I haven’t heard about GUE but it I will look into this.

So basically I could go on as planned working on my basic diving skills in the pool and preferably in the lake.

The fact that you are thinking very hard about this stuff means you are serious about diving. That's great! You are OWD certified, which means you learned the fundamentals of diving safely in an open water environment.


We first got in touch with scuba diving during a holiday in Thailand. We booked a discover scuba diving package including a boat trip to the Similan Islands. We did two 45min dives and really enjoyed it. I did not waste much toughs on any risk, cause we were told that recreational diving is pretty safe these days due to the good equipment. However we did not enroll for an OWD in Thailand.


I am really wrapping my head around this stuff since I‘ve started the OWD back home and learned about the risks involved. I don‘t want to be a person who is just diving because he knows how to operate a scuba equipment, but is always reliant on guides/dive instructors, due to lack of a overall skill set and risk awareness. Don’t get me wrong. I am not against guided trips. But its a difference if I book a guide to get the best dive experience, or if I have to book a guide to be able to do the dive.

Now get your buddy, head to the nearest lake, and practice! Heck, you can always descend and just practice hovering in place. Get a compass and set a reciprocal course out and back from the shoreline. Can't really get too lost that way, especially in a lake.

That sounds like a good idea to practice orientation skills in a pretty save environment. I‘ll put the diving compass on my shooping list, right behind the dive computer.

Seems quite soon with so little experience, none in the ocean. What are you planning to do in the Red Sea?

We booked a diving resort which has a house reef and offers boat trips as well. Since diving in Egypt with very reasonable priced we want to get as much diving experience as possible. We want to start with guided dives at the house reef and see how things are going to work out. Deciding with the guide how to progress to other diving sites.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom