Opinions on my new equipment

[wreckchick]

I've talked about this before and I'm gonna do it again. IMO a Deep Diving Specialty is NOT required for a diver to go past 60'. I'm a little tired of people saying it is. Is any further training good? Yep, sure is. Should nikyyo been to 110' without a solid buddy? Probably not. A divemaster that's supposed to have 6 buddies is not a buddy at all, that's barely not solo diving. I don't think the specific depth of this dive made it dangerous, it was not having a 1 on 1 buddy to go to in case something went wrong.

I just did a quick little tally of my post certification dives. I have 16 total, 4 <60'; 10 60'-100'; and 2 >100'. I was uncomfortable on precisely one of those dives and it's no surprise it was the deepest one of them all. I wouldn't have been nearly as uncomfortable if the divemaster and the rest of the group wasn't 20'-30' below me AND MY BUDDY for most of the dive (I was at about 122' for most of the dive). If the divemaster had been my buddy, it wouldn't have been easy to stay that far above instead of being down at 150' like everybody else.

Is deep training a necessity? Nah, being comfortable in the water is. Having a buddy you can trust to be there for you if you need them is. Do I recommend that everyone play follow the leader and do dives they aren't comfortable with? Emphatic NO!

Rachel

 

[nickjb]

Biscuit7, I know exactly what you mean, I felt the same when I was at a similar stage to you.

I think this quote from Richard Pyle sums it up. For rebreather substitute Open Circuit Scuba and for hour substitute number of dives and the figures are prettry good:

"I have learned some important lessons. After my first 10 hours on a rebreather, I was a real expert. Another 40 hours of dive time later, I considered myself a novice. When I had completed about 100 hours of rebreather diving, I realized I was only just a beginner."

It is very easy to push the limits when you start out. Take it easy and dive safe.

 

[large_diver]

Nick,

I think that was about the best post I've seen around here in quite a while.

-LD

 

[runvus4]

The reality of a 60' limit is IMHO too shallow a buideline for a beginning diver. Certainly there is plenty to do and see below 60', but the fact of the matter is that most dives that a "beginner" can and will sign up for are just at that level or deeper. I realize that 66' or 2 atm is the suggested save limit for narcosis and I do feel that 60/66' is a good limit to try to adhere to.

Most dive operations I've been to do not offer many if any shallow dives and usually leave those to the domain of snorkeling. They believe that people whom have taken a vacation and spend the time/money to certify and buy/rent gear want to see and do much much more than they could when snorkeling due to the greatly increased inconvenience, time and costs associated to Scuba.

Aside from my very first dive which was 45', I've never been on a dive, cert or fun, that hasn't broken the 60' suggested limit, even if only by 5 to 10 feet.

110 feet dive as a new diver, especially with new gear and a non-dedicated (experienced) buddy is, as the orignial poster suspected, not a dive that should have been made. If the dive community/dive training organizations want to continue to push a 60'/66' reccomended limit prior to "deep diver" training, then they really need to convince dive operations to develop and offer more dives in that depth range.

 

[nickjb]

large_diver once bubbled...
Nick,

I think that was about the best post I've seen around here in quite a while.

-LD

Thanks LD, When I read it in one of Richard's papers it really rang true.

 

[wreckchick]

nick,

I agree with you completely as far as my dive experience goes. I think I am more conservative now than during those first couple dives. I think my conservatism plays more in the realm of having the courage to disobey a divemaster and dive the plan, not the divemaster who wanders from the plan.

Understand that I could swim before I could walk, I've always loved the ocean and snorkeling, I haven't had any problems with any skills related to diving, and I'm not prone to panic in any situation. The dives I counted above include 14 lovely caribbean dives and 2 off the coast of south carolina. The caribbean dives were deep, the SC ones were not. I wouldn't have gone too deep there because the water was cold, the gear was clunky and constricting, and I wasn't as comfortable. I'll probably be diving quarries this summer and I have no intention of hitting anything particularly deep. The limited visibility and the cold water make those dives more challenging for me, even at 50'.

Maybe there should be some sort of formula that takes into account the water temp and vis when figuring max depth. I think everyone would agree that 60' in Lake Michigan is not the same as 60' in Cozumel, but according to PADI rules, they should be treated as such.

Rachel

 

[MikeFerrara]

I would like to hear about the gas management plan that was used for the 110 ft dive.

 

[Waterlover]

According to PADI rules she only needs to be back on the boat with 500psi. She doesn't need a gas management plan for that

 

[sheck33]

:drown:

 

[Big-t-2538]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
I would like to hear about the gas management plan that was used for the 110 ft dive.

welll, I have only had ove dive below 110, but all of my dives share a common plan....

deep as we can for as long as we can, when we run out of air...we inflate our BC and shoot to the surface like a rocket