How soon after your cert did you go on your own dive without any DM?

[SoybeanQueen]

My next dive.
If you are trained as you should be, you should be able to dive independently as soon as you are certified. That's what the cert means. If you you don't feel capable of being an independent diver upon certification, then your instructor did you a disservice by certifying you.

Probably depends on where you intend your next dive to be. I'd go jump in a local quarry any day as a new diver and I feel like my training prepared me to do that independently.

If there were something unusual about the dive site or conditions that were beyond my noob skillz, though, I'd either make sure I had a buddy other than my also new-to-diving husband or I'd see about diving with a DM. My training prepared me to do some diving independently, and to get started on learning to do the rest (I hope).

 

[frogman159]

With all due respect, I felt completely capable of making a dive independently with my recently certified buddy "in the conditions I trained in".

We trained in low vis, dark and cold fresh water quarries and lakes, from shore. I
I did not feel comfortable diving from a boat, in salt water, in a wide open ocean where navigation is actually a challenge.

This was my exact experieince as well. Dove the training site alone (w/buddy no DM) the weekend after checkout. Got into the open ocean off a boat in crystal clear 80 degree water and I freaked a bit

 

[ScubaSteve]

I think there is a "Holier-Than-Thou" attitude in some after they cross over from true NOOB to somewhat experienced. They seem to forget just how exhilerating but intimidating the first couple of dives are immediately after certification. They make blanket statements that you are ill-trained if you want to dive with DM for your first post cert dive....whatever. I am comfortable diving in almost any condition with just my dive buddy (of any experience level)...but I am also intelligent enough to admit when having a DM around for a dive or two would make it safer for one reason or another. And this was the case when I certified....I would gladly have asked for a "DM led dive" without fear of bruising my ego if I felt it would be the smart thing to do.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Probably depends on where you intend your next dive to be. I'd go jump in a local quarry any day as a new diver and I feel like my training prepared me to do that independently.

If there were something unusual about the dive site or conditions that were beyond my noob skillz, though, I'd either make sure I had a buddy other than my also new-to-diving husband or I'd see about diving with a DM. My training prepared me to do some diving independently, and to get started on learning to do the rest (I hope).

My first sentence was the answer to the original question. That meant that my next dive after I certified was a grown-up dive without babysitting.
What you are talking about after that, is simply risk management and dive planning. Being a smart diver means knowing when you need help in new situations. It's how you should do it. Good diving to you.

 

[NudeDiver]

I can see the point you are making NudeDiver but firstly, often people do not leave OW courses comfortable in the water and may need a few guided dives afterwards. This is not their fault, more the fault of their instructor but what's done is done so if people need DMs for a bit afterwards, I can understand why.

And that's great - and I was not ragging on such people at all. MY point is that the people who DO NOT fall into this category are not necessarily "macho" just because they feel perfectly capable of going diving without a DM, contrary to the opinion posted several posts back.

Case and point - I certified in rather cold, dark and crappy conditions, in a drysuit. My Dive #5 was in the warm, bathtub-like, crystal clear waters of Australia, wearing nothing more than swimming trunks. It was EASY PEASY!! The thought "hey, I should dive with a dive master" never crossed my mind - NOT because I was somehow "macho" - but merely because I was well-prepared for the dive. Lots of people are well-prepared for their dive #5 - it doesn't mean they are macho.

Also your analogy with driving licenses is flawed in my opinion. Most people do not learn to drive in four days for one thing. I got my Learner's permit at 16 and had hundreds of hours of supervised driving experience in the two years before I could go for my license.

I don't know ANYONE who had anywhere even remotely close to your level of training before being turned loose on the road. Frankly speaking, I think I had more pool time in my OW class than I had "behind the wheel" time prior to getting my driver's license. My memory may be a LITTLE flawed, but there is no way I had more than 20 hours, at most, of "behind the wheel" time before getting my driver's license. Maybe this isn't the norm, I dunno. I can only go by what I know

Cheers!
nd

 

[Rhone Man]

Or possibly: "how long were you diving without a DM before you felt the need to get certified?" One of the guys I dive with occasionally is at 35 years and counting...

 

[NudeDiver]

I think there is a "Holier-Than-Thou" attitude in some after they cross over from true NOOB to somewhat experienced...I am also intelligent enough...without fear of bruising my ego if I felt it would be the smart thing to do.

As opposed to the "holier-than-thou" attitude of those who feel they are intellectually superior to those dumb enough to disagree with them....

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

And that's great - and I was not ragging on such people at all. MY point is that the people who DO NOT fall into this category are not necessarily "macho" just because they feel perfectly capable of going diving without a DM, contrary to the opinion posted several posts back.

I don't know ANYONE who had anywhere even remotely close to your level of training before being turned loose on the road. Frankly speaking, I think I had more pool time in my OW class than I had "behind the wheel" time prior to getting my driver's license. My memory may be a LITTLE flawed, but there is no way I had more than 20 hours, at most, of "behind the wheel" time before getting my driver's license. Maybe this isn't the norm, I dunno. I can only go by what I know

Cheers!
nd

Even if you memory is a little flawed, I can add an analogy.

Private Pilot Aeronautical Experience (Yes, you must pass the written tests too)

Sec. 61.109 Aeronautical experience
"(a) ... a person who applies for a private pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 40 hours of flight time that includes at least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training..."

There are specific parts of training that need to be included just like scuba training, but the fact is: If you can pass the tests, the government will give you a license to fly that plane with or without a "buddy"... AND, you are required to fly solo BEFORE you can get your certificate.

Is this example off the beaten path? Not so much...

 

[NudeDiver]

OK, so there you go. After 30 hours or so of "behind the yolk" time, you can go fly a small plane by yourself. My estimate of having less than 20 hours of "behind the wheel" time seems pretty reasonable compared to that. Compared to these things, the amount of "under water time" most people have as a result of taking an OW class seems plenty sufficient to allow people to make their dive #5 without DM supervision, without "macho" as a driving factor.

 

[drbill]

Um... about eight years before I got certified. Heck, I didn't even know what a DM was for decades after I got certified. I'm not sure they even existed in the "dark ages."