100' before aow... how and why?

[Osric]

From my experience, the early DM lead 100' dives are 'bounce' dives, i.e. DM plans & briefs the dive to be a very short "get to 100', see (whatever it is) and then ascend slowly to xx'" for the remainder of the dive. Personally I've never had a DM take a group to 100' with the intent of staying the length of the NDL time.

I was recently in Oahu and dove the seatiger. This wreck's deck is at 100', and my dive profile shows me at 80' at 2m35s. I stayed at around 90' until 9m00s at which point I penetrated the deck of the wreck to touch 101'; I returned to 80' at 11m25s and stayed there until 19m15s at which point with 1070psi left in the tank we began our ascent, stopping at 50' at 23m05s for 2 minutes and at 18ft at 27m15s for 3m, total dive time 32m. I would not describe this as a 'bounce' profile, though it is true that I touched 101' only very briefly.

Osric

 

[dmoore19]

On about dive #40 I went to 99 fsw, with an instructor as my buddy. I don't remember the details of the plan but it was originally to 100 fsw then a slow assent up through Mary's Place off Roatan. I had been to 70 and 80 and 90 fsw earlier in the week. I would not have done the dive with out the instructor and feel I have been to 100 fsw and have accomplished this. I don't plan on making it a habit as what I want to see is not generally that deep. I am only OW trained and felt comfortable at the short time I was at that depth, I was very aware of my surrounding, gas supply and the serious situations that could arise at that depth. Nothing went wrong though I stayed close to my buddy, the instructor. Would I do it again? under the same circumstances, yes. Would I be aware of the serious complications that might occur? Yes. Would they be planned for? Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't do the dive.

I believe the phrase used is diving within your training and ability. I don't think there is a hard line that says going past 60 fsw with only OW training is a hardline that should never be crossed. It is an individuals responsibility to make the call as if your life depended on it, because it does. I will cross the 50 dive threshold in March, a milestone I am looking forward to!

I didn't vote in the poll because more than one answer applied. Nothing seemed to exactly fit my situation and I don't want to answer incorrectly and skew the results.

 

[Sortsol]

I was recently in Oahu and dove the seatiger. This wreck's deck is at 100', and my dive profile shows me at 80' at 2m35s. I stayed at around 90' until 9m00s at which point I penetrated the deck of the wreck to touch 101'; I returned to 80' at 11m25s and stayed there until 19m15s at which point with 1070psi left in the tank we began our ascent, stopping at 50' at 23m05s for 2 minutes and at 18ft at 27m15s for 3m, total dive time 32m. I would not describe this as a 'bounce' profile, though it is true that I touched 101' only very briefly.

Osric

I dive on Oahu regularly, especially the Sea Tiger, and have yet to see a DM decline to let an OW Cert dive a deep dive. They just tell them to "stay with me.". Makes it hard for newer divers to take the standards seriously. I'm not just referring to one operator either. I've dove with half a dozen or more operators and as far as that goes, they seem to operate the same.

 

[Sortsol]

I dive on Oahu regularly, especially the Sea Tiger, and have yet to see a DM decline to let an OW Cert dive a deep dive. They just tell them to "stay with me.". Makes it hard for newer divers to take the standards seriously. I'm not just referring to one operator either. I've dove with half a dozen or more operators and as far as that goes, they seem to operate the same.

I'll add to that, the only operator I see regularly ask to even see a new divers Cert card is the one I choose to dive with most of the time. I dove with several that either took my word for it or didn't ask at all...

 

[dmoore19]

I'll add to that, the only operator I see regularly ask to even see a new divers Cert card is the one I choose to dive with most of the time. I dove with several that either took my word for it or didn't ask at all...

Never been to Hawaii, but, where I have been the Cert Card is asked for and looked at loooong before I ever see the boat. The # is written on the waiver that is then signed.

As a matter of fact, I have been on group trips that require the LDS seeing the card and checking the # before I even pay for the trip. The number of dives is also included in the information along with the last time I was in the water. Guess it must be different in different places.

 

[TSandM]

Dive #14 for me was in Molokini crater. Peter and I had our own "DM" (who was actually an instructor, and we were sort of doing a "boat diving" specialty class). He briefed that we would go down to 130 feet and look at some sharks and some garden eels, and work our way back up. I saw nothing wrong with this, since it was a plan advanced by an instructor, who knew my certification level and diving history. Having spent my first nine dives in OW and AOW, I was rather in the habit of doing things I hadn't done before because an instructor told me to do them

 

[Wookie]

Maybe it's just me. I've been on exactly one guided dive in my life, and that was on the B-29 wreck in Papua New Guinea. Dive number 5 was a solo dive for me, as I got lost. Went to 110 feet, too. I never felt in over my head, so to speak, and looking back at it, I still don't feel that I did anything "wrong".

It's now 6,000 dives and 15 years later. When I find myself at 250 feet and look around and I'm by myself, I still feel confident. Why? Because I was taught by a real instructor. Not someone who placed artificial depth limits on my training, not one who was scared to teach an open water class, but a real PADI instructor who loved teaching diving because he wanted to introduce all of us to the underwater world he loved so much. Did we violate standards during training? No. Did we talk about diving to 130 feet, why it was the recreational limit, and why it was important to do it with a mentor/instructor/guide the first time? Yes. Do I artificially limit OW divers to 60 feet on my liveaboard? Not on your life. 60 feet is not a limit, it's merely a recommendation.

 

[Osric]

Maybe it's just me. I've been on exactly one guided dive in my life, and that was on the B-29 wreck in Papua New Guinea. Dive number 5 was a solo dive for me, as I got lost. Went to 110 feet, too. I never felt in over my head, so to speak, and looking back at it, I still don't feel that I did anything "wrong".

I guess you're the counter example for the saying "there are old divers, and bold divers, but no old bold divers".

To be lost at 110' on dive #5 and not feel like you got in over your head suggests to me that you must have many stories that would make others terrified.

Osric

 

[Wookie]

Perhaps lost is a term that engenders a more emotional response in some than in others. I always knew where the exit was, I always knew which way was up, I was confident in my abilities to slowly ascent to 15 feet, make a safety stop, and surface safely. I just didn't have any idea where my buddy was. Of course, neither did she, but we were trained by someone who prepared us for diving. I, of course, just had to go see that lobster that was sticking his little feelers out of the hole in the reef.

And, yes. I have stories that will curl your toes. Most involve me being on the boat, not knowing where the ones in the water were. Although I've been scared in the water, as well as surprised, I've never felt that my training or equipment would (or had) let me down. I was taught to Stop, Think and Act. I took it to heart. When I get "in trouble", I stop, control my breathing, and decide what my options are and which is the smartest one to choose.

 

[Blackwood]

I was with an instructor, diving as part of an IANTD "Deep Diver" course.

We (the students) planned the dive using tables and ran it using bottom timers. The instructor merely observed.