First Dive Trip Without Instructor - Need to Rent Gear & Help Planning

[CavernFrog]

I am mixing up narcosis and toxicity, for sure. I need to go study more.

 

[Neilwood]

I am mixing up narcosis and toxicity, for sure. I need to go study more.

I would definitely agree. It appears that you have a lack of understanding of the basic terminology which makes me wonder what was in your courses.

I certainly understood a lot more from the Nitrox course than you appear to have. What is even more worrying for me is that you are confusing some of the even more basic terms such as narcosis (which should be covered in OW)

I have to agree with @DogDiver in that you should not go cavern diving especially when it appears that some OW issues remain unadressed.

 

[CavernFrog]

Well, somehow I made it through the PADI courses and even got close to 100% on all exams. I honestly just got narcosis and toxicity mixed up. It isn't that I actually thought they were the same thing. I just forgot.

 

[CavernFrog]

I am open to re-doing any of my certifications. I enjoyed the training and studying and would love to do it all over again.

 

[CavernFrog]

So my plans have changed for this weekend. I plan to do Vortex on Sunday and Jackson Blue on Monday. I will be diving with a buddy who has 40 years or so experience in Florida caves / caverns and would be happy to meet / dive with any of you on this board. I will be super careful and conservative and remain calm and think.

 

[tbone1004]

I am mixing up narcosis and toxicity, for sure. I need to go study more.

it's something that unfortunately very few instructors truly understand and the agencies don't do much to help by trying to dumb it down.

There's a balance of "is it safe enough", and the answer is very much yes. Don't dive more than EAN32 which is standard banked nitrox, and stay at recreational depths and the odds of you having an issue are basically 0, but that doesn't mean that the divers really understand what's going on.

If you ever end up coming up to Lake Jocassee, let me know

 

[CavernFrog]

I absolutely remember the difference now.

Is there a physical book with all the open water, advanced open water, cavern and nitrox knowledge in it? If there is I would like to buy it and read it over and over. I don’t like e-books or reading online. Doesn’t have to be PADI. Maybe TDI is better?

 

[DogDiver]

Well, somehow I made it through the PADI courses and even got close to 100% on all exams. I honestly just got narcosis and toxicity mixed up. It isn't that I actually thought they were the same thing. I just forgot.

I think and believe you would benefit from TDI, IANTD, NACD, NSSCDS or GUE training in overhead environments. I’m a NAUI Instructor and would not recommend NAUI or PADI overhead training.

 

[tbone1004]

I absolutely remember the difference now.

Is there a physical book with all the open water, advanced open water, cavern and nitrox knowledge in it? If there is I would like to buy it and read it over and over. I don’t like e-books or reading online. Doesn’t have to be PADI. Maybe TDI is better?

No

OW/AOW books are pretty much a joke IMO, so that's useless. Cavern isn't anything particularly useful. The books from GUE are useful, but VERY dated, not having been updated in close to 20 years. Most all of it is still applicable, just dated.
NOAA and USN diving manuals are both pretty good albeit a bit dense.

@DogDiver why don't you approve of NAUI's overhead programs? Also, you realize the NACD is dead, yes?

 

[CavernFrog]

The kinds of dives I would do at this point are...

• open water dives where I practice my buoyancy
• learning a dive computer in and out, planning dives and executing the plan
• cavern dives where I can see open water, use a guideline and limit my penetration
• dives with an instructor as part of a training course

I absolutely am committed to becoming the best diver I can be and mastering the skills and knowledge, and I am also committed to surviving long enough to do so and to live a full life both in and out of the water