First Real OW Dive - Story and Questions

[jseyfert3]

Hello all,

As you can see in my profile, I am a relatively new diver. My wife got certified in college about 5 years ago, and we wanted to go diving on our honeymoon at Sandals in Grenada since they offer free scuba diving, so I got certified. I did my pool classes in April/May, did a summer internship and did my certification dives in August, getting my PADI OW cert. First three cert dives in a local ****** quarry with average depth of 20', last one in a pond, with average depth of 17' and visibility so bad the compass swim at 10' was basically like swimming in a green cloud where I could barely make out the instructor following directly behind me and my buddy. My wife did a refresher course during my pool dives. We both planned to go to Mermet Springs on a dive trip in October but her back was hurting at the time the trip went and we couldn't go. So we were two very new divers in December on our honeymoon the week before Christmas.

First dive was on Sunday when they only do one dive. Me and my wife, lacking experience, didn't know weights we needed (and I forgot my logbook at home, which had my OW cert dive weights). They guessed 8 lbs for me, something more for my wife (I think 14 lbs). I was wearing a brand new 3 mm fullsuit, wife just a swimsuit. I questioned the 8 lbs, the DM said he had more if I needed it when we got in. Sure enough, I was a cork and couldn't sink till he handed me 7 more pounds. We got down, and while I felt pretty comfortable with the dive, I was too task loaded to realize my wife was under weighted and trying to stay down. The DM, who I was impressed with, quickly realized and added 2 more pounds to her tank strap, after which she stopped having issues staying down. She liked swimming ahead of me (...sigh) so the DM ended up having to catch her, and told her to stay with him. This first dive went to 52' with an average depth of 40' before the safety stop. The DM clipped the float reel to one of the more experienced (tech certified) divers in the group and took me, my wife, and another diver to the surface, where we finished with 1150, 800, and 500 PSI, respectively, after 29 minutes (wife started with 200 less than me). The DM then went back down, and surfaced with the rest of the group later, and the rest of the group finished with 1250, 500, 600, 250, and 300 PSI, the two low pressures belonging to the tech divers who had brought pony bottles "for redundancy".

Tuesday we went out again for two dives, I started with 14 pounds, my wife 16. 1st dive max 58', average 43' before safety stop (40' including), 38 minutes. Second dive after an hour SI (with snacks) was 54' max, 41' average before safety stop (36' including), and 37 minutes.

With the exception of the 1st dive and the weights, the dives were uneventful. On Sunday we dove the Veronica L, then swam over the reef, Tuesday was just swimming over the reef. On Tuesday the boat was delayed by over an hour and the tide came in, leading to "bad visibility". I had to laugh, after seeing people disappear completely into the green murk 6' away during my certification dives, the 25-30' we had was amazing. All dives were drift dives, not a lot of current, DM pulled a float that the boat followed. Waves maybe 1-2' depending. Saw a bunch of fish, wished I had a light to bring some colors into what seemed to be mostly colorless reef at 40'. I didn't see as much as I wanted too, mainly being a new diver I was too task loaded with normal diving stuff to enjoy the view as much as I should have been able to. Water temp was 81 °F, and I was neither too hot nor to cold in my 3 mm custom fullsuit. Wife was happy in a swimsuit.

On the equipment side, we both had our own mask and snorkel but used the supplied BCD, regs, and fins. The BCD had a two gauge console, I had a Suunto Zoop, my wife had no computer, the DM and about half the divers had their own computers, the other half did not. Nodody that I saw had a safety sausage.

My thoughts: I'd like to get my own gear, and pay to bring it on future dive trips, so I'm very comfortable and familiar with what I have. I want to bring a safety sausage on any future ocean (or great lake) dives. My custom wetsuit from Aquaflite was totally worth it, since I get cold easily but was completely comfortable, though next time I'll pay the extra charge and get arm and leg zippers. For sure I will on my future 7 mm suit (for quarry dives), I don't want to try and slide into a custom fit 7mm suit without zippers. I want to get a good number of dives in quarries, and hopefully some more instructor training, so I'm more comfortable underwater and less task loaded, so I can enjoy the ocean life more.

Question: My wife didn't have a computer, and neither did a good portion of the other divers. We were far from the NDLs, on relaxed dives. How bad was it to not have a computer on these dives, and is it normal to find people diving without them (and no other way to gauge NDL except the DM computer) or does this mainly just happen on non-dive focused resorts that offer scuba diving "on the side"?

I know this is somewhat jumbled, but if anyone has comments, questions, suggestions or criticisms. please feel free to share.

 

[PatW]

Congratulations. It sounds as if he dealt with the to be expected issue in your early dives pretty well. Also, you were aware of task loading and kept your attention on diving rather than on sight seeing.

So were computers necessary? The dives you did sounded pretty level profile. They were also relatively shallow. And it sounds as if no one was very good on air. My wife is really good, she rarely uses half a tank even on a deep dive.

Computers are handy for multilevel dives. But for level profile, the tables do fine. Also most new divers are bad enough on air to go through their tank before they get close to the decompression limits.

Now computers are nice because they handle nitrogen loads from level to level within a dive and track the level for multiple dives on multiple days.

Many resorts require computers to dive. The advantage is that the dive master can check the computers to see if anyone is pushing or exceeding the limits. It is a good thing because if they need to toss a diver, they have proof.

You can pick up an inexpensive wrist mounted computer relatively inexpensively. And the cheap ones do a pretty good job. Just get one that lights up if you plan on night dives. I don't find air integration very useful because the computer's guess on my air time remaining is pretty useless.

On your equipment, you can have a priority list. Mask, fins, snorkel and wet suit come first. For me, I would do computer and regulator next. The BCD last. Also, I don't like the jacket kind. It restricts movement or it feels that way. Remember, anything you get, you will have to drag through the airport. I also have a camera, lenses, strobes, housing, ports and I often feel like a Sherpa.

 

[Marie13]

Peoria - were your cert dives at Haigh? Has to be, from your description of the green murk. I describe it as swimming in green jello with a sandstorm.

And, yes, get a computer for your wife.

If your wife is going to be your buddy, she has to get past the going on ahead thing. Best is side by side.

 

[kelemvor]

How bad was it to not have a computer on these dives, and is it normal to find people diving without them (and no other way to gauge NDL except the DM computer) or does this mainly just happen on non-dive focused resorts that offer scuba diving "on the side"?

If you don't have a computer available you should be using tables and a wristwatch. I can't say what the norm is at resorts like sandals, but I can say that resorts do have something of a poor reputation on this site. Using a computer is much nicer, and can give you greater bottom times IF you are limited by NDL and not running low on air or an arbitrary time limit set by your operator. You can spend anywhere from $150-$1500 on a dive computer (and everywhere in between). I use a scubapro Galileo and a shearwater petrel. Both good, but fairly expensive. I have buddies who own and like the $150 suunto zoop.

 

[spoolin01]

Congrats on your marriage, and welcome to diving! Wish I had started at your age but glad to have found diving even as I did...

For myself, after certification I mostly dived at first with a small group of friends who were also novices - from shore and boat. That allowed us to control locale, timing, and dive plan and we all benefited from the common experience and sharing. That approach has been common to learning many other things as well. If you also have more experienced friends, that can prove helpful but in the end you learn mostly by doing, in settings where you can concentrate. The key is to be diving with folks that share an interest and patience in you and your progress.

As you are planning, if you have availability of local diving in a benign setting, I'd make use of that for a few well-inside NDL dives until you've got familiarity with equipment and the sequence of diving, and confidence enough to where the task loading awareness diminishes. Even during my cert dives, I could begin to see the conflict and "loading" inherent in diving in mixed-experience and mixed-objective groups, and at unfamiliar sites on a dive plan chosen by someone else. I more enjoyed DM-led dives and new locations once I had my personal considerations better in hand.

For diving well within NDL limits, obviously the value of a computer for monitoring nitrogen load diminishes. I mostly value mine as a gauge for time and depth unless I'm deep enough to get close to NDL. I think of decompression risk in practice as kind of a binary space where on the shallower/shorter side there's little effective risk and on the other, there's a rapidly increasing risk gradient. Air consumption rates can vary a lot between divers as you've seen, but for me on a 80 cu ft tank at 50 ft, I'll run out of air before I hit the dive table NDL, so when as often I'm diving at 30 or 40', I just monitor my tank pressure gauge for ending the dive. For deeper dives, closer to NDL, and multiple close-spaced dives, I rely on the computer as well, since I like the quick feedback of the nitrogen bar gauge, and I prefer to stay as far within NDL as I can. It beats trying to picture the tables, but obviously familiarity with the "space" they describe is prudent as a basis for understanding.

Have fun diving, proceed incrementally, and be safe!

 

[tridacna]

. I have buddies who own and like the $150 suunto zoop.

Good luck buying from DiveInn in the US.

 

[kelemvor]

I've never actually tried. Sorry if it's a bad link, took the first one google gave me.

 

[Kris Reynolds]

Congratulations on your marriage and on your OW certification. Diving will only get better for you and your wife, it is such an awesome thing to share with each other.

My thoughts: I'd like to get my own gear, and pay to bring it on future dive trips, so I'm very comfortable and familiar with what I have. I want to bring a safety sausage on any future ocean (or great lake) dives. My custom wetsuit from Aquaflite was totally worth it, since I get cold easily but was completely comfortable, though next time I'll pay the extra charge and get arm and leg zippers. For sure I will on my future 7 mm suit (for quarry dives), I don't want to try and slide into a custom fit 7mm suit without zippers. I want to get a good number of dives in quarries, and hopefully some more instructor training, so I'm more comfortable underwater and less task loaded, so I can enjoy the ocean life more.

Absolutely get your own gear, especially your own BCD. Having a proper fitting BCD with the weights set up for you so you are comfortable, and have good trim will help your air last longer, and will give you a consistent setup so you will be able to develop muscle memory and enjoy your dives more. Just a caution though, don't go to crazy on gear, or on training. I suggest spending on getting out and diving and gaining experience. It will be as valuable as any piece of equipment and give you the opportunity to try some different setups and decide what is most comfortable for you and your wife.

Question: My wife didn't have a computer, and neither did a good portion of the other divers. We were far from the NDLs, on relaxed dives. How bad was it to not have a computer on these dives, and is it normal to find people diving without them (and no other way to gauge NDL except the DM computer) or does this mainly just happen on non-dive focused resorts that offer scuba diving "on the side"?

I think this is pretty common at many resorts to see people diving without computers, and likely, you had a depth gauge on your regs and the dive master knew the depth of the site, and monitored the time of the dive. He was essentially having you dive on tables and doing the work for you. There is nothing wrong with diving tables, and you likely wont realize an immediate benefit of a computer when resort diving if you are going through your gas in 30-40 minutes anyhow, but as a certified diver, I suggest you don't trust anyone else planning your dives for you.....resort DM or otherwise. You can log your depth and time and check the tables and your SI to make sure you are staying within your NDL on your tables. It is a good habit.

 

[nolatom]

It sounds as though you, spouse, and DM all did a pretty good job. Don't worry about having been a bit task-loaded, you're new, and are asking the right questions.

During your first year (or so), typically your limiting factor (especially on dives in the 35-60' range you describe) is going to be air remaining, not nitrogen loading. So while it's not good practice to dive without using a computer, or at least tables and wristwatch, this is probably the best venue to have gotten away with not doing so, and you were with experienced DMs.

As you progress, with improved experience, relaxation, and probably deeper profiles, the computer is essential (so are tables, but trust me, almost no one's using tables by then), because nitrogen loading is going to catch up with, and then overtake, your improving air usage as your limiting factor in when to begin ascending. Almost all computers nowadays are nitrox-compatible, and as you go a bit deeper and longer, you'll want to look into getting nitrox-certified.

Good beginning! Keep going, don't dive without planning. No computer, no tables, not the best practice.

And do buy your own gear. It'll make you dive more in the first few years, to "get your money's worth out of it". That's how it worked with me. My friend from OW who was going to rent first, then save up and get "Cadillac" gear, never did either. I bought "Chevy Malibu" gear, still use all of it, and it was an incentive to dive, whereas gear rental costs would've been a disincentive. Your mileage may vary on this point, but that's my mileage...

 

[jseyfert3]

I'll reply more when I'm on a computer but I wanted to clarify that I did have a computer (Suunto Zoop), just not my wife. I did also review plan mode on it before the dives, however briefly.