Flying after diving and other beginner questions

[nubediver]

Hello Friends,
I will be diving this Saturday from 5 am - 10 am and flying the next day at 7 am. Do you think this would be safe? The dive operator said that I would be safe because the time limit has been changed to 18 hrs instead of 24. Is this true? Also on Saturday I would be diving Molokini off Maui, Hawaii. I have told the operator that I just completed certification and I would like to be in a beginner dive. I am assuming that this would be very different from normal dives with lower depth and more instructors.

 

[Teamcasa]

If you are only diving on Saturday and flying out on Sunday, you should be fine. However, If you have been diving all week and your last dives are Saturday the line gets a little fuzzier. But 18 hours is a pretty safe interval.

Note : I'm not a Doctor, just offering free advice.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I suppose if you were using a dive computer you could just watch the nitrogen loading bar and watch it drain down as time passes.

I have watched my nitrogen loading measurement on my computer decline after an 80 foot dive. Based on the rate that I have seen it decline after an 80 foot dive, I would guess it would easily be back at zero, 8 hrs after the second, 70 foot dive.

 

[scubagirl1999]

Hello Friends,
I will be diving this Saturday from 5 am - 10 am and flying the next day at 7 am. Do you think this would be safe? The dive operator said that I would be safe because the time limit has been changed to 18 hrs instead of 24. Is this true? Also on Saturday I would be diving Molokini off Maui, Hawaii. I have told the operator that I just completed certification and I would like to be in a beginner dive. I am assuming that this would be very different from normal dives with lower depth and more instructors.

Aloha from Maui

PADI has changed their recommendations to 18 hours. However, if you are diving multiple dives over multiple days PADI recommends that you extend that time as much as practical.
You will love diving at Molokini! You will be assigned to a dive guide (could be a divemaster, but many dive guides here in Maui are also instructors) with a small group of divers. Your maximum depth will likely be 80-90 feet. The topography slopes gently down coral reefs and sand channels, so you will have nice multi-level diving...enjoy
If you have a chance to come say hi, send me a note and I will let you know where we are located in Kihei.

 

[Brian Sharpe]

From DAN's website:

Consensus Recommendations for Flying after Diving

(May 2, 2002) Dives Within No-Decompression Limits
A Single No-Decompression Dive: A minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested. Multiple Dives per Day or Multiple Days of Diving: A minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.

(complete article Divers Alert Network : Alert Diver Articles)

Hope this helps!

 

[ligersandtions]

Personally, I would be more than okay with this diving schedule. However, I would be following a fairly strict ascent profile (and padding my shallow stops if I had been diving throughout the week leading up to that day).

 

[Crush]

Take a few precautions: keep the nitrogen loading moderate (watch your computer) and keep well hydrated after the last dive and during the flight.

Please note that the following is true, but may seem counter-intuitive: if you are going to fly after diving, (all other things being equal) you are better off doing a short, deep dive than a long, shallow dive. The reason why is that for a short, deep dive your no-deco limit (NDL) is dominated by gas uptake into "fast tissues," while for shallower dives the NDL is driven by "medium tissues" or even "slow tissues." If you hit your NDL on a shallow dive your "slow tissues" will have a significant amount of N2 in them and offgas slowly. However, if you hit your NDL on a deep dive your "slow tissues" will not have accumulated much N2 and your "fast tissues" (which have lots of N2 by then) offgas quickly. Watch your computer after a deep dive - it clears down quickly while a shallow dive requires more clear-down time.

"Fast tissues" are a theoretical construct that allows us to approximate human tissue types that take up N2 rapidly and saturate quickly, but also release N2 quickly. "Slow tissues" are the opposite.

 

[TSandM]

You should enjoy Molokini. Be sure you let the dive op know that you are new, and tell them you do not want to go deep. The water is so clear and warm that they often take brand new divers pretty far down there -- I did the 10th dive of my life in Molokini, and the instructor who was our guide took us down to 130 feet. I went with him because, after all, he was an INSTRUCTOR, and I didn't know any better.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

As TSandM mentioned, be sure to also tell the DM on the boat that you are brand new.

As far as flying after diving, I'll just chime in that by following the current NDL flying-after-diving recommendations (18 hr or 24 hr) you should be just fine, unless you've done several days of multiple dives during the week leading up to your final dive(s).

Have fun!

 

[nubediver]

Ok. I will be going on a dive tommorrow with sailing trilogy. I have signed up for an intro scuba dive but because spots are full I am at the captain's mercy. There are spots available for certified divers but I am not confident enough to go down to 80 - 100 ft. If that does not work out or even if It does I may go on saturday with lahini divers or b&b scuba. Lahini divers is supposed to be good for beginners but b&b has more reviews on tripadvisor.com. Which one do u recommend?