'Training' advice needed for Galapagos

[divinglover]

Hi Everyone

First of all - apologies for a very long post, hope it is the right forum. I need your advice on the Galapagos diving...I was planning to go on a liveaboard in Galapagos this coming Xmas/New year (always dreamt of Galapagos!)

However, once i started researching diving conditions, i came across this forum, and spent the last week reading hunderds of posts on both, galapagos and inexperineced divers.

i also realised that Galapagos requires far more advanced diving than i am currently capable of (THANK YOU to all the experienced posters here, helping me realise that in time!)

So - i have cancelled my original plans for Galapagos this Xmas, and am planning to delay it in order to improve my skills first. For various reasons, i can only delay the trip to next April/May, otherwise may end up not going at all for years.

I currently have PADI Advanced open water certification, 40 shore and boat dives, all warm water. I haven't really dived many challenging sites - so far i dived in Egypt (Ras Mohammed and others), Antigua, Kenya, Thailand (Similans/Koh bon liveaboard, Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, Ko Tao, Phi Phi).
I have been in the currents few times, and handled them all by following DM instructions or copying exactly what the DM/other experienced divers were doing (ie body position etc), which always worked. My buoyancy is good (told by DM), my air consumption is good - always have more air left than most on surfacing (although i am also a female of slight built), in tropical waters i usually use about 3-3.5 kg of weight to dive for a 3mm full suit. I am also physically fit.

I understand i am not ready for galapagos now, so - in order to improve my skills i have just booked 2 diving holidays between now and next april/may.
During those I am planning to do the following 'training':
- complete rescue diver course
- complete nitrox course (never needed it so far)
- do as many dives as i can in currents (under supervision i.e. pay for private DM/instruction to rapidly and safely improve).
[ One of my holidays is in Philippines - Sogod bay, and then Apo island, the other fernando de noronha, brazil]
- do wall diving in Phils (under supervision)
- learn how to shoot SMB
- learn to perform negative descent (on a separate note - could someone tell me where i could read the theory of those pls??)

all in all i would probably do another 40-50 dives, focusing on those things between now and next april/may. But i am not planning (so far) to do cold water diving or anything else.

so, i now come to my questions:
1. I know you can't judge without having seen me in the water - but based on my description and my 'training plan' do you think i have a reasonable chance to improve my diving skills enough to dive at darwin/wolf next April / May? (considering it's also warm season there)
2. If i do go to Galapagos - do you think it is worth me paying for private DM to be my buddy? and how much approximately could it cost???? (i am already spending a small - totally unplanned! - fortune on all this 'training', so by the time i get to galapagos, funds would be extremely low

I also have some questions regarding diving conditions in April vs May but i will post those separately to not make this post even longer than it already is!

please let me know what you think - as much as you can without having seen me in the water...Thank you in advance!

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Have you considered going a week or two early to Galapagos and getting your certifications/training there? It will give you the opportunity to acclimate to Galapagos diving in advance of a liveaboard. Sites like Gordon Rocks require 20-30 logged dives and certainly offer a taste of what you can experience in the north. I think sometimes conditions at that site can even be more challenging than in the north. You could go out with a private guide 2-3 days in the central islands easier than on a liveaboard to get used to what it is like. As for hiring a private DM, it will most likely run you around $200+ per day, however, not all liveaboards have the space to accommodate an extra guide, so that could be an issue. Also, some guides are better with experienced divers and some better with inexperienced divers, so if you do, you would want the latter.

I remember going onboard in high season with a diver who only had 20 logged dives but was more adept in the water than others who had hundreds, so I think a lot of it depends on your own comfort level in the water, though certainly in high season, the more experience you have, the more you will enjoy the diving. It's not what will happen in Galapagos, but what can happen that you need to be prepared for. And yes, at Darwin, a rapid descent through current is usually necessary.

 

[divinglover]

Hi, that is a good idea - i haven't thought of that. Thank you for the suggestions, and info.

I was already planning to come to Galapagos few days early, and do the land tours/short cruise first (before the liveaboard), so will now see if i can do some land-based diving too. Unfortunately i will be limited on time (and finances), so i won't be able to do more than 1-2 days diving probably.(i also still want to do about 4 days cruise or land-based tours. But i think it would still be better than nothing, and would allow me to get used to conditions and 7mm wetsuit.

Although it doesn't seem to be that easy to coordinate / organise it all - land-based diving, shorter cruise and liveaboard, without 'losing' days in between.. Would you have any suggestions on how to best organise that? (i would like to do liveaborad at the end of my stay)

You also mention that some guides are better with experienced, others with inexperienced divers - would you have any idea as to how to identify those? And what are the approximate costs of land-based diving with a private guide in galapagos? i couldn't find any info online on that.

Thanks for your help!

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

That's overkill for galapagos. You just have to know how to descent real fast (meaning constant equalizing), have strength to hang onto rough rocks...with your back against the current, and have some strength to swim long into the current. Just know all the emergency procedures and stay near your buddy, etc.

This is after all, still a guided dive, albeit the DM will be on the lookout for hammerheads or other things most of the time.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Hi Divinglover...My apologies, but I have been mostly away and obviously haven't looked at Scubaboard for more than a minute. There is a woman living in Santa Cruz who is a PADI Course Director and English is her native language. She's an excellent teacher, so I could put you directly in touch with her as she will go above and beyond to assist you with all the details and work hard to help you find it affordably. She is also the general manager of one of the liveaboards in Galapagos though to aim for a liveaboard immediately after learning might be a stretch unless you plan to go during low season. Everything costs less in low season. I'm going to PM you her contact information.

Lwang, you really shouldn't have to swim into strong current...through it sometimes yes, but not against it. All dives are drift dives. Sometimes, surge is present at some sites, so maybe you mean surge?

 

[tracydr]

Diving lover- can you do some local diving? Your local waters might be a great place to train for Galapegos.
Also, perhaps change one of your tropical trips to somewhere cold like California or British Columbia. It seemed like the cold water was more of an issue with Galapegos when I was there ( with divers on the boat that were very experienced but did a lot of tropical diving), than currents were. Those of us from colder waters has less issues, since we didn't need to adjust to the heavier wetsuits and the types of conditions inherent to Pacific West Coast diving.
Galepgos is a bucket list dive trip, for sure. I made reservations for myself ( no buddy, like you) before I met my husband. As soon as we started dating, I added him to the trip on a wait-list, abd he was lucky enough to finally get on ( we signed up 2 years early!) and we went there for our honeymoon!
BTW, I was told not to dive dry, due to increased drag when swimming fast towards a whale shark. I'm not sure, but I think I would bring my drysuit along if I ever go back again, at least for backup. I get cold very easily. I was cold at times and would have appreciated a drysuit. Nobody was diving a drysuit on our boat.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Lwang, you really shouldn't have to swim into strong current...through it sometimes yes, but not against it. All dives are drift dives. Sometimes, surge is present at some sites, so maybe you mean surge?

since on wolf and darwin, the current comes from multiple directions, one can decide which way the current seem to go and head in that direction and with the shift in current, one ends up going into the current. I don't think it is so strong that one has to grab onto rocks and crawl across, but you definitely feel the change.

 

[divinglover]

Thank you everyone for your input.

It has re-assured me a little - i hope i should be able to cope with that type of diving. I am actually planning to be in Galapagos in the low season - in may.
I have also decided i will definitely do some land based diving in Galapagos before going on liveaborad - to get used to the conditions. I doubt i will have time for a full course - but i will contact that recommended instructor, and will make sure i have some sort of skills training / private diving with her there.

I am also still planning to do the rescue diver course, and another 30-40 dives in philippines in couple of months time. For various reasons, i cannot really do any local diving in UK.Plus - the water temp here is around 8C-10, so all diving would be dry, and may not help that much with galapagos in low season.

dive the galapagos - thanks for your PM, i will be sending you a PM as well.

thanks again everyone. i can't wait to dive there!!!

 

[ronscuba]

If you can, try to do some non tropical diving with water temperatures similar to Galapagos. Thicker wetsuit, more weight, hood, gloves, can take a few dives or more to get used to. The thicker suit, hood and gloves will restrict your movements compared to diving tropical. It can feel kind of claustrophobic if you are not used to it.

The additional weight will affect your buoyancy control until you dial in the exact weight needed.

Being fit is good, but being in great shape will be useful. Strong legs and good cardio is a blessing if the whale sharks are around.

 

[divinglover]

thank you for your suggestions. i will try and do some cold water diving before i go, and will definitely do at least couple of dives land-based in Galapagos before going on the liveaboard - to make sure i adjust to thicker suit and the conditions.

Sounds like i will also be going to gym a bit more I am actually in good shape now, although have not tested the strength of my legs etc. I am a rather petite female, so not sure whether that would be a detriment/a help/makes no difference? 9apart from helping with air consumption)

thanks again!