Is guided diving bad for developing skills?

[drrich2]

Some of us will fly for hours to do the kind of incredibly superb diving that SoCal offers . . .

Glad to hear it, and it would be interesting to experience if I were in the area. But I suspect that 'some' is a drop in the bucket compared to the legions flocking to Cozumel and Bonaire in a given year.

And even your trip was from people in that region; California and Washington.

But this does raise an interesting point; does California have a large distance-traveling tourist market, comparable to other big name destinations?

Richard.

 

[Storker]

Edit: Double post

 

[Storker]

but who wants to fly for hours to dive in a 7 mm wetsuit or a dry suit?

Yes, I totally agree. Who would ever consider traveling to any of these places and put on a dry suit?

Or here:
[video=youtube;HZhTaITq008]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZhTaITq008[/video]

Or here:
[video=vimeo;55377132]http://vimeo.com/55377132[/video]

Or here:
[video=youtube;dhVson2BRAs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhVson2BRAs[/video]

Or here:
[video=youtube;ggRWJET9etc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggRWJET9etc[/video]


Nah, ain't worth it...

 

[Tigerman]

Or how about here?
Damn diving is bad when it include a drysuit...
[video=youtube;sXTBjEy5ATg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXTBjEy5ATg[/video]

 

[Foxfish]

Haven't read all the posts but I went for a dive today off the charter boat. One team was dad and daughter. He hadn't dived for eight months and had done about 11 dives. They struggled to get under water even though he had about 21 pounds of lead. When he hit the bottom he struggled to gain buoyancy and said he gone belly up because of problems with weight distribution. Daughter wasn't much better. Dad looked awkward and a bit frightened and was a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately he got a bit of assistance. There was no current, visibility was good and depth was under 20 m and people were willing to help but what if...

These kinds of divers need extra guidance and support!

 

[Wingy]

Actually Storker and Tigerman, I would and will. Iceland and Norway have always been on my list. I cant see why I would leave out a site on the list of dive sites I want to travel to simply because im going to need a dry suit. When those destinations come around (2016/2017 looks to be the earliest given other trips planned) I will take my whimpy warm water diving arse to learn to use a dry suit properly and gain my IM A REAL DIVER NOW IVE USED A DRYSUIT badge.

 

[Tigerman]

I actually need to do some more travel within my own country myself. Problem is it'll take me longer to get to Saltstraumen (in the more northern part of Norway than my location) than it does to get to the red sea, lol..

 

[markmud]

Three years running, my friends HBDiveGirl and Mo2vation ran an invitation-only three-day charter in the Channel Islands on the Peace Boat (best boat ever!). HALF of the people who filled the boat came from Seattle. Half of the rest drove down from Monterey.

Some of us will fly for hours to do the kind of incredibly superb diving that SoCal offers . . .

HelloTSandM,

I have dived from Peace dive boat. I am working my schedule to arrange another trip on Peace. Hopefully, it will be a limited load trip with a focus on bug'n' to Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Cruz.

My first So Cal Channel Islands dive trip was on Peace. The crew was very helpful to me and taught me lots (I was relatively new to SCUBA). The OP's original topic was deja vue for me and my Ventura dive adventure. The OP is correct, dive without a guide if you want to learn to dive well.

Peace does not do guided dive trips. They open the gate and tell you when to be back aboard the boat (it was a Rec dive trip, not a Tech dive trip).

As for navigation, they told us to dive around, if we got lost we were to do a safe ascent, scan the horizon for Peace, and swim for it. We all dived up current so the surface swim home was easy. (I am an accomplished navigator; therefore, I HAD TO u/w navigate back to the boat--I did not embarrass my fellow professional mariners!)

Peace has HP nitrox fills on demand. All the nitrox you can suck down while diving from their boat!

This last fall, I dived with an accomplished Tech diver from the Puget Sound while on St. Croix. His favorite place to dive in the world is the Channel Islands.

If a diver wants to improve their skills, they should dive the Channel Islands! The dives are usually from the lee of an island (protected); however, you won't be guided.

If you are on the boat alone, you will learn about insta-buddies and/or SOB buddies. Be prepared to take care of yourself. I always dive with my "six-pack" or "13-pack", smb with thumb spool, two cutting devices, two timing devices (computer+watch or second puter), small flashlight, and a USCG approved whistle. I don't dive with a second mask as the only time I have come close to losing my mask is when a newbie dropped-in on me, tank first (diving on guided sheepshead dives has its hazards).

Hey TsandM, what are the prerequisites for joining your invitation-only club?

markm

 

[TSandM]

Unfortunately, the trips are no longer being run. One of the organizers has largely dropped out of diving.

 

[KevinG58]

Every California dive boat I've been on is unguided unless you hire a DM/guide. That said the crews are almost always happy to offer advice, but once you jump you're on your own.
I also travel a lot, and I don't mind having a guide to help me spot the local highlights.
Typically these guides tend to be in full on shepherding mode until they see what a individuals skill level is. I'm sure they've dealt with some fiascoes so think "worst case" when the new batch of tourists show up. Over the course of the first couple of days of diving they learn who they need to continue to shepherd and who they can allow to wander relatively unsupervised.
YMMV.

Adding: Coco View and Reef House Resort on Roatan allow unguided shore dives on the hosue reefs. Coco View also does the drop off dives (instead of riding the boat in from the previous dive, you can dive in, literally) unguided.