45 minutes after I got my tempory card. We were on a boat at Catalina. The first two dives were part of our certification. After the second dive our instructor gave us our cards and said we were free to make a third dive on our own.
How soon after your cert did you go on your own dive without any DM?
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seaducer
Contributor
As soon as I was certified I went out diving with a guy I knew from work. Maybe a day later or something like that. If you don't count the AOW class I took 2 weeks after OW, then I was diving more than a year before I ever saw a DM.
I did four dives in OW, and went directly to AOW because I was too scared to get in the water with anyone but an instructor. Then I went to Maui, and did four more dives with my husband and an instructor in Molokini and just off shore. By the end of that trip, I believe we did do a shore dive by ourselves -- We didn't get into any trouble, but never found anything to look at.
I think my first dive at home without either a highly experienced buddy or a DM or instructor was about dive 25. It was with one of my OW classmates, and it was a very simple dive, and at the end of it, we stood up and high-fived one another
I think my first dive at home without either a highly experienced buddy or a DM or instructor was about dive 25. It was with one of my OW classmates, and it was a very simple dive, and at the end of it, we stood up and high-fived one another
I must be the exception, it was around 150 dives after OW before I dived without a DM. Maybe it is because it is very hard to dive without a DM in the areas I went to for the first couple of years after certification. Most dive shops in PG would not put their boat out without a DM on it I think, and the shore diving isn't a patch on the sites you can reach by boat.
I've really only shore dived around Japan (50-100 dives) and a few dives in Truk (maybe 5 to 10) without a DM... all the other places I have been don't seem to offer the option to dive without a DM.
As a photographer, I hugely prefer diving without a group/DM - gives me plenty of time to compose and execute shots - I'm off to Bali today so am hoping there is a chance of some unsupervised beach dives there!
I've really only shore dived around Japan (50-100 dives) and a few dives in Truk (maybe 5 to 10) without a DM... all the other places I have been don't seem to offer the option to dive without a DM.
As a photographer, I hugely prefer diving without a group/DM - gives me plenty of time to compose and execute shots - I'm off to Bali today so am hoping there is a chance of some unsupervised beach dives there!
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It is my impression that SB respondents tend to be somewhat macho on potentially macho topics such as this one, independent diving. Perhaps this is a consequence of who is paying attention to the posts and who decides to respond. I spent my first several years after certification diving off Grand Cayman, mostly off the North Wall. It was the standard of practice that the 1st dive (deep wall) be accompanied by a divemaster. This practice allowed me to both enjoy my dive without the need for intense navigation skills and to hone my diving skills. Second, shallower dives, were unaccompanied and allowed me to build confidence in both navigation and diving skills. This arrangement led to confidence in navigation skills as well as reasonalble technical competance. Over time and in a variety of different locations, I have largely become a solo diver unless I'm lucky enough to be with my family. I am very confident in both my techical diving skills and my navigation skills and believe the natural progresson of events worked greatly to my advantage.
To each their own , good diving to all,
Craig
To each their own , good diving to all,
Craig
Same here. Probably around 120 dives.
Normally we have to follow boat or group instead of diving on our own, but we are free to do shore dives on our own time, if we have time between boat dives.
Even so, I had many 'accidentally unsupervised' dives where my DM lost us during OW and AOW because of murky water, chasing after another diver, DM just move while we were waiting for the rest of the group or helping those who had difficulty descend/equalize. That is why I had stopped diving in the place where there are big amount of students and 'cool' divers. DM not experienced, dependent and destructive divers and over-dived sites. It's a pity because that is the closest where i can get my diving fix.
For overseas, DM is good especially I love macro/muck diving. They are experienced in knowing where is the best hiding place for critters, and they make sure our group is together, because we normally concentrating in taking good pictures.
First real unsupervised diving was in Phillippine and give our DM a break. We did one shore and one boat dives exploring and found good potential new dive sites.
Should have taken the offer of the DM to name it after us, we thought he was joking.
I went out about 2 weeks after I got my OW with one of the former students at my LDC. I've only gone out with a DM once and that's because we both wanted to go see these huge cod that migrate up here in Vancouver. It wasn't cosidered a dive with a DM just a dive with a buddy that wanted to see cod as did I.
As we completed our OWD signoffs at the checkout site, I asked my instructor whether I might get in another dive that weekend. He said, "If you've got gas and a buddy, go diving. You're a diver now."
I have never forgotten the feeling of being out there without our instructor or assistant along. It was great, even with the seven-mil rental suits and the limited visibility.
I teach diving now. I even teach divemasters and assistant instructors. I hope I never forget the feeling of that first dive.
-Bryan
I have never forgotten the feeling of being out there without our instructor or assistant along. It was great, even with the seven-mil rental suits and the limited visibility.
I teach diving now. I even teach divemasters and assistant instructors. I hope I never forget the feeling of that first dive.
-Bryan
redrover
Guest
1st dive after cert was w/o DM, a buddy and I did some shore dives. On boat dives here without having a partner IÃÎ expected to same ocean vicinity of a DM.
I donÃÕ equate a DM as a safety measure. Their job is not to tell me how to dive but where to be doing the diving.
I donÃÕ see this as macho bravado, nor those feeling more comfortable with a paid professional as a wimp. Divers ought to do what they are comfortable with. At least; I do this for fun and it was fun from the get go.
I donÃÕ equate a DM as a safety measure. Their job is not to tell me how to dive but where to be doing the diving.
I donÃÕ see this as macho bravado, nor those feeling more comfortable with a paid professional as a wimp. Divers ought to do what they are comfortable with. At least; I do this for fun and it was fun from the get go.
ligersandtions
Contributor
My first post-cert dive (well, after we left Cozumel, where we did two dives after the certification, but on the same day we finished up) was with my newly-certified husband. No DM....just made a simple dive and learned some things....this continued for many dives (it wasn't until dive 25 or so that we ever went out with other people....we didn't want to hold them back, so we practiced until we were confident that we could go out with others without ruining their dives).
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