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Age

Contributor
Messages
129
Reaction score
0
Location
Tokyo, Japan
# of dives
200 - 499
Funny name to log in with but it was my nickname when I was quite young and "Moby" was taken. Off to the pool tomorrow to continue my metamorphosis from a holiday diver to what I think of as a 'sport diver'. Jagman is a great instructor and is gently introducing me to all sorts of stuff. Maybe I'll be a Techie one day...maybe. In the meanwhile I'm off to Alona Beach, Bahol, Philippines in a couple of months. Can't decide between Genesis and Sea Explorers and both have responded politely to my enquiries. Any thoughts out there? Also, long hose set-up is clearly safer, but I didn't get on with it when I tried it once. Any thoughts on that?
 
Off to the pool tomorrow to continue my metamorphosis from a holiday diver to what I think of as a 'sport diver'. Jagman is a great instructor and is gently introducing me to all sorts of stuff. Maybe I'll be a Techie one day...maybe. . . . Also, long hose set-up is clearly safer, but I didn't get on with it when I tried it once. Any thoughts on that?

It's good news that you've found a good instructor, but remember, you're still a beginner. . . don't plan technical dives yet. Technical diving skills are not a pursuit of cards. The skills now called "technical" are part of a pyramid of things to do underwater, only after the basic skills are well learned and second nature.

If your goal is to become a cave diver, your base of the pyramid is an experienced diver that can handle stresses in an open water environment. Yes you can find instructors who will "too quickly" teach you to string lines, but if your skills are weak in open water, you're going to add to the tragedies littering many of the "tech" areas. You don't want cave diving. . . Wreck diving is a technical area, or deep diving, or dozens of other advanced areas of diving. Spearfishing, Photography. . . anything that is distracting you from the basics of safety in open water is a danger until your skills can keep you safe without your total concentration. There is no card from anyone that guarantees your safety. . . just your practiced skill doing the basics.

You assume a long hose is safer. . . Without a very good skill level, a long hose adds to your danger, not your safety. . . need a long hose second stage, Not in open water, as an inexperienced diver. Far in your future a long hose is used in wreck or cave diving. Before you need technical gear, you need to have lots and lots of safe open water dives. Why not buy it now? A long hose hanging off your regulator is a snagging hazard, for partners fins, arms and legs. . . and it will be time to replace hoses before you're experienced enough to benefit from it.

As a beginner, get your certification and go diving. The price of tech gear should be spent on air fills, and travel to dive sites. The purchase of air, travel and gear rental is all you should be spending for the first year, or two, or three! When you have a hundred tanks of air in your log book, then talk to a tech instructor, then your tech gear will be new and of the newest designs, and you'll be safer.

Blowing bubbles is fun, don't spoil the fun and get scared or worse. After a few dives, turn your attention from just bubbles, to watching fish. . . you'll scare the fish, but with practice you'll learn to swim with them. That's the skill progression that will occupy your first 100 dives.
 
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Jag's your Inst, eh? Cool... :thumb:

Click Forums at the top to start checking all the choices, and try our :search: feature. Hope you enjoy your time here. Click my Username to PM me if I can help...??

thnks1agan.gif
don :cowboy:
 
"You assume a long hose is safer. . . Without a very good skill level, a long hose adds to your danger, not your safety. . . need a long hose second stage, Not in open water, as an inexperienced diver. Far in your future a long hose is used in wreck or cave diving. Before you need technical gear, you need to have lots and lots of safe open water dives. Why not buy it now? A long hose hanging off your regulator is a snagging hazard, for partners fins, arms and legs. . . and it will be time to replace hoses before you're experienced enough to benefit from it."

Thank you Mudhole. Good points all. Practicing air shares yesterday in the pool I could see that the divers unfamiliar with long hoses were rather slow at responding to my OOA sign. The reason that I stated that long hoses were clearly safer is that a NAUI Course Director told me that he had a reg pulled out of his mouth three times by panicked divers. And once he didn't see it coming! Having a regulator around your neck, in such a situation is clearly better than fumbling around for your octopus. The point is; if I'm going to switch to long hoses one day anyway, should I start getting used to it now?

P.S. I seems I replied to myself yesterday. Getting used to forums is my excuse. Sorry all.
 
smilies-2351.png


Jag's your Inst, eh? Cool... :thumb:

Click Forums at the top to start checking all the choices, and try our :search: feature. Hope you enjoy your time here. Click my Username to PM me if I can help...??

thnks1agan.gif
don :cowboy:
Yes, it is very cool. All the things I couldn't do last year i.e. back kicks, launching SMB's, frog kicks, I was demonstrating yesterday in the pool for the other participants. He has bought me a long way.
 
You assume a long hose is safer. . . Without a very good skill level, a long hose adds to your danger, not your safety. . . need a long hose second stage, Not in open water, as an inexperienced diver. Far in your future a long hose is used in wreck or cave diving. Before you need technical gear, you need to have lots and lots of safe open water dives. Why not buy it now? A long hose hanging off your regulator is a snagging hazard, for partners fins, arms and legs. . . and it will be time to replace hoses before you're experienced enough to benefit from it.

Mudhole, you might want to check out Age's profile before dispensing this type of advice. He has close to 200 dives and has been diving for over 6 years. Not a begineer by any stretch of the imagination.

For what it is worth, I disagree with you anyway. Long hoses are NOT only for cave divers, they are useful in open water too. I don't go near caves but I have had a long hose for the last year and have approximately 100 open water dives on it.

I know some shops and instructors who teach open water in BP/W and long hose now, and I think this is a great approach. Once you learn how to deploy the primary (which is pretty easy) and switch to your necklaced reg I can't think that anyone can say it is an unsafe way to dive.

In any open water situation there is the potential for someone (either diving with you or not) to go OOA and demand a gas share. I know I would much rather do this with a long hose than a short. Even if the absolute chance of being in an airshare situation is low on any given dive, as you accumulate 100's then 1000's of dives the odds say you'll be sharing gas at some point in your diving journey.

Diving is constantly evolving - we've seen octopus', BCD's, SMB's, better exposure suits and low volume masks become standard equipment over the years. I think long hoses stand a good chance of being standard equipment in 10 years time... and I would hope that BP/Ws are too although I think there is less chance for this.
 
Why, thank you kindly scorpensub and Geoff H
"I've always depended upon the kindness of strangers" However, in the end I didn't have to depend upon advice from this forum in regards to choosing between Sea Explorers and Genesis at Alona Beach. I can see both are good but dives with Genesis are cheaper has and Peter's house is very convenient. I'm booked for 10 days from April 3.
I went to Puerto Galera last year. I wonder how Bahol will compare.
Age
 
Have fun in Bohol - and check out the chocolate hills! I've never been but a few of my friends have and say they are unmissible!

Check out this forum - it is one of the largest and most fun regional diving fora on Scubaboard :)
There are many divers whoi know the Phillipines well in there, and quote a few dive shop owners and managers post in there too.

ScubaBoard - Philippine Paradise Divers
 
Thanks Geoff H,
I checked out the link and I'm starting to realise what a stroke of luck it is that my non-diving friends are getting married at Alona Beach, because that is the reason I booked the trip to Bahol in the first place. Puerto Galera and Bahol seem to be top favourites. I've already dived PG and it was a great couple of weeks. If Bahol is comparable or even better, I'll be a very happy man. I'll post photographs on my return.
Age
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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