Deep diving jitters

[Swedish Chef]

Folks

I am doing my deep water dive this weekend on Queens Birthday in cold water as part of the advanced certification. We are scheduled to go down to 30 meters and since I have a friend that unfortunately died during a deep dive (on Nitrox) I am a bit nervous about going down.

What I would like to know is basically what if anything I should think about before doing the dive and what to watch out for, how to prepare in the best way.

/Bork

 

[Don Wray]

I concentrated on the task that I was to do at depth, 30 meters, which was opening a combination lock...I just kept repeating the combination in my head while descending and was there before I had time to worry about anything....it was a piece of cake...just try to relax...we've all had friends die in accidents other than diving such as automobiles but we still drive. Wear the proper exposure suit and you probably won't even notice the water temp and it'll be over before you know it. Your instructor will be watching you closely for narcosis etc., so just have fun. It's a blast. I got more frustrated in 6 meters on navigation because of the tide surge. And wrecks are fabulous.

 

[Mr.X]

Folks

I am doing my deep water dive this weekend on Queens Birthday in cold water as part of the advanced certification. We are scheduled to go down to 30 meters and since I have a friend that unfortunately died during a deep dive (on Nitrox) I am a bit nervous about going down.

What I would like to know is basically what if anything I should think about before doing the dive and what to watch out for, how to prepare in the best way.

/Bork

Please have a conversation with your certifying instructor about any apprehensions you may have regarding this dive. This is the first step since they will be supervising your dive and are accountable for your safety. Cheers. X

 

[joe rock]

Please have a conversation with your certifying instructor about any apprehensions you may have regarding this dive. This is the first step since they will be supervising your dive and are accountable for your safety. Cheers. X

I couldn't agree with Mr. X more! I too had apprehensions about that first deep dive. Mine was my air usage at depth. I talked to my instructor, he handled the situation great. It's worth repeating, discuss with your instructor.

JR

 

[mudchick]

I agree that a frank conversation with your instructor is important. I was nervous as well. My instructor could see I was antsy about it. I explained to him that I had this ridiculous concern (I likened it to a higher brain/ lower brain conflict) that I would begin to descend and just not stop and fall away into the abyss. This was stupid and I knew it. This was my 30th dive and I knew damn well that was illogical.

I got down there to 100 ft. concentrated on my breathing and it was fantastic. Did the exercises: write my last name backwards on a slate (I can't do that un-narc'd!) and pointed to a series of random numbers in backwards order on a grid. Because of air/time concerns, it was planned that I would breathe off the instructor's mixed gas on the way back. This extended the dive on the swim baack to the boat and it was a great experience. Have done about half a dozen dives below 80 ft since then (April). Concentrate on the tasks, talk to your instructor and you'll do fine.

 

[theskull]

1. Let the instructor know about your concerns and discuss their validity.
2. Monitor your gas supply frequently. It's good to be able to breathe.
3. Monitor your depth frequently and control your buoyancy.
4. Know how long you are allowed to remain at depth and monitor your time.
5. Enjoy the dive, and relax.

Deep dives are a serious deal. They are safe and easy when the above items are observed, and capable of harm if they are not.

BTW--On a training dive, you SHOULD be able to count on the instructor's help in monitoring items 2, 3, and 4 for you. But it's your safety on the line, so best if you take some responsibility. After all, the training dive is to help prepare you for monitoring everything on your own when you later make deep dives with your buddy.

theskull

 

[*Floater*]

Folks

I am doing my deep water dive this weekend on Queens Birthday in cold water as part of the advanced certification. We are scheduled to go down to 30 meters and since I have a friend that unfortunately died during a deep dive (on Nitrox) I am a bit nervous about going down.

What I would like to know is basically what if anything I should think about before doing the dive and what to watch out for, how to prepare in the best way.

/Bork

Well, I'm sorry to say, but most people would probably not consider 30m to be a deep dive and therefore would only do their usual pre-dive and buddy checks. These could include analyzing your gas and writing the max operating depth down on the tank or someplace where you can see it if applicable, do a bubble check before descending (make sure no bubbles are coming from your buddy's equipment, especially the first stage or stages), make sure you know where your buddy's ditchable weights and emergency equipment are, do a gas share drill on the surface to make sure you both know what should happen in an emergency and so each one knows what procedure the other is using and that his or her equipment is working, discuss what to do in case of a separation, go over the dive plan, and so forth.

 

[Nailer99]

I was nervous before my first hundred foot dive, and as a result, I got narced pretty good. I've been to 100' six times since then (I'm pretty new) and felt just fine each time. Just try to relax. Concentrate on the basics like air and buoyancy. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[The Chairman]

X marked the spot.

Talk things through.

You still DON'T have to do this. It's OK to stay shallow. Don't feel that you have anything to "prove": that's just a fool's errand.

 

[boulderjohn]

First of all, you have already received a lot of good advice.

I would like to talk about your friend who died during a deep dive. You don't say why s/he died. I know someone who died during her AOW deep dive, too. She had her problems before she really got deep, at about 60 feet. The autopsy revealed that she had probably had a heart attack the day before--possibly two of them. The one she had at 60 feet was at least her second, probably her third, in 24 hours. She probably would have died if she had been knitting by the fire.

It would be impossible to count the number of people who dive to 30 meters on any given day, and at the end of the year, the tiny, tiny percentage who have had an accident have had some kind of problem unrelated to that depth--like a series of heart attacks that would have happened anyway.

Follow all that good advice you have already received and have fun. My AOW deep dive was on the Columbia reef in Cozumel, and I still rate it as one of the best dives of my life.