Best rescue is no rescue

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No, here we have a problem with someone thinking advanced means I'm a qualified expert!!

Ellenwood huh? I used to live around there and the guy who got me in to diving lives there. Anyway, on to the point.

I agree with you. That is why I really hate the term "Advanced Open Water". I really don't have any ideas to what it could be changed.
 
Sounds like a scary dive, he's very lucky you were around and able to help...

Can I ask what the big attraction to this type of site is? Does knowing the site is 400 feet deep make it somehow more exciting to dive? Is there life there that can't be found elsewhere?? I'm trying to understand why the dive shops would be so keen to push this onto newer divers?

I was wondering the same thing, if it's just money, do they charge more that site?

---------- Post added May 10th, 2012 at 10:20 AM ----------

Ellenwood huh? I used to live around there and the guy who got me in to diving lives there. Anyway, on to the point.

I agree with you. That is why I really hate the term "Advanced Open Water". I really don't have any ideas to what it could be changed.

Do you really need to change it, or do more instructors need to stress the point the you still need to dive and work on your skills?? I did my OW, AW, and Deep in 3 different places but all my instructors stressed that I need to work on things to become a better diver. Sometimes some people just don't hear this. The LEDS where I did my OW lets me use the pool anytime it's available, and I take advantage of it to work on my buoyancy and AC because I'm by no means an expert diver, and never will be because there will always be something that you can learn and work on.
 
I was wondering the same thing, if it's just money, do they charge more that site?
Yep, a lot more. It's several hours further away from Ambergris Cay, and they usually include a lunch.
 
That is why I really hate the term "Advanced Open Water". I really don't have any ideas to what it could be changed.

Open Water Level 2

There is another Blue Hole in Dahab, close to Sharm el Sheikh Egypt. A few years a go there were names going up on the RIP wall every other month as divers succumbed to the Rapture. Of course this kiwi guy does it a bit differently:
[video=youtube;hrXQbucZUDA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrXQbucZUDA[/video]

Unfortunately many tourists succumb to 'ticking the box' not just for diving but also in general activities. I cringe whenever I hear the term 'I did Thailand' or 'I did' a location. I remember one lass who was certified in Australia before coming to dive in Milford Sound, NZ. She quipped that she doubted the diving would be any good as she had 'done' the Great Barrier last week in her OW course.
 
The other video reminded of another " camera event " another doctor and his wife had a $15,000 video camera. I was doing my safety stop under the boat and looked up to see someone struggling to swim ( the crawl ) to the trailing line which I thought was odd and about that time one of the crew dove in to help her. She was out of air and could not inflate her BC with the inflator her husband was a couple of a hundred yards away out of air on the surface but he still had the camera. I passed on the night dive because of this drama.
 
Open Water Level 2

There is another Blue Hole in Dahab, close to Sharm el Sheikh Egypt. A few years a go there were names going up on the RIP wall every other month as divers succumbed to the Rapture. Of course this kiwi guy does it a bit differently:
[video=youtube;hrXQbucZUDA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrXQbucZUDA[/video]

Unfortunately many tourists succumb to 'ticking the box' not just for diving but also in general activities. I cringe whenever I hear the term 'I did Thailand' or 'I did' a location. I remember one lass who was certified in Australia before coming to dive in Milford Sound, NZ. She quipped that she doubted the diving would be any good as she had 'done' the Great Barrier last week in her OW course.


OW2. I like it! Much better then calling someone with no clue Advanced.

As for the expert female who had already "done" the GB, I would have responded "Wow, you should give up diving now. You already saw the best spot in the world. Everything else will suck from now on." But I act an ass sometimes. :)

The other video reminded of another " camera event " another doctor and his wife had a $15,000 video camera. I was doing my safety stop under the boat and looked up to see someone struggling to swim ( the crawl ) to the trailing line which I thought was odd and about that time one of the crew dove in to help her. She was out of air and could not inflate her BC with the inflator her husband was a couple of a hundred yards away out of air on the surface but he still had the camera. I passed on the night dive because of this drama.

I want a $15,000 video camera. :(
 
I had the same experience (minus the camera) in the Blue Hole several yrs ago. It was another guests 7th dive ever- The Blue Hole-
Expecting something might go awry and seeing that she was not diving near the guide I stayed close and waited......sure enough she started to sink and was not inflating her BCD. I took a hold of her by her tank valve until she realized what was going on and she did then add some air to her BCD. She didn't even thank me......................................I remember my computer saying 140something depth wise.
 
.... so I swam over grabbed his inflator held on to him and added air, he was a little offended that I had done that but was totally unaware that we had ended up at 141' till we were back on the boat.

Good job.

I've had to add air occasionally, but more often dump air on newer divers that can't figure out why they're ascending uncontrollably, or can't determine the difference between adding air and dumping air. I could care less if any of them have ever been offended. I'd rather have someone upset with me than have to do cpr on them all the way back to the dock.
 
Can I ask what the big attraction to this type of site is?

It is The Blue Hole made famous by J.Cousteau;
There are caverns with stalactites around 140 ft from when the ocean was much lower during the last Ice Age;
Some of the Ops chum for sharks to add to the experience;
Mostly it's a Been-There-Done-That.

I think that was the same day trip we had lunch on the island with the Booby birds and did have a nice wall dive or two after.

From the dive op's perspective, it definitely brings in more money than the closer local dives from most starting points. It's also a sought after dive for many people who go to Belize for diving.

From the diver's perspective, it is often something that hasn't been done before. Definitely a been-there-done-that kind of thing.

Our dive op did not do any chumming, but we saw some really big reef and lemon sharks and one bull shark, according to the instructor (sorry I couldn't really tell the difference). We saw huge groupers as well. When I got closer to the wall and under the overhang with my light, I could really see the well preserved colours. Unfortunately, it was very silty in there and even sharks just a few feet in front of me looked like white blobs in my pics.

I don't think it's the depth of the Blue Hole itself that is the draw to most divers since walls in Coz or elsewhere are many times deeper.

The Blue Hole is by Lighthouse Atoll, which has some amazing diving, like Turneffe or Glovers Atolls off Belize. Like Don, we also had lunch on the island and checked out the booby birds, then did two shallow, incredibly beautiful dives with healthy, colourful coral and abundant sea life.

Diving by the atolls can be enjoyed by most divers, but the Blue Hole, like any other deep dive, should be a dive to train and work up to when one has mastered buoyancy, gas management and other skills.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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