3 things to tell a new guy (In Monterey)

[Ben_ca]

If there were 3 things that you would pass onto a new guy what would those be?

Here's my top 3:



1. Take it slow. When you change your gear around go back to the bunny slopes (The Breakwater for MoCal) and do a shakedown dive. Do not jump off a boat in deep water with some untested piece of gear. What are you trying to prove? Yes it is very likely that nothing bad will happen but if something does what could have been a small embarrassment at the BW is now a life and death situation.


2. Nothing down there is worth dying for! I am on the more conservative end of the scale. I have a daughter that I want to see grow up, a mortgage to pay and a job to be at on Monday morning. There for I prepare for the dive. I read the swell report, check the wave model, run, swim and take care of my body. If you are out of shape you will have a harder time surviving an incident in the water. If you are diving with me I expect you to drag my sorry butt to shore just as I would yours..


3. I am my brother's keeper. I commit to my buddy that I will be the best buddy there is. I look after him and he looks after me. We are a team and prepare for the dive by making sure we are ready the best we can. Physically we work out and rib each other when we do not... it's our responsibility to our families that we look out for each other and we are prepared the best we can so that we all make it back to our beds at night. Mentally we hone our minds with "scuba math" and situational awareness to make sure that we know that our buddy's primary dive computer is 100% and running all the time. Anyone of these factors is a cause to hold off on a dive and maybe go for some coffee or chowder at the Breakwater and have a heart to heart chat with my buddy. I know if I wasn't 100% he would let me know as well.

Sorry I have a 4th for the Monterey Crowd

4. Monastery is Dangerous. People have died there some weren't really bad divers but people who chose the wrong day to dive there. Some people where involved in a incident there a while back and one of them stated: "Nobody ever told us that Monastery was dangerous!!" So there I told you so.

Sorry to get long winded but there's always newer divers coming into the scene every day and if they can learn from something... I wish I could dive with more new guys but with only so many dive days and so many buddies it's kinda tough.

Anyway have a good weekend and let's go diving

 

[mikeguerrero]

Ben,

I want to thank you for posting these rules for new divers in Monterey. I would also like to add that it doesn't apply to just new divers but intermediate to advance divers as well.

I dove Saturday on the Escapade with Tony Sung the owner of Nautilus Aquatics in Concord. He charters out the boat to all divers through his dive shop, keeps for a close knit on who's on the boat.

We made a dive plan and Tony and one of his instructors let me know they were going to guide me throughout the dive; they both knew I was diving brand new gear, I had purchased the Halcyon Eclipse 30 lb BP/W.

My BCD changed in design but not in weight I was still diving 18 lbs, 12 ditchable on a weight belt and 6 lbs just the plate. This configuration closely matches my Apeks Harness with integrated weights.

I have dove weight belts before abalone diving and only did pool dives with them during open water. So the belt was new for me.

I was also diving Argon setup for the first time.

I entered the water with Tony and the instructor, again after a horrible boat ride that got me seasick.

One thing that I like about the Escapade is that they have on board a rescue diver Sharon that is suited up ready to dive in just in case anything goes wrong. She introduced herself to me before my dive and I let her know I had knew gear and might need assistance.

I also told her about my incident on the Sanctuary and how I failed to communicate with my dive buddy and got lost.

She assured me that she would keep an eye on me and showed me the dive gear setup that Jim the captain has on the boat, ready to dive in if Sharon comes up needing another diver for help in location of a diver.

I was really impressed on the safety aboard their ship.

As I got to the bow of the boat I couldn't hear my Argon turning on when I would depress the intake valve, it was because I was use to hearing it from my main tank right by my ear. The Argon bottle rest on my hip and you cannot hear it.

Tony and the instructor swam up to me and checked the connections and told me everything seemed okay from their point of view, at that time Jim and Sharon were asking me if I needed assistance.

Tony again let them know what was going on and I told them I was going to abort the dive that I couldn't feel the Argon and that the dive is over.

At that moment Jim the captain saw my exhaust valve ejecting bubbles and said, "it appears you are getting Argon into the suit your exhaust is showing".

At that moment I could finally feel my insides getting warm and after a few more shots of Argon I told Tony and the instructor I'm ready to descend and that I would continue the dive.

All went as plan and we communicated the entire time.

With all this being said would I change it? And the answer is yes I would have much preferred to dive the bunny slope with the new gear as all divers should.

Dannobee was at Break Water and when I asked him what he was doing he told me, "testing out some new equipment I have, want to make sure everything is okay".

He is an experienced diver in my eyes and he didn't go on the Zodiak with Yasaki and I.

Experienced divers and intermediate divers like me sometimes fail to realize the Ocean is not a place that gives second chances.

Dive at your comfort zone and never ignore the messages that begin to lead to panic.

They happened to me twice on Saturday, Argon bottle didn't seem to work since I had no experience with it, I was aborting the dive and then the flaw was discovered on error of diver.

I also had an accident on the Zodiak, when I flipped off the boat my left fin came off but inverted frontwards on my chin of my leg.

It was dangling around my leg and I didn't have use of it. I knew I had one working fin and I immediately let my diving buddy John know what was going on.

He saw me beginning to panic and said, "Calm down and don't panic, I'm hear just swim to the Zodiak and hold on to the side".

I quickly swam to the Zodiak and he assisted me and the fin was back on the foot and we continued the dive successfully.

Things can and do go wrong and panic is the worse enemy and I have a lot of experience with panic than most divers.

I pass on the statement that Ben is trying to magnify to all new divers in Monterey, please never dive beyond your comfort zone.

And to all the other divers like me, please do the same. It's not worth your life out there in the middle of the ocean.

Yes I had adequate protection from experienced divers but that doesn't excuse me from not beginning at the bunny slope, that is why so many experienced divers that change out their gear go to the Break Water, including divers like Dannobee.

MG

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Panic kills. So does complacency.


Chuck

 

[mikerault]

You forgot:

Get a dry suit!

Great posts all!

 

[dannobee]

Hey, don't get me involved, although I was in doubles, I was diving solo!

But as far as Monastery, I wish more instructors would take their open water students there for training. One of the greatest lessons that Monastery gives is learning when to just walk away. I sincerely believe if all instruction took place there, the number of fatalities would drop.

The ocean is unforgiving.


.

 

[Gombessa]

Hey, don't get me involved, although I was in doubles, I was diving solo!

But as far as Monastery, I wish more instructors would take their open water students there for training. One of the greatest lessons that Monastery gives is learning when to just walk away. I sincerely believe if all instruction took place there, the number of fatalities would drop.

The ocean is unforgiving.

Or maybe the slightly wimpier version--I think instructors could at least SHOW Monastery to their students. Given its nature and proximity, I totally think it's worth bringing new OW grads by and giving them the "red pavement" talk. Maybe not everyone would listen, but many may simply need someone to say that "this beach is different" and general perceptions of wave height and power don't apply here.

I think that two tips are worth noting:

1. End your dive with enough extra gas to scuba under any kelp between you and your exit point. The kelp crawl is a huge pain! If you typically end with 500psi in your tanks, make it 700-800 instead and save yourself any potential exhaustion/entanglement.

2. Don't overheat before your dive. It gets pretty hot in the summer, and if it takes you as long as it takes me to get geared up, there's a good chance you may be a good candidate for heat exhaustion (or worse) before you get in the water. Instead, get into your exposure protection late in the gearing-up phase, or walk down to the beach and into the water for a few minutes to cool off if you start to feel warm.

 

[mikeguerrero]

If it's a really hot day just leave your drysuit at home and dive your 7mm wetsuit and enjoy the dive.

I take twice as long to gear up in my drysuit than I did wet. I miss the wetsuit just for how easy it is to get ready for the dive.

The gear takes the same amount of time so I cannot complain.

I've only dove Monastery once with Bianchi and even though it was a walk in the park that day, I never turn my back to this beach. I have heard and read many accounts on what can go wrong. This beach is unforgiving.

MG

 

[mikemill]

2. Don't overheat before your dive. It gets pretty hot in the summer, and if it takes you as long as it takes me to get geared up, there's a good chance you may be a good candidate for heat exhaustion (or worse) before you get in the water. Instead, get into your exposure protection late in the gearing-up phase, or walk down to the beach and into the water for a few minutes to cool off if you start to feel warm.

That happened to me the first time I was at breakwater. My brother and I brought his wife and kids and our mom with us. So we didn't get there until 11ish which meant we had to park in the upper lot of BW. By the time we hauled their stuff down to the beach, went back up, geared up, walked down, I was just cooked and had to call it.

If it's a really hot day just leave your drysuit at home and dive your 7mm wetsuit and enjoy the dive.

Well, the water temp is about the same so the exposure protection doesn't change much.

 

[ae3753]

For new Monterey divers?

1. Conservative gas plans. You can never have too much gas back on the boat or back on shore. The "700 psi back on the boat", as taught be many agencies, may not be sufficient depending on your tanks and depth. Be mindful of what's required and know that you can always dive another day.

2. Sort out your weighting. One of the biggest hindrance to your enjoyment of diving in Monterey (and potentially a serious safety hazard) is improper weighting. After a few dives, check your weighting again. You'll often be surprised that you can drop more weight.

3. Separation protocols. If you dive Monterey, you will become separated. Maybe it's for a few second or maybe it's longer - it will happen. Knowing and following your protocols can either make it a non-issue or an event.

 

[Gombessa]

Well, the water temp is about the same so the exposure protection doesn't change much.

Also, overheating isn't a drysuit-specific problem. It can happen in a thick wetsuit as well (the problem being hot topside weather + exposure protection sufficient for cold waters). IMO, stepping into the water for a minute to cool down helps even more when diving wet.