New Diver Questions

[bbarnett51]

I did a dive recently with a instabuddy. We talked about what we wanted to do how we would do it and where we would go. We got into the water and he went off in an entirely different direction. It was up to me to keep him in sight and stay with him. Not fun, I am a new diver only 15 dives since June, so needless to say I "ate" air as one person said, not only because I do consume more than I would like but the added stress of him jackrabbiting all over the bottom. So too bad for him at 500PSI I signaled to return and surface. He still had 1100PSI. But he was tired so I guess it worked out except I rushed more than I would have liked to. Should I have done anything differently?

Not being an internet police or know it all. You probably meant something different. But just in case, you want to be on the boat with 500psi and not just going up. 500 is considered empty.

i only bring that up bc you are newer and I have seen several that had some confusion about that. Just want you to be safe.

 

[oly5050user]

Hey guys,

I'm a new diver with 13 dives under my belt. On my last trip I had my first taste of being a 'diver on the boat' and I have some questions.

Up until that part I had been diving in close proximity to my instructor during my certification. My first trip after my OWD I went in low season to a company that really deals well with new divers. I ended up one on one diving with my dive master for the whole week. It was awesome but I'm a little nervous when I end up on a boat with strangers and don't know anyone. My spouse can't dive and I have not been able to convince any friends so far to come with me!

My two main questions are around safety...

1. Buddy System
- It seems that when a buddy gets randomly assigned it all goes out the window once you're in the water. In some cases the boat wasn't even assigning buddies. If that's the case, what are my best practices to stay safe? I make sure I stay with the group but I would love to always know I have that other person beside me and vice versa. I've considered buying a SpareAir or something along those lines just in case. I'm not really assertive enough to demand a buddy on a boat of strangers. I'm also concerned about if I get buddied up with a group and hold them back which leads me into my next point...

2. On the last trip I ended up on a boat with three experienced divers and the dive master. The two ladies paired up, one guy was a lone wolf and the dive master did his own thing. I tried to stick with the dive master but it ended to no avail. We were in Cozumel at Santa Rosa Wall and when we hit the current I got sucked away. I was really frustrated because there had been no briefing and until we went through the swim through I had no idea what was happening. in hindsight I see the importance of making sure I know what I'm getting into; up until then i had just followed my instructors lead.

I'm looking for some confidence building tips and safety practices. I feel that I'm safe and controlled under the water. i do worry about gear breaking or rough conditions someday putting me into a dangerous place though. I feel confident that in a one on one with my instructor I could stay calm and we could safely fix a problem that either of us had. But when I'm diving on vacation and don't know anyone on the boat I can see this happening more and more often. it's fine until there's a problem. Would a redundant air supply be a good way to fix these problems? If my buddy takes off at least I've got a backup if the group is a bit too far to get to me if my air goes? (I ensure I stay close to the group, but if my tank malfunctioned and I was 20 feet away I can't promise myself I wouldn't panic. I'm an air hog so a held breathe wouldnt last me very long if I was stressed and knew it was my last one..)

any help would be appreciated!!

Your concerns are all too common.
Many people start with all great intentions to learn how to dive and enjoy the activity for a long time..THEN they sadly drop out...Reasons are many but the most common ,are these 3 big ones :
1."I don't know where to go"
2. " I have no one I know to dive with"
3. "never felt truly comfortable with my dive skills"..
All these concerns can be answered fairly easily. That is to take continue education classes-such as advance-rescue and/or specialties that interest you. With these classes there will be people at the same level as yourself. You may be exposed to different dive sites ( this answers #1) meet and network with people that are in the class with you (answers #2 issue) and you will make dives that have actual objectives to meet while you are under supervision (answer to #3).
You can also go on store sponsored trips, like Cozumel or Bonaire-where ever-being with a group and again having the opportunity to network with people in the group and have some one to dive/buddy up with.
Given the situation you describe in Cozumel I suggest listening to the dive briefing given by the DM on the boat-I never experienced a dive in Cozumel where there was not some type of briefing/description of a dive site , and when you see that you are running low on air-about 1000 psi-you indicate the fact to the DM by showing him your spg, where the dm would then send up a marker buoy to the surface off a finger spool to have the boat start to come over and pick you and your buddy up. You would follow the line up to your safety stop and then to the surface next to the buoy and simply inflate your bcd once there and have the boat pick you up.Real simple.

 

[NAM001]

Sorry

The implication was that someone with those certs have probably had much more exposure to handling problems. As such they would, as a buddy, provide a better safety factor in an emergency.

Like wise 100 dives in a lake does not make a sutable buddy in the first at sea dive to 100 ft in a current. Those who initially trained in salt water are probalby different than those in land locked areas in regaurds to thier preparedness to ocean environment problems. Still an honest open discussion prior to the start of the dive will go a long way to weeding out a bad instabuddy.

I got my AOW after my 9th dive (4 OW dives, 5 AOW dives) so had 30% fewer dives with an AOW card in hand than the OP does at this point.

 

[razorbackdiver]

OP
It should also point out being redundant is more than having a separate gas source. To be redundant you need skilled in deployment of the separate gas source. If you go the extra gas route be sure you can deploy it while wearing a blacked out mask with thick gloves on reliably.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Mike I am so sorry your trip did not turn out to be all it should have been for you

It seems to me you did a lot of the right things, told them ahead of time of your experience, made it clear you wanted/needed a buddy. It sounds like you are doing your best to apply the skills you were given in your OW class.

Sadly much of what you have talked about in your post are familiar issues with many new divers. What does give a lot of hope is that you have recognized the issues and are taking active steps to resolve them.

Some things just come with more bottom hours. You have already received some great advice particularly from TSandM. I know it is hard to be assertive but CoasterFreak is so correct in reminding you that your loved ones are counting on you valuing your life as much as they do. They have a right to expect you to be as assertive in taking care of their loved one as you would be in taking care of them!

You do not have the option of local diving where you are a lot of the time so you need to maximize the benefit of the trips you can take. I would suggest you consider a trip to Florida. There is a massive amount of shore diving there which means you can get more bang for your buck. Blue Heron Bridge offers one of the best muck diving sites in the world. The benefit is that it is so shallow you can get lots of time in and there is a heap to look at if you go slow. Here is a thread about it http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/386645-blue-heron-bridge-trolls.html

There are a lot of people here from Florida, get to know some of them online.. ask a lot of questions and find a good Dive Operator according to the locals. Most divers love to brag about and show off their local sites. Save the more exotic boat diving destinations till you have the bottom time to sort things out. I suggested Florida as I have dived there so it is first hand knowledge.

I am not sure this is a direct answer to your questions but I wanted to say something that was not just repeating the already good advice you have read here.

 

[RJP]

500 is considered empty.

i only bring that up bc you are newer and I have seen several that had some confusion about that. Just want you to be safe.

Given the dive count on your profile, it looks like newer divers aren't the only ones who "have some confusion" about what constitutes an empty tank.

While the poster you responded to probably should have been heading up well before hitting 500psi (though, not knowing his depth not sure how you can say for certain) the idea of "back on the boat with 500psi" is something that some dive ops have instituted to keep careless divers out of trouble... and keep dive times shorter.

500psi is not "considered empty" by any dive op, boat, instructor, or diver that I know.

 

[danvolker]

One point I will add.....one poster suggested that sharing air from a buddy only happens at zero gas....while this IS often the way it happens, this is poor planning on both buddies part.
While you should not have run out in the first place, if you are at 60 feet and suddenly realize you at 500psi or below, the BETTER plan is to have the decent diver you are buddies with, donate a reg to you this moment, leaving you some air for when you are trying to get back on the boat( with your own reg), and---preventing you from actually running OOA and making a serious mistake in handling this emergency.

Find a dive shop or a club to dive with, that can help you find real buddies....if you are going to another destination far away by yourself, know this is not really smart for you with the lack of training you are now at...if you must, then work with the diveshop to find a mentor or other good diver local to this destination shop --that will be willing to dive with you....

If you dove Palm Beach, the Dive shops and boats have good protocols for handling new divers, and getting them better on each successive dive....and in finding them buddies. JASA is one of the best at this.

 

[teecup]

The friends I know who scuba dive never plan a weekend without at least another friend to act as dive buddy.

 

[Searcaigh]

We were all "new" divers once, some of us have been lucky to have dived with good buddies from the very start. Given your location in Canada I doubt you have much regular diving available without starting to use a dry suit as winter fast approaches.

I would be checking if there is a local dive club first of all, and if there is then go along and meet up with them. They may have pool sessions running over the winter to keep people in touch with their gear or be associated with a local dive shop. Chances are that you will meet other "new" divers and possibly there might be a club trip arranged to some place like Florida, in which case should you join them as you will already know some of the divers and have a buddy that you are familiar with. Google is your friend

When I lived in Jeddah I had no shortage of dive buddies, not having one was never an issue, then I moved to Dubai living in an apartment block and traveling frequently, I found it difficult to meet people and none of my colleagues had similar interests. Internet was practically non-existent at the time, so I found a dive shop and from there met up with other divers. I have to add that it took several years before I found the right people to dive with, but that was really because of work commitments and frequent traveling. It was difficult for me to deal with some instabuddies until I found a couple of more photographers and a dive centre that accepted our way of diving.

16 years later and I am in a position where I can find a buddy most weekends, even avoiding the local cattle boat on the UAE east coast. I travel solo on dive trips too, and rarely have issues with buddies when I arrive at my destination. On my last trip to the Philippines it was just me and the DM on the boat, sheer luxury IMO and ready to do that again. I also solo dive a lot locally, but that is not something I am recommending. At some point in your "dive career" you are going to be addicted to some particular aspect of diving whether that be UW photography, marine biology, caves, ice diving etc., and you will team up with special friends and buddies who share that same interest … they are out there now, it is just that you have not met them yet

 

[MikeRiley]

I definitely need to spend some time working on emergency skills. I know that even in 20 feet of water you could get in big trouble if something went wrong and you freaked out. I'm pretty calm under water at this point now though. It seems the general theme in this is really to take responsibility for myself. That does make a lot of sense to me. in the future I'll ensure that I don't rely on other people or the dive company to keep me safe.

I'm going to be diving with Cozumel Marine World when i go back in January. thusfar the owner has seemed completely on board for what I want but when i get there I will again double check. Before I book and pay for the week I'll be making sure I know what sites we're going to, how many people are on the boat, the experience level etc.

What really hit me on the Santa Rosa dive was that as soon as I got stuck in the current I felt myself getting swept away. I turned to try to fight it to stay with the group; I didnt want to go off on my own. I quickly realized I couldnt make any traction swimming against it so i decided to calm down, turn around and go with it and just try to stay safe. I didnt keep an eye on my depth gauge (to be honest I didnt know I had one, Id never used one up until that point. i thought the only depth gauge was on a computer :S know better now!) and I didnt realize how deep I was getting. When I realized I wasnt in control of the situation I remember feeling really angry. thinking "If I had known this was what we were going to be doing I wouldnt have come down. now I'm alone, no buddy and I'm F*%Ked". Luckily the DM did end up following me and he saved me from going even deeper. he also made sure that we did several stops before he sent me back up.

believe it or not, I maintain that there was no briefing. I've always paid very close attention to the briefing (maybe just due to nerves as a beginner) but there was nothing in this case.

I've had some experience with diving out over walls before with no visible bottom. Like I said, I was certified in Cozumel down near Colombia and Palancar. in those dives there was a current we could feel and had to deal with but it was nothing terrible. also in those dives my instructor prepared me and told me that halfway through the dive we'd come out over a wall and it would be creepy when the bottom dropped. he let me know to stay close to the wall and make sure I kept my depth even when there wasn't a cue coming from the bottom.

luckily on this trip I spent a week in Akumal with an absolutely incredible instructor and we were one on one the whole time. i learned a lot about how to tailor diving to me. I was hoping he could take me to Coz for the day but he was too busy so I booked it on my own. I did book it with a large, reputable and highly rated shop. If i had to rate them just based on my SECOND dive of the day I would have said it was quite good. but that momentary lapse in judgement by not briefing, not preparing me, and letting me go on that dive in the first place almost cost me dearly.

I'll look into prices on hiring a guide privately, that's a good idea if I can afford it.
I'm also trying to get a couple of friends into diving but I doubt theyd travel as much as I do.
there IS a really good dive club here locally that I will do some lake/river diving with next summer to build skills. I'll also likely try to tag along on some of their trips.