I'v done most all my diving in So Cal so the jump off the back and have a nice day has been the lions share of my experience. As for sea conditions at the dive site if the boat you have a bunk on goes out and the skipper drops the hook you have a choice, dive or pass. It's your call as it will cost you the same amount. If the day is called due to weather , sea conditions then you might get a re-fund or repeat dive day. I have approached a swim step that was going from 3 ft below waterline to 3 ft above water meaning timing was REALLY important. Not the dive for less experienced divers but dam it was just a pure rush to sit behind the boat and time your run at the swim step. It was like hitting an elevator already in motion, most of those boats also had a hot tub so after your dives you could sit in the tub and have a cold one, crap diving was SO much fun in those days.
Boat Experience
- Thread starter Gil Middlebrooks
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
irishsquid
Contributor
IMO, AS is a good outfit with good crew. My brother and I did our first ocean/boat dive with them and the crew was most helpful. We dove the Hyde and being our first ocean/boat dive, used a DM as a guide. That was an awesome time and I can't say enough about them. On the flip side, when we headed out seas were calm, forecast was good, and when we hit the dive site, seas had built to 4 ft. It still wasn't that bad getting in, getting out sucked. The seas had increased some more while down and after a little more time they climbed some more. The Capt. called it and we headed back in with up to 8 ft. So much for forecasts of 2-3ft seas! That day is still on their website dive reports. They listed it as; the forecasts couldn't have been more wrong!
I am still trying to get down to NC/SC to dive as well as NY/NJ. Been to the keys 3 times and Monterey once. Have a few dives in Erie as well. There is nothing really special about boat diving for a diver who has had good training. Make sure your OW class covers boat entries and exits and practices them in the pool. Now much to it. Giant Stride, backward roll, or for those flat calm times a controlled seated entry. Exits are a bit different. Throw in waves and a current and you need to be careful. Fins on wrists while still on the trail line or if you are lucky they'll have a fins on ladder. I NEVER hand my fins up. Make sure you have at a MINIMUM 3 points on the ladder- both hands and one foot or knee- at the same time. Don't let go with any of them.
As for Atlantic wrecks. My understanding is that unless you hire a DM for that purpose you and your buddy are pretty much on your own. No guides, no DM in the water (at least looking out for you), and except for the inshore ones you may be 10-25 miles out. So if you are prone to sea sickness take whatever precautions you need to. I like not having a babysitter. The wrecks are also deep. You at the OW level won't be doing them and should not even consider them until you have your cert, some dives without an instructor under your belt (say 10-20) and then your AOW. That AOW should be one that is not just a tour type deal. You should get some actual advanced skills taught to you. Antsilting kicks, bag shoots, more indepth deco theory, rescue skills at depth, and a solid foundation in underwater navigation. A good AOW course will have these. The courses however are not easy to find where you get these new skills.
In any case get your OW cert first and then dive. Then come back here and ask the questions you will have then. You can also look at these two threads for more info on courses and just what you should be capable of after your OW training.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/283566-who-responsible-what.html
As for Atlantic wrecks. My understanding is that unless you hire a DM for that purpose you and your buddy are pretty much on your own. No guides, no DM in the water (at least looking out for you), and except for the inshore ones you may be 10-25 miles out. So if you are prone to sea sickness take whatever precautions you need to. I like not having a babysitter. The wrecks are also deep. You at the OW level won't be doing them and should not even consider them until you have your cert, some dives without an instructor under your belt (say 10-20) and then your AOW. That AOW should be one that is not just a tour type deal. You should get some actual advanced skills taught to you. Antsilting kicks, bag shoots, more indepth deco theory, rescue skills at depth, and a solid foundation in underwater navigation. A good AOW course will have these. The courses however are not easy to find where you get these new skills.
In any case get your OW cert first and then dive. Then come back here and ask the questions you will have then. You can also look at these two threads for more info on courses and just what you should be capable of after your OW training.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/283566-who-responsible-what.html
Similar threads
