Gear packing for NJ wreck diving

[doctormike]

I guess we just have a different outlook on diving. If you agree to be a team you are a team. In this case the experienced divers would be looking out for the OP on his first dive. If they didn't want to team up they just should have just said no thanks.

Yeah, basically I agree, but I think that there are nuances here. I personally don't like the idea of a new diver surfacing alone, as I said upthread.

That having been said, if you feel that the experienced divers who let him tag along should not have done that unless they were willing to do a short (15 minute?) dive instead of what they had planned and paid for, then the right thing to do would have been for them to just say no.

Which would have meant that after all of this preparation, cost and effort, the OP would just be sitting on the boat with his rented gear, watching bubbles. All because the shop had told him that someoene would dive with him. And for most people in that situation, that would be the end of local diving for them.

It's not a great situation, but I have definitely been there many times and it sounds like everyone tried to make the best of it. Maybe a crew member could have been hired to be a guide or something? Depends on who is available and willing, right?

Not an easy situation, and the errors started long before the boat left the dock. But a good learning experience, for both the OP and for other new divers reading this thread...

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I guess we just have a different outlook on diving. If you agree to be a team you are a team. In this case the experienced divers would be looking out for the OP on his first dive. If they didn't want to team up they just should have just said no thanks.

How can you be a "team" with someone who you just met on a boat...who's in a single tank? Obviously pretty new... that's not a team, that's babysitting. I would happily let him tag along, but I'm not missing out. I would do exactly what those guys did... tag along until you have to come up. If that's uncomfortable then I guess sit out. It costs way too much of my time and money to get in that position in the 1st place and it's not to babysit (no offense @mje113 , I think you get it 100%).

Yeah, basically I agree, but I think that there are nuances here. I personally don't like the idea of a new diver surfacing alone, as I said upthread.

It's either that or sit out in that situation.

That having been said, if you feel that the experienced divers who let him tag along should not have done that unless they were willing to do a short (15 minute?) dive instead of what they had planned and paid for, then the right thing to do would have been for them to just say no.

Which would have meant that after all of this preparation, cost and effort, the OP would just be sitting on the boat with his rented gear, watching bubbles. All because the shop had told him that someoene would dive with him. And for most people in that situation, that would be the end of local diving for them.

It's not a great situation, but I have definitely been there many times and it sounds like everyone tried to make the best of it. Maybe a crew member could have been hired to be a guide or something? Depends on who is available and willing, right?

^^^This is how the real world plays out. Kudos for the guys letting him tag along. I would do that (and have).

Not an easy situation, and the errors started long before the boat left the dock. But a good learning experience, for both the OP and for other new divers reading this thread...

Well said, couldn't agree more. I think he gets that. I'm always learning, there's always something to tweak and do better.




I feel like if you're a diver you have to be able to thumb a dive, have to know your limitations. At the end of the day there is no one that can save you from you except yourself. If @mje113 wanted to he probably could of sat out and gotten a refund from the shop, or at least a credit towards another dive. That's tough.. it takes a lot to get there.. I know I would have done the dive in his shoes just the way he did.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

Jersey diving sounds like a free-for-all...

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Jersey diving sounds like a free-for-all...

It absolutely is. It's raw and it's beautiful. It's the way diving should be everywhere.

If you want to dive as a team, go for it. You want to hunt solo, by all means.. you're a diver. Why would you want the boat / shop to dictate how you dive? Where's the adventure in that? You plan the dive, you bring the gas, you give a RT and the ocean is yours. It really is a love it or hate it type of thing. Very few people sit on the fence about it.

Personally I'm really turned off by the idea of someone up my ass telling me that the weakest link in the group is @ 500psi and we all have to ascend now... but that's just me. There's plenty of ways to dive.

 

[mje113]

Not for nothing, I do want to point out I'm not a "new" diver. Been diving for over 20 years. Just new to jersey Atlantic wreck diving.

 

[doctormike]

Not for nothing, I do want to point out I'm not a "new" diver. Been diving for over 20 years. Just new to jersey Atlantic wreck diving.

Great to hear!

If you have been an active diver for 20 years, maybe you should consider tech training. I think that ever active diver should do it. It's not about the gear or about going very deep or doing long dives or even doing much deco. It's about changing your mindset. It's about leaving behind the world of guided resort diving and planning your dive and your contingencies.

I hardly ever do long deco any more, but it's great to be able to sit down the night before with your sac rate and your gas reserves and figure out the plan and the what-ifs.

 

[doctormike]

^^^This is how the real world plays out.

Gotta say, I don't think I have ever seen a new diver bubble watch because they didn't know they needed a buddy ahead of time! Someone usually steps up. I have too..

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Not for nothing, I do want to point out I'm not a "new" diver. Been diving for over 20 years. Just new to jersey Atlantic wreck diving.

Oh man.... I liked you so much better when you were.

OOG diver with 20 years is no bueno.

 

[mje113]

Oh man.... I liked you so much better when you were.

OOG diver with 20 years is no bueno.

Hey hey, fair statement. And no offense taken! I didn't want to make any pretense about me being a pro or anything... I've been doing warm water vacation dives and very comfortable with them for a long time. Drysuit plus BP/W is all new to me and I'm trying to learn to expand what I can do locally.

We all have a bad day here and there and honestly I didn't consider this to be that at all. While my anxiety was up a bit I never actually panicked, just had a few things go wrong but I was confident I'd be able to surface safely regardless of air source. Total learning experience for me.

 

[mje113]

If you have been an active diver for 20 years, maybe you should consider tech training. I think that ever active diver should do it. It's not about the gear or about going very deep or doing long dives or even doing much deco. It's about changing your mindset. It's about leaving behind the world of guided resort diving and planning your dive and your contingencies.

Yes great suggestion! Family (kids) have made that option very restrictive for a while but trying to inch back into things. I've spent the last 6 months training as much as I can (mostly pool). I have a good number of NJ and warm dives planned for the rest of the year and hoping to try something akin to tech training early next year. Something like fundies, but humbling experiences like this make me want to keep practicing to get there.