would you put a inexperienced diver on this dive

[zenheadhunter]

I will not mention any names as you can see by the way i presented this thread as i know who is going to take them there and how many times they have dived the site . the fact remains that even being with very experienced tech divers if you become seperated from their experience and knowledge that you are relying on to keep you safe and you know in the open ocean this is very possible in a 4 -6 knot current what do you think the new diver would do (panic ?).I would think when you start wreck diving you would want to do some of the inshore wrecks in the 50-60 foot range with mild current and great visibility and far more ndl time to work with and gas management issues would be more forgiving if you had small issues with decent considering the new diver will be diving wet at 134', in a 5 mil on a single 80 tank not the best way to start in my inexperienced opinion.Not for meMaybe i am making to much of the situation.

 

[elmer fudd]

I've done well over 100 dives now. I've done deep dives and I've done dives in current and I know my equipment pretty well and I'd be hesitant to do it unless the conditions were right, (good tides and viz).

 

[DandyDon]

He needs a week of easy diving to learn what he doesn't know he doesn't know. For his ears and nose, give him this link http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/340380-constant-ear-equalizing-problems.html with special attention to the video.

 

[Bonairetrip]

If all I had was one major piece of equipment that I had not trained with I would not make that dive.

+1.

My own personal rule I try to observe: Only one new piece of equipment per dive. Task loading can be a real issue. Plus, with only one change in your equipment it is much easier to isolate any issues and get your kit squared away.

 

[TSandM]

I think the person who is encouraging him to do this dive is doing him a great wrong. And I think the diver himself is showing a very serious lack of common sense and prudence. One of the things that is very important to learn about diving is that no one is responsible for your safety except yourself. This means that it's your job to know your gear, know your abilities, and know your limits -- and stick to them. This person either doesn't know his limits, or wants to disregard them.

But as you said, all you can do is say your piece. If this is someone important to you, talk to their spouse or parents or children -- sometimes such folks can get through where you cannot.

 

[Hyper-limits]

This means that it's your job to know your gear, know your abilities, and know your limits -- and stick to them.

Ditto.

 

[zenheadhunter]

Lynn,

I would not say this person is important to me but i like the diver.For a person to tell me this plan just blows my mind ,that reasoning and common sense are set aside so easily for some reason and it is beyond my nature to not at least say something to sway their actions.I have a feeling this is not going to end well for anybody.I always thought there was a reason that we all crawl,walk, then run and when we fall learning these motor skills we get up and try again .If you fall at 134' in 51 degree water with minimum gas supply with no experience i am pretty sure your not going to get the chance to ever get up again.My hope is that the dive operation there chartered with catch this and put a stop to this accident waiting to happen as the boat crew is one of the better dive operations in n.c.

 

[diverrex]

At 242 dives I still wouldn't make that dive if I had much in the way of unfamiliar equipment, in fact I'm not sure I'd make that dive with my familiar gear. And I don't consider myself overly conservative. And no way would I buddy with someone like that on this dive.

Looking back at the original post I count at least 7 reasons why this person should be limited to easy shallow dives.


Orinal post below with bold on the reasons I count that this diver should only be doing easy shallow dives.

Consider this,you have a new diver who has just certified in ow and going for there aow and had major trouble in there checkout dives with clearing(nose bleeding,dizziness,ear pain) and some buoyancy control issues. This diver has not made any dives since there checkout dive but are going to do a dive with strong currents and to a mod of 134' in the atlantic with 1/2 of there equipment being new to them with 0 dives on this equipment. Personally i like this diver and would hate to see them get into trouble .I mentioned some of the conditions and possible issues where as they could get separated from the dm and or the instructor (visibility can go away quickly on this wreck site)and be on their own. They have never used or shot a smb and did not know what a finger spool was for etc. Am i wrong for thinking this is to much to soon ?

 

[co23ff]

Hope they have a good life insurance policy or at minimum DAN insurance for the hefty chamber bill! Have fun!

 

[aquaregia]

I'm pretty inexperienced, so I'd like to contrast my most aggressive dive with this (which I think was significantly more conservative).

- OW/AOW/RQ
- 39th dive
- only 6 had a DM/Inst with me
- only 2 were not in the same area and conditions as this dive
- No problems clearing or descending, trim problems largely superficial
- I'm a nonsmoker, young and in reasonably good shape
- Conditions near perfect (no swell, no wind, ok vis)
- All my gear had several pool hours and >10 ocean dives on it
- Previously conducted several dives in the same location, but shallower
- Buddy was a rec instructor (just a friend that day, though) who had done this dive many times
- Planned depth 110', with sanity checks at 80' and 100' (both passed)
- Started with slightly over 100cf of air (more than 25% more than your friend will)

I guess my reason for posting is that it's easy to say "oh, this person has 500-999 dives and thinks I should do 50 boring dives on my BC before I do anything fun". I wanted to chip in and say that even with 25-49 dives, I put in a day in the pool and a day in the shallows before I mess around with anything new.

Basically, your friend's plan scares the crap out of me.