Scratch_Monkey
Registered
Here is a trip report from a very short jaunt to Ambergris Caye, Belize where I was able to get in two good 2-tank dives. I’ve been a member of Scubaboard since about May just after I got certified in Roatan but this is my first post. It's probably not that interesting to experienced divers but maybe newbies like myself will get something out of it.
Obviously I'm a very new diver! I had only six dives under my belt (five from class) before going to Belize and had been eager to get back in the water and work on my skills. My biggest challenges (like many new divers) were equalizing my ears quickly on descent and going through too much air. I was hoping to work on these issues and see some cool sea life on this trip. In addition, being so new, I was a little anxious about "what to do" with regard to dive trips. I felt good about my DIVING; but, since I was so new, I didn't want to be "that guy" on a boat full of strangers. To be clear, I wasn't that worried about being "that guy" as I was certainly going to dive within my limitations regardless (it's MY life!) but you still don't want to disrupt the group if you can help it!
I also just purchased a Suunto Zoop dive computer and was eager to check it out.
We stayed at Banana Beach Resort on Ambergris Caye and they have a travel center (Monkey Business) on the premises. Monkey Business books most of their dives with Ambergris Divers. Our first day out, there were six of us total so it was a nice, small group. Myself, my sister (about 10 years dive experience), a solo woman from our resort, this guy from New Orleans and his two children (10 and 12?).
Ambergris Divers (probably like everyone else on that island) picks you up from your resort in a boat and drives you back to their shop where you are outfitted with gear. We then got on the boat (which could hold 16 divers) and received our briefing:
Then we set out for a dive spot called Paradise Canyons. About this time I also told the dive master that I was on my 7th dive ever (the first five being part of my certification!) so he would know to keep an eye on me.
I jumped in the water via the giant stride entry and floated on the surface for a few minutes then decided to go down. I emptied my BCD and started sinking and, as I expected, wasn't able to equalize as fast as I was descending. No worries, just kick back up till it doesn't hurt, re-equalize and try again. After a few tries I was near the bottom just fine. I suspect my efforts to equalize have a lot to do with my burning air so fast.
The diving was great and we saw lots of nurse sharks and moray eels. I was using 12 pounds of weight and seemed to have my buoyancy down reasonably well. My weight amount was something else I was concerned with. I used 12 pounds during my cert classes but the amount you need can change depending on other factors but this amount seemed good.
When I got down to 1000 pounds (and my sister/dive buddy was still at 2000!), I let the dive master know. He brought us back near the boat, pointed the line out to me, made sure my BCD was empty and then sent me up on my own with instructions to do a three-minute safety stop. I have mixed feelings about this. On the plus side, I was out of air well before the rest of the group and I didn't want to cut the dive short. I am very comfortable in the water and my computer is awesome in that when you get between 20 and 15 feet it has a three minute counter. On the other hand, I'm by myself and that is NEVER a good thing when you are diving. I am going to assume he watched me get to the boat line and then led the rest of the group but that's just my guess. This is a classic case where if nothing goes wrong, everything is good but if something comes up you could be screwed.
I did get to practice floating between 15 and 20 feet which was good and that computer really helps with that as you know exactly where you are and how long to be there.
Once the three minutes where up I swam up to the boat and the driver helped me get back on board. Bottom time was about 37 minutes.
After the rest of the group returned to the boat we went back to the dive shop for about 20 minutes, had some fruit and water and then went back out.
Next was Tuffy Canyons and my dive experience with regard to equalization and going through air were similar but I was able to extend my bottom time to 40 minutes. I'm getting better! This time we saw several (large!) eagle rays, more nurse sharks, lobster and really big grouper.
The next day I went on two more dives. This time there were 16 divers and two dive masters. They split us into two groups. I was with the same dive master as the previous day:
Victoria Tunnels: Visibility wasn't great but I was able to equalize pretty much as I was sinking so that got much better (you just have to practice). Bottom time was about 40 minutes again.
Esmeralda Canyons: Visibility was much better and I was able to extend my bottom time to 45 minute! Again, I suspect that the fact that I'm equalizing faster helps with my bottom time since I don't go through so much air up front. This was a much better dive than the previous one and we saw a few turtles, lots of nurse sharks and grouper plus a couple of free-swimming moray eels.
I had a great time and feel much more comfortable with my diving. I wanted to see some cool thing but I also wanted to work on my skills and I really feel that I improved on the two things I was most concerned about. Like most things it's all about practice!
Final thoughts:
Sorry for the long post. Hopefully some people new to diving or thinking about diving will find some info useful. I can't wait to go again!
Obviously I'm a very new diver! I had only six dives under my belt (five from class) before going to Belize and had been eager to get back in the water and work on my skills. My biggest challenges (like many new divers) were equalizing my ears quickly on descent and going through too much air. I was hoping to work on these issues and see some cool sea life on this trip. In addition, being so new, I was a little anxious about "what to do" with regard to dive trips. I felt good about my DIVING; but, since I was so new, I didn't want to be "that guy" on a boat full of strangers. To be clear, I wasn't that worried about being "that guy" as I was certainly going to dive within my limitations regardless (it's MY life!) but you still don't want to disrupt the group if you can help it!
I also just purchased a Suunto Zoop dive computer and was eager to check it out.
We stayed at Banana Beach Resort on Ambergris Caye and they have a travel center (Monkey Business) on the premises. Monkey Business books most of their dives with Ambergris Divers. Our first day out, there were six of us total so it was a nice, small group. Myself, my sister (about 10 years dive experience), a solo woman from our resort, this guy from New Orleans and his two children (10 and 12?).
Ambergris Divers (probably like everyone else on that island) picks you up from your resort in a boat and drives you back to their shop where you are outfitted with gear. We then got on the boat (which could hold 16 divers) and received our briefing:
- it's okay to go down before the dive master but you can't go off without the dive master
- abort your dive at 750 PSI
- here are the hand signs we use
- no current to worry about here
- Don't go into the canyons
- Keep your depth around 60 feet or less
- We are going to do a safety stop
Then we set out for a dive spot called Paradise Canyons. About this time I also told the dive master that I was on my 7th dive ever (the first five being part of my certification!) so he would know to keep an eye on me.
I jumped in the water via the giant stride entry and floated on the surface for a few minutes then decided to go down. I emptied my BCD and started sinking and, as I expected, wasn't able to equalize as fast as I was descending. No worries, just kick back up till it doesn't hurt, re-equalize and try again. After a few tries I was near the bottom just fine. I suspect my efforts to equalize have a lot to do with my burning air so fast.
The diving was great and we saw lots of nurse sharks and moray eels. I was using 12 pounds of weight and seemed to have my buoyancy down reasonably well. My weight amount was something else I was concerned with. I used 12 pounds during my cert classes but the amount you need can change depending on other factors but this amount seemed good.
When I got down to 1000 pounds (and my sister/dive buddy was still at 2000!), I let the dive master know. He brought us back near the boat, pointed the line out to me, made sure my BCD was empty and then sent me up on my own with instructions to do a three-minute safety stop. I have mixed feelings about this. On the plus side, I was out of air well before the rest of the group and I didn't want to cut the dive short. I am very comfortable in the water and my computer is awesome in that when you get between 20 and 15 feet it has a three minute counter. On the other hand, I'm by myself and that is NEVER a good thing when you are diving. I am going to assume he watched me get to the boat line and then led the rest of the group but that's just my guess. This is a classic case where if nothing goes wrong, everything is good but if something comes up you could be screwed.
I did get to practice floating between 15 and 20 feet which was good and that computer really helps with that as you know exactly where you are and how long to be there.
Once the three minutes where up I swam up to the boat and the driver helped me get back on board. Bottom time was about 37 minutes.
After the rest of the group returned to the boat we went back to the dive shop for about 20 minutes, had some fruit and water and then went back out.
Next was Tuffy Canyons and my dive experience with regard to equalization and going through air were similar but I was able to extend my bottom time to 40 minutes. I'm getting better! This time we saw several (large!) eagle rays, more nurse sharks, lobster and really big grouper.
The next day I went on two more dives. This time there were 16 divers and two dive masters. They split us into two groups. I was with the same dive master as the previous day:
Victoria Tunnels: Visibility wasn't great but I was able to equalize pretty much as I was sinking so that got much better (you just have to practice). Bottom time was about 40 minutes again.
Esmeralda Canyons: Visibility was much better and I was able to extend my bottom time to 45 minute! Again, I suspect that the fact that I'm equalizing faster helps with my bottom time since I don't go through so much air up front. This was a much better dive than the previous one and we saw a few turtles, lots of nurse sharks and grouper plus a couple of free-swimming moray eels.
I had a great time and feel much more comfortable with my diving. I wanted to see some cool thing but I also wanted to work on my skills and I really feel that I improved on the two things I was most concerned about. Like most things it's all about practice!
Final thoughts:
- It seems for most of these types of recreational dives you are really a school of scuba fish just following the dive master around. Having a buddy is COMPLETELY up to you and I would guess plenty of people don't even pay attention to anything except the sights and (hopefully) where the dive master is.\
- Most of those divers didn't seem to personally inspect their equipment. Maybe I just didn't notice but I only saw a few even checking their octopus. Some people, however, were very good about that (especially that dad). My instructor emphasized always going over the stuff you rent.
- Many divers have absolutely no situational awareness when it comes to other divers. I can't tell you how many times people swam under me and then up almost hitting me with their fins or were so eager to see what the dive master was pointing at that they just don't see other people near them. I hope I wasn't doing that to other people!
- I guarantee that NO ONE on that boat used any kind of dive plan (I am guilty of this as well). It was just “jump in the water and follow the dive master around” and trust him. To be fair, he was VERY clear about staying at or near his depth and actually had to chase down some divers who kept trying to go further down in the canyons. Again, most people just seem to trust their dive masters. Then again, if you stay between 40 and 60 feet deep you should be fine on a 45 minute dive. But without a computer or a dive watch, how do you know how long you're down there?
- The Suunto Zoop was neat! It kept track of my depth, how long I could stay down (adjusting as I ascended or descended), the water temperature, my ascent rate, and safety stop time. I certainly felt more "in control" with that computer than just trusting the dive master.
- You get better at equalizing pressure with practice.
- You get better at managing your air with practice. Also, if you are going to float on the surface before descending, inflate your BCD manually (via your mouth) before you enter the water. Save's you a little air...
- Ambergris Divers was good about checking my certification and they asked for my DAN insurance number. When I went to dive with them on the second day, they remembered me and had all my gear ready on the boat. That was nice.
Sorry for the long post. Hopefully some people new to diving or thinking about diving will find some info useful. I can't wait to go again!
