What's the trick to the giant stride?

[Robert Gillcash]

one extra piece of info for the giant stride, please make sure you are as far forward on the deck/swim grid/boat as possible. This means to get your toes and as much of your foot as possible over the edge. If you're too far backwards you are likely to go face first into the water....

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hi Lynne,
I am well aware I am not going to win this position , but if the new people were my responsibility, they would have been breathing from the reg for the minute or 2 prior to jumping in, and would have learned to completely have checked air and bc prior to jumping in..... (unquote)

That's just how I do! Well, OK, don't breathe off my tank for a minute or TWO, but do check that my reg is breathing properly by checking sharp inhales against my gauge, and that my air is definitely all the way on, that my safe second is working, that my bc is responding to all commands, pat myself, here and there, lol, in goes me . . . straight down, if acceptable to boat op . . . reconfirm all the bits in place at depth. Dive around enjoying myself whilst waiting for all the other divers.

All that said, sometimes a GIANT stride can be a bit difficult due to my ass being built so close to the sidewalk. In that regard, I'm much happier to do a face plant than have my tank or head hit the platform on the way down. Worst giant strides ever . . . 15 or so feet off a slippery gunnel, day after day, dive after dive . . . pulled a groin muscle in no time flat. While that was painful in general, it became distinctly problematic when after a night dive, instead of tying up at the dock, we had to tie up to other boats instead. This left us having to clamber up and down a number of other boats, streeeeettttccchhh to reach each next boat and so on and so on, until finally we were on the dock. Damn near killed me. hee hee

 

[TSandM]

Dan, I also believe that everyone should have done a full gear check on the boat, including testing regulators and inflators. But especially for new folks, having your mask dislodged, or discovering that your LP inflator hose wasn't really fully on, but popped off during the jump into the water, can be stressful -- but much more easily coped with on the surface than ten feet down. Where there is no real reason for a hot drop, I think an inflated entry is safer.

 

[danvolker]

Dan, I also believe that everyone should have done a full gear check on the boat, including testing regulators and inflators. But especially for new folks, having your mask dislodged, or discovering that your LP inflator hose wasn't really fully on, but popped off during the jump into the water, can be stressful -- but much more easily coped with on the surface than ten feet down. Where there is no real reason for a hot drop, I think an inflated entry is safer.

Lynne,
I totally agree that a complete check needs to be done on the surface, and the buddies can act like buddies here, and be checking each other.
However....As soon as you let new divers think it is ok to float like ducks on the surface when they jump in, they LEARN that this is how you jump in, and this becomes the way they are comfortable.....The downside is, when a hote drop is needed, this is stressful for them, and they do it badly.
We see Keys divers come to Palm Beach all the time, and they are unprepared for hot drops, and really have to be
"worked with". Once they get it, they can do this everywhere, and be where they are supposed to be on the bottom, as good or better than some DM's in the Keys

 

[Colliam7]

I am picturing a plane with a bunch of student sky divers, and a crewmember of the plane, putting his foot on the backs of the students and shoving the terrified jumpers out of the door, with a smirk on his face

Hmm, did you do jump school at Benning?