Diving in Nassau. What to expect?

[uncfnp]

The DM signing off will be useless. You need to do the dives under the supervision of an instructor. And just out of curiosity what do you know about deep dive planning. Ie. sac rates, rock bottom, narcosis management, emergency deco procedures and how to calculate a stop on the fly, and rescue skills related to deep dives? This is where people get themselves in trouble. Thinking that this is just another dive to check off. And you would in fact put the DM in bit of a pickle. Taking you on a dive you are not technically certed for outside of a class. Violation of standards there. As well as morals and ethics.

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Jim, what part of a 60 foot dive is considered "deep" and thus would be beyond basic OW certification and require such advanced planning? Admittedly it's been 2 years since my AOW but I was required to dive past 80 (in fact the dive was just past 90) for deep dive.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

He was talking about a deep dive. I took that to mean in excess of 60 feet. And I agree. Anything less than 80 I would not count as a deep dive.

 

[TinmanJones]

As a certified PADI open water diver, we are allowed to dive to 60'. We all know the depth police sit at 60.5' waiting for us to exceed that max depth.

For PADI, in order to complete one part of the Advanced Open Water Course, you must make a dive between 60-90 feet. This is considered their deep dive.

It is my understanding (and i could be wrong, thats why I'm here) that this can be done at your own leisure, as long as you have a sign off in your log book to prove you completed this dive, without someone being in a "pickle".

I received this information from my two dive instructors as well as from PADI. Again, I may be wrong.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have never heard of that. I'd be leery of anyone who said they could count a deep dive they have never seen you do or cover the risks, procedures, planning, and techniques used on a deep dive. That's just plain crazy. How would they even know a signature was legit? Or that the instructor covered the required skills. A DM cannot do those. That just smacks of laziness and greed. Collecting a fee for doing nothing. Issuing a card without doing any work. Doesn't say much for their ethics. I would forget about doing any kind of course on a cruise. Take the AOW at home or book a dive trip and do the course the right way. Not some shortcut with a goomer who will take you to 61 feet and sign it off as a deep dive. That kind of crap is what gives good instructors a bad name. And why the AOW class for some agencies is looked at as a joke.

Btw I was a PADI DM and I know what the minimum standards are. My OW instructor would have laughed his butt off if I'd even have suggested doing something like that. I know there are instructors that take people to 65 feet and call it a deep dive. I have zero respect for them. That's just getting by on a technicality. And teaches little if anything other than how to skate by.

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[BDSC]

My main concerns were any & all currents & downwellings. I've read enough of those horror stories to know I'm not ready for that yet.

I suspect many of those horror stories are a bit exaggerated if not a lot exaggerated. I have also read where someone is at 50ft and then in a blink of an eye they are swept down to 150ft etc. I can tell you that I have been diving since 1991, been to Cozumel 8 or 9 times and been diving around Nassau maybe 4 or 5 and have never ever had anything like that happen. I don't even know of a person where that has happened anywhere. Is it possible it could happen? I guess anything is possible but if I were you, I'd never give it a second thought.

 

[TinmanJones]

Jim:
Thank you for your thoughts. It is certainly something I need to look into more.
From what I have heard & read from PADI (their website), the AOW is more in the water skills & specialty dives (navigation, night dives, deep dives, etc.). More that than a classroom course.
Thank you for your time.

BDSC:
Thank you for your encouragement & for getting us back on topic.
I plan to go, dive, & enjoy my vacation with my wife & friends.
Looking forward to some blue water.

 

[BDSC]

I can tell you that if all of your dives have been in lakes, you will be blown away in the Caribbean!

Have a great trip and good diving to you!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Classroom time is an integral part of any AOW class I would allow anyone I cared about to take. Especially if it involved a deep dive. The go down to 80, 90, whatever, look around, compare gauges, do a math test, open a lock, etc. is nothing but a BS way to get a dive in. If you do not cover the risks associated with deeper dives, do some actual dive related task loading, and focus on making a controlled descent and ascent with proper stops, it is putting a student at unnecessary risk. And doing a deep dive without properly planning it by using real gas management, looking at what can happen should you go into deco, and covering the ways deep dives can go wrong is teaching the student poor habits from the get go. Ones that may come back to bite them hard down the road. This is not like ticking off a new burger joint or pizza parlor. I know the marketing makes it seem like it is. But this stuff can kill you. In some very nasty ways. All it takes is one slip up or moment of inattentiveness and somebody is dead. Or missing. Or crippled. It just makes me sick when shops and instructors don;t come out and tell people the truth about what can happen. All because they are scared it may turn someone off. Better informed and turned off than in a box.

 

[TinmanJones]

Jim, I agree. Good point.
Everyone eventually ends up in a box, but nobody wants today to be THAT day.
I agree 100% & I see your point.