Entering the water without resurfacing

[Seaduced]

I descend when ready, do a bubble check and swim away.

 

[tropitan]

My regular dive bud likes to surface about midway through the dive to get his bearings.

When I'm solo or with someone, I almost never surface until I exit.

 

[mikemill]

My regular dive bud likes to surface about midway through the dive to get his bearings.

Sounds like he needs a navigation course.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Sounds like he needs a navigation course.

Maybe, but not necessarily.

For a number of reasons you should try to complete the entire dive underwater from start to finish, arriving back at your start point..... and at a shore dive site you know fairly well this is pretty easy for most folks using a combo of natural and compass navigation;

But if you miss your "landmark" on the return leg (and it can be quite easy to do) you may need to choose between searching along a surprisingly uniform-appearing stretch of reef, burning through your reserve and still not finding your landmark, or swallowing your pride and surfacing for a moment to get a bearing on the shorline then re-submerging and completing the dive.

Surfacing mid-dive is certainly not ideal, but on a typical recreational within-NDL dive it is far better to surface and "find yourself" than being forced to surface well away from your entry/exit point because you used up your reserves searching for the lost landmark.

Here on the Big Island, there are many shore dive sites with only one possible entry/exit on a lava coastline; missing that point badly could result in a tough surface swim against surface current and waves... not good.

It is of course always better not to ever get "lost"; but a smart diver will recognize when they may be, and fix the situation, even if it means briefly surfacing.

Best wishes.

 

[mikemill]

Maybe, but not necessarily.

For a number of reasons you should try to complete the entire dive underwater from start to finish, arriving back at your start point..... and at a shore dive site you know fairly well this is pretty easy for most folks using a combo of natural and compass navigation;

But if you miss your "landmark" on the return leg (and it can be quite easy to do) you may need to choose between searching along a surprisingly uniform-appearing stretch of reef, burning through your reserve and still not finding your landmark, or swallowing your pride and surfacing for a moment to get a bearing on the shorline then re-submerging and completing the dive.

Surfacing mid-dive is certainly not ideal, but on a typical recreational within-NDL dive it is far better to surface and "find yourself" than being forced to surface well away from your entry/exit point because you used up your reserves searching for the lost landmark.

Here on the Big Island, there are many shore dive sites with only one possible entry/exit on a lava coastline; missing that point badly could result in a tough surface swim against surface current and waves... not good.

It is of course always better not to ever get "lost"; but a smart diver will recognize when they may be, and fix the situation, even if it means briefly surfacing.

Best wishes.

There is a difference between once in a while and every dive. I got the "every dive" feeling from that post.

 

[Guy Alcala]

There is a difference between once in a while and every dive. I got the "every dive" feeling from that post.

Most of my diving, solo or not, is shore diving with longish surface swims. When I boat dive I always stop at the surface, because I always record pressure, time, and temp on my wrist slate (I do this ON the boat as well). While there's rarely much difference in the readings when boat diving (unlike shore diving), I figure it's better to maintain a uniform habit than change it. Besides, if something's wrong I'd much rather deal with it at the surface; pausing to record the info slows me down and forces me to monitor my gear for the minute or so it takes to record the data.

Guy

 

[mikemill]

Most of my diving, solo or not, is shore diving with longish surface swims. When I boat dive I always stop at the surface, because I always record pressure, time, and temp on my wrist slate (I do this ON the boat as well). While there's rarely much difference in the readings when boat diving (unlike shore diving), I figure it's better to maintain a uniform habit than change it. Besides, if something's wrong I'd much rather deal with it at the surface; pausing to record the info slows me down and forces me to monitor my gear for the minute or so it takes to record the data.

Guy

What does that have to do with surfacing midway through a dive?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

There is a difference between once in a while and every dive. I got the "every dive" feeling from that post.

Hi Mike,

I got that feeling too... if it is an every-dive routine rather than the exception it is a problem. It does create the dreaded "sawtooth" dive profile in a dramatic way.

My post was more about the "lesser of two evils" in case newish divers were reading this post. The ideal procedure is to stay submerged for the entire dive, avoid sawtooth profiles, etc.

Best wishes.

 

[DennisS]

My regular dive bud likes to surface about midway through the dive to get his bearings.

When I'm solo or with someone, I almost never surface until I exit.

Gophering-Pop up and get a bearing to the boat, duck back down and follow heading, pop up and find boat

My usual entry is "meet you on the anchor line"

 

[Trace Malinowski]

It depends upon the type of dive and whether or not it is from a shore or boat.

The most meticulous checks I do once in the water, but at the surface, are for solo cave dives. This involves a complete equipment inventory from head to toe. I do a bubble check by holding my mask at the right angle to act as a mirror, checking my posts, manifold, hoses and wing behind my head. Next, I'll breathe from my stage/buddy bottle to make sure it is working. Finally, as I descend, I'll normally breathe my necklaced back up regulator then go to my primary, making sure all regs are working.

If I'm solo diving from a boat in which wants to have a surface, "Okay," before descent, I'll comply.

However, most solo boat diving, I'll just drop and perform checks on the way down. If I'm doing a dive such as a wreck penetration where I'd have greater peace of mind by doing a bubble check, I'll use a backup mask or my signal mirror. In open water diving, I like using freediving masks that have reflective lenses and a sunglassed tint. These make excellent improvisational mirrors for self-checks.

Sidemount is definitely my next step for solo cave diving.