Need some advice...

[Manos]

It is nice to set goals in life.

For me it is a straight answer 3 courses 3 years of tech experience , 10-20 dives in a similar enviroment then go and do it.

Start with DIR Fund. Then Tech 1 , then Tech 2 . After you are done with the courses find your team ( buddy and suport ) start practise practise practise ... and then do it.

Manos
www.dir.cy.net

 

[Wreck Wench]

OneBrightGator once bubbled...
... You might want to do a quick search on "Chris Murley" and read "The Last Dive" to see if this is something you're really able to do. Ben

Hey girl...first off...reading "The Last Dive" whether your goal is to dive the Doria or not is a "must read" for EVERY diver! It is extremely well written by Bernie Chowdhury ISBN 0-06-0194462-6 and it will be one of the most incrediable books you ever read and reread!

Second, you have the perfect 'training' ground in your backyard with proximity to warm water wrecks in NC advancing to colder water wrecks in VA/MD and ultimately NY/NJ to start honing your diving skills for either the Doria or any other wreck you decide to dive.

Third, you should also have access to some of the best training in the area as well. Being in such close proximity to the entire Eastern seaboard means that you can eventually learn from some true experts.

Being in a career field that only a small fraction of a percentage of women ever aspire too let alone achieve leaves me no doubt that your intentions are real. It wouldn't be the first time that you set your sights for a pinnacle that most PEOPLE don't even dream of and then went out and accomplished it!

In this case...the really great part is that you may discover something...or some wreck(s) better then the Doria to absorb your love of diving. The whole point in dreaming is to set your goals high...why bother if you don't! Wish I lived closer....I'd at least start the process with you....not sure I'd actually ever dive the Doria....but I sure have every book on her and have met several of her more infamous divers as well! A lot of the fun will be just that....meeting some of the most incredible people along the way who have dove and written about the Doria! And don't forget...that means you'll also meet some incredible people who have amazing diving careers and experiences along the way as well! They will leave you in awe.....good luck!

P.S. The latter part of this thread has some great advice in it. For example, now you know why I started taking Judo and furthering ALL my dive skills....I too at one time chose a lofty goal called the 'Doria' to strive for. That goal has since been pushed out...perhaps indefinitely...but I have no regrets. As you know I love what I'm doing and I'm doing what I love! But my journey started with the same destination...that's the fun part!!!

 

[Big-t-2538]

However....the biggest thing I can say to you is DO NOT RUSH...

Find someone who is willing to work with you...not just get you out on the boat to make a dive. Find a mentor (I use the term mentor and not instructor b/c there's far too many instructors out there who don't know what they're doing) who has the experiecnce needed and your trust to help you along your journey.

Classes (trimix, penetration, drysuit, etc) are just mini-steps along the way, and they are just tools you're going to have in your kit that you'll tap every time you make a DIVE. That's right we all have one goal...dive...but those who take the time and "enjoy the journey" seem to have a little more passion for what they're doing.

You might be surprised to find along the way that there are loads and loads of cool things to see and do besides diving "the doria"

 

[chickdiver]

Diving at this particular level is heady stuff indeed. There are some very serious questions that you need to ask yourself.

To begin with:
1. Why tech diving to begin with? IS it because soome people consider tech divers the penultimate in the diving world? Or is it because you want to be the best diver YOU can be?

2. Why the Doria? Is it because it is considered by some to be the "Mt. Everest" of wreck diving? Or is it because you have some profound interest in the ship and her history?

Once you HONESTLY answer those questions you can begin to move forward. IMHO, if your motivation is because of perception alone, I would advise you VERY CAREFULLY consider what you are getting yourself into.

Step 2 is to find a core group of divers with similar interests that you can train/ mentor with- hopefully this group will include some with a great deal of experience.

Step 3 is to begin looking for an instructor- I would advise that you look very carefully at the instructors available, and do not simply choose the least expensive or most convenient choice for classes. Make sure the instructor knows thier stuff, and does the type of diving you are interested in.

Step 4 is to dive at each level along the way. At the completion of each training course, we have "training wheels". We know enough to (hopefully) conduct a SIMPLE dive at that level safely. It is then YOUR responsibility to continue to self educate and to challenge yourself along the way. Most learning takes place after the training is completed.

The gear issues will resolve themselves as you take courses. I would recommend the backplate/harness system, as it is modular and will grow with you throughout your training. I would not recommend running out and buying a full technical setup today.

At each step of the way, you need to HONESTLY examine your motivations, skills, and abilities. If it sounds as if I am discouraging you, in a way I am. Too many people get into this because it "looks cool" or "seems like the thing to do". A number of books have been written about many of them.

 

[DeepScuba]

I read VA's post only minutes after her writing it, but I couldn't respond. I didn't know what to say. So I'll keep it light.

First of all.........I'm in LOVE Girlfriend!!!! (The photo of you didn't hurt either!!!!)

Maybe my wife has something to say about this though

Anyhow. "You go girl"!!!!

I don't think she ever said she was going to do it tomorrow, so setting a lofty goal for the future is OK with me.

My personal thoughts are, after a few years of wanting to do this dive (After reading The Last Dive about a million times) it has become less of a goal.

From my subsequent training and diving, I have found literally dozens of more challenging wrecks, closer, cheaper and deeper, right here in my (almost) backyard.

The Doria is a "status" dive, for whatever reason, but beyond that, I can't imagine it being on the level of the few dives we have planned for Lake Superior next year. They are, for the most part, deeper, they are certainly colder, certainly less vis.....so in effect are harder dives for sure.

Just my opinion.

That being said, I would still like to do her one day..............Errrr, the Doria.

OK [PIG-OFF].

Hey, I'm kidding, incase someones gonna take it the wrong way. Like I said, I'm keeping it "light".

 

[Spectre]

A lot of folks set themselves a goal and or target. I myself started out with the 'I wanna do what I need to do to get to a point where I can go to the Doria'.

It's all well and good, but setting a _specific_ goal like that can induce one to rush themselves. As you grow a deep facination with a specific wreck, you start to pay close attention to the condition of the wreck, and as things start to deteriorate you may start rushing to 'get there while it's still good'.

Step back, and pick little goals. Pick where you need to get to. e.g. step 1, nitrox obviously. Start taking advantage of the deeper recreational wrecks and build your confidence up to a point where your ready to move into dives with ceilings like decompression and overhead environments. So that's what I would say is the best first goal... water comfort where you don't have any need for the 'quick exidus to the surface'.

Next up is the training for the overhead environments... cavern, deco, staged deco... get that stuff down.

Next up is getting deeper. Trimix.

Now once you've gone that far. Who knows what the new goal could be. It might still be the Doria, it might be something else.

Just take it slow and easy. It's better to learn from your mistakes earlier then to cruise through before you have any sort of problems and learn drastic lessons in seriously unfriendly areas.

And on top of all these, get with folks that you agree with the way they dive, and you trust them with your life. Don't let them push you, but rather take you under their wing and ease you along to bigger and better things. Mentoring and experience is as important as taking a class.

I strongly believe that if you've not had the living <bleep> scared out of yourself in the recreational diving, and gotten yourself safely out of the situation, you don't have the experience to move into tech diving.

 

[DeepScuba]

Now you're scaring me Spectre.

I can honestly say I've never had the living poop scared out of me. I have been, quite anxious I might say, but never deathly afraid.

Come to think of it, the only scare I can think of, was back a couple years ago. My wife and I overshot an exit point, of course we where diving single 80's, 20ft of water max. The only site specific problem was actually boats. lots of them. And of course we were separated from any surface markers. We were getting quite low on air, but couldn't surface "just yet" because of the fear of reverse mohawk haircuts!!!

Anyhow, I was more frightened for my wife than anything, as I new I had (and her as well) enough air to go a little further to shore before we surfaced. She was starting to get a tad panicky and I could tell. I basically took one for the team, and surfaced first so she could come up when the cost was clear

Anyways, it was a real monkey-f**k, as "The Last Dive" puts it quite elloquently

Looking back at how I dove even a year ago.........Uhgggg I make myself ill.

Anyways, back to the point. Sorry no scares. Should I make one?

Should I wait to have one?

I'm supposedly doing my first sub 230ft dive this upcoming year, I'd hate for my first to be then!!

 

[Spectre]

DeepScuba once bubbled...
Anyways, back to the point. Sorry no scares. Should I make one?

Should I wait to have one?

I'm sure it varies from person to person, but I the key here is "how do you know you can maintain your composure and not panic".

Granted my situation was really just the product of a dark narc and no real emergency, but it's quite a test of composure when you hear your subconsious tell you "Dude, you're gonna die".

When you're dealing with _any_ ceiling based environment, the first thing that will kill you is loosing your composure. If you aren't convinced you can keep panic in check, you need to wait until you can convince yourself.

Now I'm not saying being scared is a opening to move on. That's not it at all. I overheard one guy once say "I cave dive because it scares the hell out of me". Perhaps he meant something that I would agree with, but on the surface I don't see that as motivation to push yourself. We're not talking about watching horror movies, we're talking about your panic tolerance here.

 

[VaScubaGirl]

Wow....hey y'all thanks for all of the great advice and insight. First off, let me say that this is not a rush goal and put all your minds at ease. I am imagining that this will take me years to get the experience and training needed before "I" feel comfortable making a dive like that. I am not a diver who rushed into things. Granted I only have 3 cert cards, but I get one at a time, dive at that level until I feel comfortable before I move to the next. And I fully intend to take this approach as I prepare myself for diving something like the Doria and other equally challenging wrecks. And while my goals may change, I find that for me it is extremely motivating to have both a long term goal as well as short term goals. When I first started diving, my goal was to dive the Galapagos. Eventually I will get there too. You guys dive safe

 

[jcalexander]

I'd suggest reading Deep Descent as well