About 3am I woke up thinking about the team and the days training.
It didn’t register during the training but there is a real problem area with new divers that we just don’t see.
When they take their initial OW class it's tougher than the average sport student gets. They go through all the required stuff but there are special request areas that get covered.
Not all that different but different enough to make a difference in what we have to do later.
On yesterdays second dive we got to a bit over 70’ with good vis so neither was an issue. But what could have been an issue was the dozens of metal frames and canvas tops that littered the bottom. These are BIG metal frames with a canvas like material that cover two boat slips. Some of the frames still have the material attached but most have been totally or partially separated.
So we go down and meander around, through, over and under these frames. It made for some cool relaxing diving as the guys were doing just fine.
Towards the end we had some separations but everyone came back together at the preplanned point.
What never dawned on me until it woke me up is I was diving with some real FNG’s and there wouldn’t have been a soul out there that could have noticed that.
They had the buoyancy control of a true professional or well seasoned diver. They stayed off the bottom, didn’t smack into the plethora of tangled metal pipes going every which direction as they swam through that maze.
They had the same control shallow as they did deep which can be tough for new divers. When they hit the surface they barely made a ripple as their head gradually broke the surface tension.
Back on shore we talked about the problems they THOUGHT they were having. One said he had trouble with the air going between his upper body and his feet. I told him he would improve in time. Like this is only his third and fourth dry suit dives.
Another one said he felt like he kept shooting for the surface but in reality he only moved a few inches before getting adjusted. Nobody noticed a problem but him and this was only his second and third dry suit dives.
Even when these guys were diving wet there weren’t any problems with buoyancy. Why? It isn’t just with this group but with all of them over the years. What they think is a problem I have to chuckle at. Some day I will show them some problems and maybe they will realize they don’t have any. So what is it? Do they pay more attention, stay more focused, realize this is serious stuff and not a game, what is the difference?
Gary D.
It didn’t register during the training but there is a real problem area with new divers that we just don’t see.
When they take their initial OW class it's tougher than the average sport student gets. They go through all the required stuff but there are special request areas that get covered.
Not all that different but different enough to make a difference in what we have to do later.
On yesterdays second dive we got to a bit over 70’ with good vis so neither was an issue. But what could have been an issue was the dozens of metal frames and canvas tops that littered the bottom. These are BIG metal frames with a canvas like material that cover two boat slips. Some of the frames still have the material attached but most have been totally or partially separated.
So we go down and meander around, through, over and under these frames. It made for some cool relaxing diving as the guys were doing just fine.
Towards the end we had some separations but everyone came back together at the preplanned point.
What never dawned on me until it woke me up is I was diving with some real FNG’s and there wouldn’t have been a soul out there that could have noticed that.
They had the buoyancy control of a true professional or well seasoned diver. They stayed off the bottom, didn’t smack into the plethora of tangled metal pipes going every which direction as they swam through that maze.
They had the same control shallow as they did deep which can be tough for new divers. When they hit the surface they barely made a ripple as their head gradually broke the surface tension.
Back on shore we talked about the problems they THOUGHT they were having. One said he had trouble with the air going between his upper body and his feet. I told him he would improve in time. Like this is only his third and fourth dry suit dives.
Another one said he felt like he kept shooting for the surface but in reality he only moved a few inches before getting adjusted. Nobody noticed a problem but him and this was only his second and third dry suit dives.
Even when these guys were diving wet there weren’t any problems with buoyancy. Why? It isn’t just with this group but with all of them over the years. What they think is a problem I have to chuckle at. Some day I will show them some problems and maybe they will realize they don’t have any. So what is it? Do they pay more attention, stay more focused, realize this is serious stuff and not a game, what is the difference?
Gary D.