Descartes was a fish

[Uncle Pug]

I don't think you should do anything different... your plan to dive as much as possible given your other responsibilities is reasonable... just have fun doing it.

Having fun diving is the key element IMO.

I had fun today on two dives at a local training site. The first dive was to 66' and the second was to 40'. I didn't prove anything to anyone... but it was fun getting to dive with my friend ERP.

We had pizza after the dives. That was fun too.

Yesterday I dove the same site with my friend Jeff. The dives were a little deeper and a little longer... and they were just as much fun. But we didn't have pizza.

I get to dive more than most folks I suppose since I was diving with my friend Curt on Tuesday and will be diving again tomorrow and then on Saturday.

The point is... I am having fun doing it. If I wasn't having fun then I would probably finish mowing the lawn. I've started twice in the last couple of weeks but never get past the front part. Another couple of weeks diving and I will have to rent a hay bailer.

I like diving a lot. I'm glad you do too.

 

[Arnaud]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
...

So, in a nutshell:

1. Having fun
2. Eating pizza
3. Not mowing the lawn

UP, I've always known you were a wise man

 

[The Chairman]

by what some of you posted. You can find the drivel (and the responses to the drivel) here... http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27660 If you want to discuss the non-diving aspects of this thread PLEASE DO IT THERE! Thank you in advance.

 

[landlocked]

NetDoc once bubbled...
If you want to discuss the non-diving aspects of this thread PLEASE DO IT THERE! Thank you in advance.

No, thank you!

 

[Bob]

Arnaud,
Keep doing what you're doing. You can't build experience without without getting out there in the water. With experience comes skill and confidence. There's no other way to do it. I've been diving since 1971, legally since '78. Like Pug, some of my dives are just 40' reef dives, and some are 120- 130'. Depends on what I feel like doing at the time. So keep on keeping on, and like Pug says, have fun and savor the people you will meet along the way. Sometimes that's the best part! :tree: Bob

 

[Arnaud]

Bob once bubbled...
Arnaud,
Keep doing what you're doing. You can't build experience without without getting out there in the water. With experience comes skill and confidence. There's no other way to do it. I've been diving since 1971, legally since '78. Like Pug, some of my dives are just 40' reef dives, and some are 120- 130'. Depends on what I feel like doing at the time. So keep on keeping on, and like Pug says, have fun and savor the people you will meet along the way. Sometimes that's the best part! :tree: Bob

Thanks Bob.

I guess I should have made it clearer, but I always have fun when I dive :banana:

There's a lot of threads on the board about the use of computers, the limitations of the tables, the various ways to deco, the existence or non-existence of NDLs, the impact of depth, use of He, etc. That's great. We learn a lot. We question what we learn a lot.

But there are a lot of us who started diving with PADI's recreational tables. And even though we take diving seriously, dive as much as we can, and learn as much as we can, we're clearly limited in what we can do. OTOH, everybody seems to agree that the more you dive, the better you get. But, OTOH, us "intermediate level divers" are often pointed with the finger for the way we dive (no deco dives, use of the computer and/or tables, EAN21 to 40). It feels like being a teenager all over again (without the pimples ). Not a kid anymore, but not an adult yet.

So, there's a bit of a paradox to solve. I wanted to discuss that as well as the solutions that I use. They may seem very conservative, but I'm still having fun

 

[jbd]

signature line, Arnaud I'm wondering why with your training you don't do more deep dives(within the recreational limits)? I have to agree with Pug and the others that there's a lot of shallow diving to do that's just as satisfying as deep diving.

Since you are looking to become a DM in the future it would seem to be beneficial for you to build some experience in deeper dives.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I dont understand the arbitrary depth limitation of 65 ft. Whats that all about??? Did you have a bad experience below that??? A DM has to be comfortable in the water, and be an experienced diver. It sounds to me that you arent comfortable below that depth. Can you explain???

 

[Arnaud]

Lubold and JBD, here are the reasons:

1. Unless it's a wreck (meaning that you can't really decide for your max depth; it is where the wreck is), I really enjoy shallow dives (better light, colors, temp, more gas, etc.).

2. After reading a lot of stuff on the subject, I decided that it was a bad idea to dive deeper than 90-100 ft on air. I know some will disagree.

3. Because I have a limited trust in my computer, and probably even more so in the tables, I try to load less N2 by staying shallow. That's obviously even more important for repetive dives.

Lubold, these are not absolute rules, but that's what I try to stick to in general, until I understand things a little better. I have been many times much deeper than 65 ft. I don't have any problem going down to 100 ft if needed. I have done it many times and have never experienced a really strong narcose (even though I probably was narced to some extent). And yes, the 65 ft limit is somewhat arbitrary. But except for wrecks, most of the great stuff I have seen UW were within this depth.

 

[jbd]

thinking to me. Ditto what Bob said.

Try to work in some deeper dives as you continue diving and when you feel that you are ready sign up for the DM course. Most if not all agencies have minimums regarding numbers of dives before starting training to become a DM or an instructor. I don't think they have maximums though