getting started again

[JanetL]

I'm a certified diver, who hasn't been in the water for 15 years. I don't even know what a dive computer does! I learned from the old plastic charts. I'm planning on getting involved in diving again, but need some advice. I believe a refresher course is in order for sure, and I need to purchase personal gear. Is there something else I should be considering? I'm planning on a week long diving trip this summer. Advise would be appreciated.

 

[immersed]

On edit - forget it.

 

[jbd]

I think it would be better for you to take an OW course instead of just a refresher. Many OW courses are only a few days long and you would get a better re-introduction.

I agree with immersed, don't worry about the computers for now. IMO, the money would be better spent on a nitrox course once you are back in the water with the basics. Nitrox is not the voodoo gas it was back 15 years ago.

 

[Otario]

Ever heard of WRSTC...CMAS?...read up!
http://www.cmas2000.org/general/ag2005/
25 abril 2005 a 01 mayo 2005
-Sevilla-
http://www.wrstc.com/

 

[Walter]

Gear has changed a lot.

Gear has changed very little in the last 15 years.

You can now get a purge mask that lets you simply exhale through your nose to clear the mask - the water goes out a little one way valve below your nose.

These have been around a lot longer than 15 years - perhaps 30.

Snorkels have evolved a bit: several have purge valves so that a lot of the water goes out the bottom when you clear it. Different designs are available to minimize the water that washes in through the top - these are called semi-dry or dry or hyper-dry, depending on the marketing group.

These werew also around 15 years ago.

Weights have changed. While the lumps of lead are still around, there's a newer kind called 'soft weight' that's lead shot in nylon mesh bags. Weight integrated BCs are available - these have removable nylon 'pockets' for the bags to fit into.

Ditto.

Fins have evolved a bit as well; in addition to various designs which are intended to coax the water off the end of the fin to improve efficiency, there are now 'split fins' which theoretically work more like propellers. They're claimed to be as much as 25% more efficient than traditional 'blade' design fins.

Split fins have only been around 6 or 7 years. From my experience trying several different desins, I wouldn't recommend them.

Divers now wear two regulators: one for the diver's own breathing, and another in the event that the buddy runs out of air - instead of sharing one regulator for the ascent, each diver gets his/her own. A controversial invention marketed by one company as the Air 2 combines the second regulator with the inflator on the BC - in that event, the out-of-air buddy gets the one from your mouth and you breathe off of the combination one.

This technology is also about 30 years old.

Some pretty good safety kits are out. At minimum you should carry a signal mirror, a safety sausage (an inflatable tube that you can wave around on the surface to get the boat's attention), and a whistle, air operated horn, or both.

The safety sausage is relatively new in the US, being introduced about 10 years ago, but they have a longer history in Europe.

Dive computers keep track of your dive's length, maximum depth, nitrogen loading, and temperature. Some models can upload the dive profile data to a PC. Some models understand gas mixing for variable percentages of nitrox and even trimix.

The Edge was introduced in '83, but computers didn't really catch on until prices started to drop, but they were common in the late '80's. Nitrox computers were a later innovation.

I'd be more afraid of her having forgotten how to use her gear than of her being confronted with the very minor (and not all desirable) changes that have taken place in the last 15 years.

I'd also suggest taking a complete Open Water course, but I'd recommend staying away from those that only take a few days. IMHO, they are dangerous.

 

[Kriterian]

Gear has changed a lot. You can now get a purge mask that lets you simply exhale through your nose to clear the mask - the water goes out a little one way valve below your nose.

I chuckled when I started reading this reply. Not at the author, or because the material was bad, just because it sounded like you were talking to a caveman just unthawed. "Look, we can make fire at will now!"

To the original poster:

I was in the same boat as you are, having got certified 10 years earlier. Rather than trying to take a refresher, I just went with an open water course again. Some of diving is academic, but most is learned in the water. Having that extra supervised practice will go a long way on your journey of becoming an experienced diver again.

Most refresher courses are designed for folks that didn't dive over the winter, and probably won't go over the things you forgot in those 15 years. Also the course was alot cheaper now. When I first got certified it was close to 800 bucks, this past time was only 300 or so, not counting equipment.

 

[immersed]

...

I apologize profusely. My observations were based on past conversations with two divers, one that hadn't dived in 17 years and the other hadn't dived in 19 years, neither of whom had heard of any of it. The one who hadn't dived in 19 years marvelled at my weight integrated bc and thought that two 2nd stages was a novel idea.

I'll go slit my wrists now.

 

[triton94949]

I'm a certified diver, who hasn't been in the water for 15 years. I don't even know what a dive computer does! I learned from the old plastic charts. I'm planning on getting involved in diving again, but need some advice. I believe a refresher course is in order for sure, and I need to purchase personal gear. Is there something else I should be considering? I'm planning on a week long diving trip this summer. Advice would be appreciated.

In the old days, you would wear a depth gauge, usually a circular tube with a bubble in it, and a diving watch.

Depth gauges have gotten much better now, and they either have a dial on them with a needle, or else they are digital. The digital depth gauges are now called "bottom timers" and they also have a clock built into them. A dive computer is a combination of a bottom timer like that, together with the plastic charts built into them. So now you have 3 choices:

1) get a depth gauge ($50) and a diving watch ($100)
2) get a bottom timer ($200)
3) get a dive computer ($400)

Whichever of the above 3 you choose, you should still use them together with your hand-held plastic charts. There is one chart for diving with air, another chart for diving with 32% nitrox, and a third chart for diving with 36% nitrox. With nitrox you can either stay down longer, or else you would have safer diving (less N2 accumulation) for the same time spent as with air.

If you can afford private refresher lessons with a scuba instructor or divemaster, that is the best way for you to go. They would normally spend one evening with you in the classroom to refresh you on the plastic charts, one afternoon in the pool to refresh you on skills, and one morning at the ocean, lake, or quarry to go on a couple of dives. That is about 16 hours of work for them, so you can expect them to charge you anywhere from $250 to $500 for it.

You probably learned with a jacket-style B/C. Those are still around. You would need to practice in the pool and the open water however, since you are out of practice.

For scuba travel, if you want to buy gear, instead of rent at your destination, here is a list of things you could bring:

swimsuit
mask
snorkel & attachment
fins and boots/booties
3mm one-piece wetsuit
regulator combination (1st stage, two 2nd stages, SPG, LP inflator)
depth gauge & watch or bottom timer or dive computer
plastic charts
defogger solution
carry-on bag for all of the above (checked baggage gets lost)

However you are probably better off just renting gear at your destination, and then you would only need the swimsuit, mask, snorkel & attachment, fins & boots/booties, and 3mm wetsuit. That will fit into almost any carry-on bag.

Dive travel operations always provide tanks at least, and normally provide weight belts and weights as well. Just to be sure, it makes sense to bring your own weight belt but without any weights on it. Most dive travel operations will let you rent everything that you might need, except the swimsuit, mask, and snorkel.

Make sure you bring your C-card and your passport and your medical insurance card.

It also makes sense to join Diver Alert Network for their diving medical insurance as well. 1-800-446-2671

 

[triton94949]

... Rather than trying to take a refresher, I just went with an open water course again. Some of diving is academic, but most is learned in the water. Having that extra supervised practice will go a long way on your journey of becoming an experienced diver again.

Most refresher courses are designed for folks that didn't dive over the winter, and probably won't go over the things you forgot in those 15 years. Also the course was alot cheaper now. When I first got certified it was close to 800 bucks, this past time was only 300 or so, not counting equipment.

If you have time to take an entire basic open water course over again, that would be great. Alternatively, an instructor might be able to make a special deal for you, and take you into another class to serve as your refresher. Either way the cost is going to be about the same for you, whether a thorough refresher class or a whole new basic open water course. You should re-read a basic scuba manual on your own, in advance, to see what you remember, and then ask the instructor or divemaster about things in the book that are confusing.

 

[triton94949]

...
I'd be more afraid of her having forgotten how to use her gear than of her being confronted with the very minor (and not all desirable) changes that have taken place in the last 15 years.

...

I agree with Walter. You are actually better off with plastic charts, since they force you to understand decompression limits, than with a diving computer, which just tells you what its programmer thinks you should do.