BP/W are banned! And other fun things I've learned on my first chartered dive ...

[lamont]

Has anybody here ever heard of a balanced rig? or doing a weight check at 10-15 feet with about 500psi in the tank to gauge proper weighting?

oh just throw on 40# of lead and you'll be fine... this is recreational diving, its only cave divers who worry about things like that...

 

[AlaskaDiver]

This was the best half hour of reading iIve had in days... Last year's trip to Maui had an ignorant DM on board. Apparently my long hose was of great concern to her and she made comments regarding safety to the owner of the boat (who said it was perfectly fine to use) and that I could get caught on some coral and be strangled. I came up from the dive and asked the DM if she could read her gaugesanymore since her console dragged against everything. She actually responded that she replaces the console every year so the console was okay. I'm fairly certain I laughed out loud at her.

 

[mobster75]

I don't see why people have a problem with the long hose primary setup!? I'm a new diver and I dive with a longer yellow octo hose w/ WI BC. But I see people all the time at my weekly meet-ups that dive BP/W and they tend to have a longer primary. Last week, the chap I buddied with gave me a once-over on his equipment before diving to make sure I knew where all the controls were (he had BP/W, would donate primary in an emergency, and had an inflator octo for himself). Neither of us had any problems with each others setups..

What I do see a bit here and there is people with their SPG's dragging through the sand/rocks and I don't get it.. Don't they know they're killing their SPG console!? I've just been doing local NE diving the past 2 months (a lot) and the first thing I do after getting the BC/regs on the tank is to clip my SPG to my BC w/ a dog-clip. That way its easy to find and it won't drag around smacking into god-knows-what.

An SPG might just be about $100 w/ the rubber console and compass, but thats $100/yr I could use towards something else.. (a class?) When I used rental equipment... I didn't really care... But with my own stuff, I try to be as careful as possible.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

I don't see why people have a problem with the long hose primary setup!?
.

I think that's just it. You dive in a cold climate and the long hoses are more common since more locals than tourists are diving in the area. In Hawaii it is more tourists than locals on the boats. Most locals can't afford to go out on a boat every day.

 

[GDI]

Ok I finally got through all the postings here and I must say it was good reading for a laugh - bon humour

daedalusx keep diving the BP/ Wing rig you have and fine tune it to your liking

Cave Diver , Mike F and any one else who wants to to go for a dive up in the Canadian waters lets go have fun?
We can alll wear BP and Wings and bungee regs. Let this Captain and his group of followers site their superior knowledge of what appears to be a combined total of 15 years (9 for the Capt and One year for each follower) and then we can unload Adriser and Cave Diver you go first. Don't worry if he starts speaking a foreign language - like French Canadian because I will remind him that the real French people of France only tolerate French spoken in other countries. (no offense to my French Canadian friends). I will tell him this in my own French words which I have not used for some time now

I have seen things such as this posting here in Florida where BP and Wings, bungeed regs and long hoses are more common such as life

Bien Sante et bonsoiree mes vieux (<---see unused) maintenant allez plongee sous -marin

My conclusion? If your instructor says he has 30 years of experience, expect to get a very thorough training in 30 year-old techniques. (Okay, a little harsh, but there have been advances in techniques and equipment which MIGHT interest a new diver.)

Are You assuming that a diver with 30 years of experience would not use new techniques or that some of the old techniques do not work? Just asking since I was first certified in 1976

 

[1amphibian]

This was the best half hour of reading iIve had in days... Last year's trip to Maui had an ignorant DM on board. Apparently my long hose was of great concern to her and she made comments regarding safety to the owner of the boat (who said it was perfectly fine to use) and that I could get caught on some coral and be strangled. I came up from the dive and asked the DM if she could read her gaugesanymore since her console dragged against everything. She actually responded that she replaces the console every year so the console was okay. I'm fairly certain I laughed out loud at her.

I guess making DM doesn't require any depth of knowledge in diving. Otherwise she might have heard of the long hose, and possibly read about it's benefits and the fact that it is common place in many places these days. Truely a shame.

Chris

 

[scubamikey]

Are You assuming that a diver with 30 years of experience would not use new techniques or that some of the old techniques do not work? Just asking since I was first certified in 1976

Thirty years ago people were diving. It's possible for someone to have learned to dive 30 years ago and never learned another technique or looked at a piece of new equipment. They could still be diving the same gear they learned in and using the same practices they learned in 1976 OW class.

So if someone tells you they have 30 years of experience, they will probably be good divers, but don't assume they are going to teach you the latest techniques or show you the newest advances in gear.

 

[IceIce]

I didn't read through the whole theard so forgive me if I repeat some other comments.

I think I would be very, very scared to dive with that operator and the number of, sorry, idiots on the boat. Because I see that they are not only dumb, but also ignorant and speak louder about the wrong things, which imo, can be very dangerous diving/leadership style and produce wrong information for clueless new divers.

Dive with fully inflated BCD? Crap advice and can be really dangerous.
And who? captain or dm who make fun and insult guess (Well, nine years ago they should already have the similar DM manual which states otherwise strongly), put your buddy's octopus inside the pocket (were they trying to prove that your diving style is dangerous by blocking you source of help in case you needed one? What an *** if that's the case!) and for the fact that their knowledge is WRONG BUT LOUD, they should be kicked on the groin repeately with twinjet at least or had their licences suspended.

Seriously, they are lucky if none of divers they lead get into trouble.

Sorry for your bad experience, it's very good that you handle it good. I might push them into the sea as I have bad nerve and bad temper.

 

[abitton]

they should be kicked on the groin repeately with twinjet at least or had their licences suspended.

Good idea...

However, I would use Force Fins... Never used them myself, but I could imagine the kind of pain they could inflict if used like that (especially those little appendages)!!!

 

[Thalassamania]

When you been diving for 30 or more years (I've been diving for 50) you'll seen a lot of the "newest advances" come and go, you'll have seen the things that stick around, continue to be used and become part of the norm, and you've likely got a garage full of the things that did not. That's called developing discernment.

There are parts of my gear that are as new as today, and some that go back in to the 50s or 60s. I try to use the best gear and techniques possible, which does not mean jumping at every "advance" when I have the experience to see that’s often just a new marketing device. for example: while I dive a long hose because it's a better solution, I dive a skin-2-sides Rubatex wetsuit (design cerca 1965) because that’s a design that’s yet to be beat.