will soon be doing first saltwater dive

[wspalding]

DiverSteve mentioned this, but it's important and I want to make sure it gets noticed:



Little diver heads sticking out of the water with even mild waves can be hard to see at some distance, and don't count on people being able to hear you yelling. If being found after a long time, dehydrated some some sunburning sounds bad to you, then everybody ought to have one in a pocket before doing this dive. And SMB, sausage, call it what you will, but get one.

Richard.

My last trip to Jupiter a few weeks ago we had a lost diver. The guy went in expecting to hang with the float, got separated, and thanks to the skill of the captain we tracked him down pretty quickly..... a mile from where the rest of us were picked up. He had no sausage and was very hard to see, and this was in a flat sea. Throw in 2-4 foot seas and he would have been invisible. I don't know what currents are like in the Gulf but, a diver in current could drift a long ways from an anchored boat in a hurry. I think it is a horrible idea to do a first ocean dive off a private boat without an experienced captain that is used to dropping divers and has all the safety devices to help a diver in distress.

 

[Becca65]

just so you don't worry - if we get out there and it's not calm or there is a strong current we will not dive, if it is calm and the current is light we will dive with the experienced rig divers with us - the boat will not be moving and will have people onboard the whole time - we both have sausages - and while I know I am far from being 100% perfect with my buoyancy I am not about to sink to a depth I'm not ready for - I watch my computer and make sure I stay where I know I'm good. We did our certification in a lake (old sand pit) that is supposed to be at least 60-80 feet deep from what I've been told - we never went past 30 during class and sinking deeper by accident was not something either of us had an issue with - my issue was that I would float up when I didn't mean to - but since then I've been able to hold a depth while swimming around without that happening either.

 

[wspalding]

just so you don't worry - if we get out there and it's not calm or there is a strong current we will not dive, if it is calm and the current is light we will dive with the experienced rig divers with us - the boat will not be moving and will have people onboard the whole time - we both have sausages - and while I know I am far from being 100% perfect with my buoyancy I am not about to sink to a depth I'm not ready for - I watch my computer and make sure I stay where I know I'm good. We did our certification in a lake (old sand pit) that is supposed to be at least 60-80 feet deep from what I've been told - we never went past 30 during class and sinking deeper by accident was not something either of us had an issue with - my issue was that I would float up when I didn't mean to - but since then I've been able to hold a depth while swimming around without that happening either.

I really do hope that all goes well, especially since you guys are determined to make this particular dive. Since you should be diving in fairly warm water, I'm not worried about the depth as you ought not be carrying a ton of lead. However, while I don't know the Gulf at all, you are likely to have much better viz than a quarry, and it really is easier to go deeper than planned when viz is good, so keep that in mind. Glad to hear you both have safety sausages. Since you'll have experienced divers with you, and just as a suggestion, you might want to have them demonstrate deploying a sausage from depth so that you can get some experience with it. If you ever head over to the Palm Beach area you'll want to be able to handle that comfortably as it is all drift diving, and coming up on your own sausage vs. the float is common practice.

 

[diversteve]

You do know how to drive the boat right? Might be you picking up the experienced divers also...especially if there's high current and you two decide not to go.

 

[nolatom]

I think that going too deep, at least inadvertently, is less likely on a rig/platform dive, because the horizontal cross-bracing is repeated every what, 30 feet or so (?) so you have (for example) the 30, 60, and 90-foot "elevator floors" to remind you graphically how deep you are. Once I had that mentally dialed in, I didn't need to check depth (nor compass) frequently, just air. And the most prolific flora are at those levels, since there's that much more steel. So it's natural to "pick a floor" at a depth you're comfortable with, while still being able to see all the way down to 150' or more in the usually good visibility, with the swirling fish schools below you.

That said, we did have a dynamic duo once on the FGB liveaboard who boogied on down to the 150' level for their 'cruise", despite boat's often-stated limit of 100'. Back on board, one of the DMs looked and said, "you're in deco", and got "what's deco?" in reply. They did not pass "Go" and went directly to dive jail, sitting out the dives thereafter, fortunately with no symptoms...

Becca, didn't you mention you two had done outboard motor repair and such? I'm thinking operating boat in a pinch wouldn't be something new to you then.

 

[industrious95]

... but what exactly do you do if you're swimming around and happen to see a shark?

Diving is one of the few water sports where the word "SHARK" will make people go into the water.

 

[Becca65]

no, driving the boat will not be a problem - my husband has been working on them and operating them for over 30 years now. He also worked a summer off shore on a "stand by boat" next to a working rig when he was 15 or 16 and had to operate that very large boat as well so absolutely no worries there.

 

[Bladebreaker65]

Hey Guys
Introduction I am Becca65's other half. Thanks to all for the great info and advice. Many questions were raised and answered. Things I had not considered (surge around the legs of structure) Yes we had already purchased sausages. Gloves (had not planned on touching anything) great advice. Full suit instead of shorty(not for temp it's 90deg water) but for protection. All this said here is how it went. after a week of phone calls could not get anyone else to go. After some long discussion decided to go anyway (I know I can here everyone cringe) Decided this with certain objectives in mind. Not that eager to dive off thru a structure with out guidance. Would like to set up a series of drop lines off the boat marked with depth every 15 to 60 feet. Main objective get buoyancy weight correct. 2nd Get salty and look around off the tag line. After that turn it into a fishing trip. So here we go loaded up and started out around 8:00. By the time we hit the Galveston jettys saw a pretty good thunderstorm. watching the sat. weather we went thru the boat cut on the north side and went around the storm. After a short run made it to a small rig about 12 mi out (storm still to our south) backed off and looked around seas 3-4 ft Looked at Becky and said no way. then saw lightning in that slow but large moving cell. Looked at the Sat. picture and went around it to the south. Saw nice blue water at about 16 mi, but thunder storms were showing like popcorn. We had already decided to abort the day. Ran around the storm came back in the jettys and only got wet in one light rain on the way back to Clear Lake. So it was a nice boat ride and chk out for seasickness loading of gear etc.. The thing that I have noticed in a lot of these stories. The new divers blindly followed the "expert" divers into trouble. this is why we chase to do what we did. I trust my judgment and my experience on the water (our captain too) He might not be a diver operator being paid but common sense and being able to say no is best. We will try again another day and with some exp divers if possible, but rest assured we will not hit the water until the conditions are right.

 

[drrich2]

The new divers blindly followed the "expert" divers into trouble. this is why we chase to do what we did.

Do be mindful the large majority of new OW divers hitting the ocean early in their diving careers will be diving via scuba diving charter boats with a guide, or off charter boats as part of classes, I believe, and therefore many of the accident stories we hear will come from such situations (newbies led by seasoned divers). This doesn't indicate that it's safer to start your ocean diving career without a guide or a dedicated dive op. (captain, guide, other staff).

We're adults, and you choose what you do. People do enough after the fact analysis of serious injury & fatality scenarios on the forum so that they to prevent situations they think lend themselves to bad outcomes. But opinions vary, and you choose what you do. Hope it goes well.

Richard.

 

[wspalding]

Hey Guys
Introduction I am Becca65's other half. Thanks to all for the great info and advice. Many questions were raised and answered. Things I had not considered (surge around the legs of structure) Yes we had already purchased sausages. Gloves (had not planned on touching anything) great advice. Full suit instead of shorty(not for temp it's 90deg water) but for protection. All this said here is how it went. after a week of phone calls could not get anyone else to go. After some long discussion decided to go anyway (I know I can here everyone cringe) Decided this with certain objectives in mind. Not that eager to dive off thru a structure with out guidance. Would like to set up a series of drop lines off the boat marked with depth every 15 to 60 feet. Main objective get buoyancy weight correct. 2nd Get salty and look around off the tag line. After that turn it into a fishing trip. So here we go loaded up and started out around 8:00. By the time we hit the Galveston jettys saw a pretty good thunderstorm. watching the sat. weather we went thru the boat cut on the north side and went around the storm. After a short run made it to a small rig about 12 mi out (storm still to our south) backed off and looked around seas 3-4 ft Looked at Becky and said no way. then saw lightning in that slow but large moving cell. Looked at the Sat. picture and went around it to the south. Saw nice blue water at about 16 mi, but thunder storms were showing like popcorn. We had already decided to abort the day. Ran around the storm came back in the jettys and only got wet in one light rain on the way back to Clear Lake. So it was a nice boat ride and chk out for seasickness loading of gear etc.. The thing that I have noticed in a lot of these stories. The new divers blindly followed the "expert" divers into trouble. this is why we chase to do what we did. I trust my judgment and my experience on the water (our captain too) He might not be a diver operator being paid but common sense and being able to say no is best. We will try again another day and with some exp divers if possible, but rest assured we will not hit the water until the conditions are right.

I think it was a good choice to abort that dive. I don't know how well the boat is set up for divers (don't know if there is a dive platform for entry/exit), but it can be tough getting back on board a charter in 3-4 seas, or possible 4-6 if a storm was rolling in. I don't know about new divers following experts into trouble as most charters (at least East Coast S. Florida) will have a DM that carries a float and stays on the reef and out of trouble. Personally, I recommend diving a shallow reef on those first few ocean dives just to get acclimated. Safe Diving! There is nothing like bottom time to practice your buoyancy skills, and shallow will give you lots of BT.