Back in the water again

[AfterDark]

I've forgot to add one "interesting" thing to my original post.

There were 2 diver students and an instructor getting ready to dive after I was done with my dive. They were getting their gear and themselves ready while also listening to the instructor. I didn't really pay much attention to them except to wonder how old the 2 kids were. They looked really young but these days everyone under 30 looks that way to me. Anyway on the way home my wife who is not a diver but has been married to me for 45 years seemed a little troubled. I asked her if something was wrong? Her answer caught me by surprise. She said " I don't think those 2 kids are ready to go diving yet." Jokingly I said they must be done suiting up by now. She replied, "no, I mean they didn't seem like they knew what they were doing." I told her that she was probably right but that seems to be the state of dive training these days, certified divers that don't know how to put a reg on a tank or which way the BCD goes on the tank. It does however keep DM's busy guiding people around making sure they don't hurt themselves. Even a non-diver notices the sorry state of diver training in the 21st century. Sad so very sad.

 

[CT-Rich]

I saw the same group, Wearrived while they were still not in the water (it might have been a different pair of students. I pointed out the cam band on one of their tanks was too loose. We saw another pair divers setting up to dive Green Bridge. They were already suited up at the waters edge and we ended up in the water before them anyway. After our dive, I did a walk around just confirm they got out of the water safely.

I think the two key differences are: 1. You only learn to dive by diving and 2. You forget how dumb and awkward you were as brand new diver.

With a few hours of pool training no one is going to look good. The instructor at KB took them out to the sand and ran drills with them (as far as I could tell).

 

[AfterDark]

I saw the same group, Wearrived while they were still not in the water (it might have been a different pair of students. I pointed out the cam band on one of their tanks was too loose. We saw another pair divers setting up to dive Green Bridge. They were already suited up at the waters edge and we ended up in the water before them anyway. After our dive, I did a walk around just confirm they got out of the water safely.

I think the two key differences are: 1. You only learn to dive by diving and 2. You forget how dumb and awkward you were as brand new diver.

With a few hours of pool training no one is going to look good. The instructor at KB took them out to the sand and ran drills with them (as far as I could tell).

Those drills were learned and demonstrated in the pool before we hit the sand of KB during my training in 1968. We weren't allow to do our OW dives without demonstrating proficiency in all basic skills in the pool, including some that aren't necessary to teach today of course.

IMO they should not be so unfamiliar with their gear while getting ready to hit the sand, that a non-diver takes notice. Other opinions my vary.

 

[Jay Whitehair]

Great News AfterDark! Good to hear you are in the water....
I am trying to figure out diving in the area of Mystic Conn. and metal detecting any anchorages there that are within easy range of a boat launch with a small Zodiac inflatable and 6hp outboard. I realize that the boat traffic is high but there must be places where I can find a few old whaling parts metal detecting as we had spoken of before? Any chance you want to join in? I have never dove the coast down there and am excited to do so. Let me know if you are interested or can give me some pointers about diving the mooring fields and who will harrass me the most and where I might more likely get away without issues. With my metal detecting I am generally under 45' to maximise bottom time. Thoughts? I enjoyed reading your post above.... made me laugh.... can relate to it all!

 

[AfterDark]

Great News AfterDark! Good to hear you are in the water....
I am trying to figure out diving in the area of Mystic Conn. and metal detecting any anchorages there that are within easy range of a boat launch with a small Zodiac inflatable and 6hp outboard. I realize that the boat traffic is high but there must be places where I can find a few old whaling parts metal detecting as we had spoken of before? Any chance you want to join in? I have never dove the coast down there and am excited to do so. Let me know if you are interested or can give me some pointers about diving the mooring fields and who will harrass me the most and where I might more likely get away without issues. With my metal detecting I am generally under 45' to maximise bottom time. Thoughts? I enjoyed reading your post above.... made me laugh.... can relate to it all!

Hi Jay, thanks. That sounds interesting. However I don't think I'd be much help information wise in CT waters. The closest I've come to diving CT is Fisher Island and that actually is NY. My understanding of the CT shore line is it's mostly shallow, murky water. As far as being harassed I suppose it would be the usual, harbor master, USCG, local PD.

Also make sure you know the laws. In RI for example it is unlawful to remove anything from the ocean bottom older than 10 years. How one tells the age of an object while underwater escapes me, however I've never encountered anyone on shore asking me if I've recovered anything either; so from my perspective the law seems unenforceable.

I suppose if one posts his finds on SB for example someone may notice and drop a dime on you. However if you just collect stuff and never "advertise" it your probably fine.

If you decide to go let me know a few days ahead, I'll probably go with you, Mystic is only 30 min from my home.