Back from Panama City....

[Duca]

Just got back to work, spent the weekend in PCB, did 5 dives and had a great time. There were 10 in our group and it was the first ocean dives for 6 of us.


We tried to go off-shore Sat, but the wind& chop was too much, so we came back to a spot called "The Lost Pontoon".. it was pretty neat, we did two dives there.

We did a beach dive Sat night, swam about a mile out, dug a hole, and hit 18'...saw lots of crabs and a skate though. It was neat to see searobins in the water, they are a funky little fish. I had caught them several times, but they are much cooler under water.

This morning we went to the wreck of the USS Strength and then to Bridge Span #1. Lildiver saw a HUGE jewfish at the Strength, but I missed it. I Did see a lot of other cool stuff though. I wish'd I'd had a speargun for the school of trigger fish at the Strength!
At the bridge, a few of us got off the site and ended up about 3-400 yards from the boat when we surfaced. We were chastised for making a safety stop at 15', as that was probably when the current pulled us away. Personally, I was glad we did it. It was a 75' dive and we came up early knowing that we were off the site. We were the 4th-6th people back on the boat out of about 20. If we'd've been last and held everyone up, I could see the capt being concerned...

All-in-all it was a great trip, my wife finished up her OW and I am officialy done with AOW now!

 

[seaangel]

You were chastised for making a 15 foot safety stop. Shame on them. Even if it was the current that drifted you, always make a safety stop. I have recently been diving with several divers that never having been in salt water or deeper than 20 feet do not understand safety stops. I'd rather be off my mark and have the boat pick me up than to risk DCS.

 

[Duca]

Yeah, we were told that the safety stop is "just a safety stop" and that we stood a greater risk of drifting out of range than we did of being hurt by skipping the stop on a 75' dive.
I just sorta nodded and listened as I stowed my gear. At that point there were 6 divers on board, all of us had made our first boat dives this weekend and here was an experienced capt, the divemaster/mate and some "authoritative souding guy" in a "water rescue" shirt telling us that we should skip our stop because (no, they really said this...) we might get left behind if we had come up that far from our boat in the Bahamas. They actually said that it was a "good thing" they had been looking for us, as if that wasn't they're job. BTW, we had swam more than halfway back to the boat when the DM dove in with a line and acted like he was saving us from certain death.... the more I think about this, the more it bothers me.

 

[Tavi]

Congrats to you and your wife on your new certs!
Sounds like the crew there could use a refresher coarse.

Tavi

 

[Taltoz]

Glad to hear you had a great trip. My wife and I did our check out dives in PC last weekend and also dove the Loss Pontoon and the Strength. My envy to Lildiver for finding the Jewfish. I searched that wreck and could not locate it. The group before us found it but when we got down there was no sign of it. A friend of mine was telling me about the bridgespans but we were unable to get to them. Maybe next trip.

One question though... What boat did you dive with? We dove from the Splash and loved it.The captain and crew were great.

 

[syruss32]

Sheesh, no safety stops? What will they decide divers don't need next? Okay here is the dive plan, we are diving to 120' with one tank. Your bottom time is 10 minutes, but if we cut out the deco stop and accelerate the ascent and descent we can kick that to 25. After all we have never had anyone get DCS on this boat.

Sheesh, that would make me a wee bit nervous!

 

[TexasMike]

That operator needs to be invited to join our little cofee klatch here so we can help him understand the importance of safety stops after deep dives.


Duca....One thing that you will probably learn later on is how use a lift bag and reel to assist with safety stops and marking your position for the boat crew.

Essentially, clip the bag to your line, puff a little bit of air in with your octo, and then let it run up to the surface. Then wind the reel up until you reach your stop depth. Then just hang onto the reel as you clear your stop. Then wind up to the next stop depth and repeat.

So even if you started within 50 yard of the boat, the boat crew will still see your position and know you're okay. And they can monitor your position if the current gets you and pulls you away from the boat.

Just another tool for your diving tool box.

 

[syruss32]

Whoever posted about a lift-bag for use in a safety stop, thanks a lot. I have one on order for that very purpose. I find it very hard to maintain 15 feet, when I inhale I go to 10 when I exhale I go to 20. So I am going to just add a 15' line to the lift bag and a handle or two, then just get negatively boyant and hold on, this should be much better and not a lot to add to the weight to carry.

If anyone is interested I got my bag at Scuba-Chick

 

[TexasMike]

Actually, I would discourage you from adding these handles to your bag since this would add unnecessary bulk when rolling it up for stowing on your rig. And it would be in the way if you were to use the lift bag for recovery purposes.

The best way to use it for deco stops is as I described above, using a reel. The reason this works best is when you need to do a stop deeper than 15 or 20 feet (staged deco)

If you like, next time we're both at Clear Springs, we can hop over into the deep end and I'll show you what I mean. It's simpler than you would think.

 

[syruss32]

Originally posted by TexasMike
Actually, I would discourage you from adding these handles to your bag since this would add unnecessary bulk when rolling it up for stowing on your rig. And it would be in the way if you were to use the lift bag for recovery purposes.

The best way to use it for deco stops is as I described above, using a reel. The reason this works best is when you need to do a stop deeper than 15 or 20 feet (staged deco)

If you like, next time we're both at Clear Springs, we can hop over into the deep end and I'll show you what I mean. It's simpler than you would think.

That would be cool Mike, though I doubt I will get in any more dives before it gets cold since we are going to St. Thomas and my shorty doesn't provide much protection. But who knows maybe I will be able to sneak one in! I am working on going to PK this weekend to camp and might get in a dive or two.