Blue Hole: Not for beginners!

[lamont]

an OW diver in a panic blowing a 1.50 cuft/min SAC at 140 feet will consume an entire AL80 in 9.8 minutes. that isn't a huge margin of safety -- even if you've got a DM with some ungodly 0.20 SAC rate with most of their tanks left.

 

[blueeyz78]

To be honest, the high point of the Blue Hole was the 2 dives after. AMAZING!!!! Best dives EVER!

I agree. The two dives at half moon and the aquarium were fantastic. These dives were worth the trip!

 

[deepexplorer]

good to know info, thanks to all, changes my mind of going, need more experience before i would do that

 

[deepexplorer]

very beautiful place, will get there some day

 

[geesgeorge]

oooh, i came on here to find out about the blue hole, and that i did..... must say i'm a bit nervous now. I'd be raging if i went and didnt do it though. the people i'd be going with are OW and AOW divers so i dunno if they'd be good company... i'm almost finished my DM training, but even still, from reading this thread it makes me apprehensive. Then again i get a bit nervous before most brand new dives, but that all adds to the excitement, oooh, to dive or not to dive the hole....maybe i'll go do a wreck of other diving in mexico and belize and play the hole by ear.

 

[robint]

oooh, i came on here to find out about the blue hole, and that i did..... must say i'm a bit nervous now. I'd be raging if i went and didnt do it though. the people i'd be going with are OW and AOW divers so i dunno if they'd be good company... i'm almost finished my DM training, but even still, from reading this thread it makes me apprehensive. Then again i get a bit nervous before most brand new dives, but that all adds to the excitement, oooh, to dive or not to dive the hole....maybe i'll go do a wreck of other diving in mexico and belize and play the hole by ear.

if you are in DM training, you should be able to handle the dive. The biggest issues I think is the fear of diving over an area where you can't see the bottom and air consumption. You should be good with both of those by now. Have you ever done a dive deeper than 100' ? Have you ever done a low-light dive?
Those are the questions you should ask yourself.


robin

 

[CalDeltaFlyer]

Dived the "Blue Hole" a few years ago just to say I did it. 140' @ 20-25 minutes with not much to see...but it is logged in my Dive Log. The outer Cays are really fantastic...can't wait to get back!

 

[greybubbles]

I dove the Blue Hole one week ago today. If you wish to experience a deep dive this is probably the place for you. It is well supervised (3 DM) in the water for this dive. It is obviously calm at depth and vis is not bad. Don't expect to see much in marine life and keep an eye on your gauges. It is easy to drop an extra 10 feet or so when swimming through and among the stalagtites. If you are a serious diver you are going to go deep some day. Might as well take your first deep dive in a well supervised environment. It's worth it and enjoy the ride.

 

[psychocabbage]

We are but a drop of water in terms of geological time! I understand what you are saying, but these limestone formations are far from fragile and when you consider Cousteau used Dynamite to blast it to get the Calypso into it! They weathered that! So it is all relative and my card is below most and would never be seen unless you were looking! And how cool if it became a discovery in 5412 by an explorer? :mooner:

Bravo!

we see eye to eye on this issue.. I really wish people would stop thinking that divers doing some amusing things are going to suddenly throw the world into an imbalance and end life as we know it..

cause, before diving, I know life as I knew it had already changed.

People need to just relax a bit and realize that all we are is dust in the wind (*que music!)

 

[peterbj7]

the Blue Hole ..... If you wish to experience a deep dive this is probably the place for you ...... Might as well take your first deep dive in a well supervised environment

I can't disagree more. IMO this is absolutely NOT the place to experience your first deep dive. If you really want to know what diving to 150' feels like without going through a formal tech diving course, then do it one-to-one with a suitably qualified and experienced instructor (many instructors have little or no experience at those depths themselves - ask to see their credentials) and at a dive site where you're always just above a bottom. If your BH experience was from the northern cayes (Ambergris or Caulker) than the ideal place for such an experience is in the spur-and-groove formations on the barrier reef just off shore.

And if your instructor suggests taking you straight to those depths when your previous experience hasn't been deeper than, say, 100' then find another instructor. You should work down to those depths over several dives, each no more than say 10mtr (30 ft) deeper than the previous one, with proper briefings and debriefings so you do recognise the changes you are experiencing, and the new risks you are taking on. This HAS to be done over several days.