Diving at Depth (Sorry for the stupid question)

[Wasabi1264]

I know this should be covered in the book work, but I simply can't find the answer. It seems that my OW cert will allow me to dive to 60 feet.

However, how does one then do wreck dives, deep dives, etc? Do you just have to be guided by an instructor or DM? Or can you go with a more experienced buddy?

Is this why one does AOW...to get to do those things with an instructor? I know people have questioned AOW's value as a course per se.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

classes, experience you will get there.

 

[oly5050user]

I know this should be covered in the book work, but I simply can't find the answer. It seems that my OW cert will allow me to dive to 60 feet.

However, how does one then do wreck dives, deep dives, etc? Do you just have to be guided by an instructor or DM? Or can you go with a more experienced buddy?

Is this why one does AOW...to get to do those things with an instructor? I know people have questioned AOW's value as a course per se.

AOW course is designed to be a set of dives with some new skills introduced under supervision by an instructor.What you get out of it is what you and the instructor put into. Can be a very good learning experience,and shorten the learning curve.Ow cert only "recommends" 60',there is no leash on you to keep you from doing what you feel comfortable doing.After inital ow training dives if you feel comfortable going to 60' or more go for it.Obviously there are many people who are not ready after 20 dives to go to those depths unsupervised,either their skill level or the conditions where they dive make it unwise to do so.Use your own honest judgement,that is what getting certified for also.Being able to say go or no go for a dive is very important ability that is not stressed enough.

 

[rk1]

You pay some cash and take more courses and gain more certifications. AOW will give you a taste of a bit more. Navigation and Deep and other options.
you grow your skills and comfort as you learn and dive.

 

[herman]

AOW will help but your best bet is to find an experienced buddy who is willing to help you along. AOW alone is not enough. The problem I suppose, is finding someone who is not only willing but capable as well (you have to sort out the skill from the BS....and there is more BS than skill to be found). A slow progression to deeper and deeper dives learning how you and your equipment respond at deeper depths is a sound approach, lots of shallow dives to improve your skills and confidence is also a good idea.. Never push your limits past where you are comfortable and never let anyone push you into a dive you are not ready for. There are no scuba police so going past 60 ft is not going to get you C card pulled but doing so before your ready can be worse.

 

[rawls]

Ok you asked "why"...As herman said...there are no suba police. If you want to go deeper then no one is stopping you.

At deeper depths you as a new diver are presented with things your experience level isn't ready for. What is happening. Deeper is darker...which leads to visibility issues...getting lost...having to ascend without a reference line because you did get lost....vertigo because there is no reference line and you can't see.

Deeper is colder. Your wetsuit compresses more so the conduction of heat from your body quickens. This can lead to becoming cold...Getting cold decreases your ability to problem solve.

Speaking of problem solving...There is an inverse relationship between depth and problem solving. Depth increases, problem solving ability decreases.

Possible narcosis...Not good for a new diver. Scenario...On a wreck getting narced...feeling good...let's see where this opening goes to...

Gas utilization...Potential out of air situation because you haven't gained enough experience to get a good grip on how much gas your are using.

Anxiety...I've never been this deep before...Colder, deeper, darker, anxiety>>>>even less ability to problem solve....THEN...Out of the blue...you have a free flow...Yipes...to the surface you shoot.

I'm sure I have left some out but these are a few reasons to start shallow and build experience then progress. Take a deep dive course but get some shallow dives under your belt first. It is always a great idea to dive with someone more experienced to start out. With deep dives however, an experienced buddy is not necessarily going to save your butt if you get in a panic situation...

Are these things going to happen if you do a deep dive...hmmm...maybe better...could these things happen...Well, consider the fact that experienced divers run into these problems too...Will you, as a new diver be able to handle it if one or more of these scenarios does occur?

Hope this helps with some of the "why's."

 

[Wasabi1264]

Thanks for the info. I'm in no hurry to do wrecks and deep dives, but wondered how one transitions from shallow dives to these more challenging dives, if courses are recommended vs required, and the best path to get there. Given that I'm not a "natural" in the water, I'm not going to be one who pushes the limits too fast.

 

[Windwalker]

My Dive buddy has a personal limit of 60 feet. Oddly enough, there is a lot to learn in the first 60 feet. In my humble experience, it takes hardly any skill to go to the max rec depth, but it takes an amazing amount of skill to putter around at 10-15 feet, That is. If your paying attention to your buoyancy and staying off the bottom.

I am not sure what they are teaching now, But when I did my OW course, we were told that our max depth was 130 feet for 5 minutes. Where I dive, with the exception of wrecks, there is a whole lot of nothing down that deep. The Dive shop I go to also offers deep water diving, and others to get you used to diving deep. I took those classes, They are fun if you know your buoyancy. They are shear terror if you don't. Especially on the free descents and ascents. Rawls pretty much outlined my experiences with deep diving.

Wreck diving is real fun, and the dive shop you go to probably has classes for it. They probably do not include wreck penetration diving which is even more advanced and requires special gear, Special Finning techniques, the use of a dive line, Low vis training, etc. If you want to do Wreck penetration diving there are several methodologies that are taught, and many of them require excellent understanding of everything you learned in OW.

 

[TSandM]

How do you expand your diving repertoire in any direction? Short of the stuff like overhead and decompression, for which you really ought to take specific training, you do it bit by bit, and hopefully in the company of someone who has experience doing what you are stretching yourself to do.

For example, when I do a site that is new to me, I try to find someone who knows it to do it with the first time. When I put doubles on, I did it with someone who had a lot of experience diving them. You read whatever you can find to give you a framework -- For deep dives, for example, you can read stuff on this board and elsewhere about gas management. There are books like Lippmann's Deeper Into Diving that will give you more information about decompression and ascent strategies. You find dive reports or sites that describe where you will be diving, and what the safety considerations and hazards are there.

You don't need a class for every direction you stretch your experience. But you do need a frank assessment of your skills and experience, and you do need to gather information, and you benefit enormously from some experienced mentoring. By using all of those things, you set yourself up for a pleasant and successful experience that grows your depth and breadth as a diver.

 

[rawls]

There are books like Lippmann's Deeper Into Diving that will give you more information about decompression and ascent strategies.

But definitely stay away from Wienke for now...maybe forever
....hmmm...come to think about it...Your going to have a tough time staying away from him