Hello From Tulsa! 3rd dive = Decompression Camber

[jawfish]

Matt, welcome to the board and thanks for sharing. Now that you know you will most likely enjoy a deeper dive, perhaps it may be time for you to take the Advanced Open Water course from PADI. OW only prepares you for beginner level diving at 60' or less. The AOW course will help educate you on deeper dives and will be a great refresher before your next trip. You can also request to focus on bouyancy, which EVERY new diver should practice for ascents.

When I first started diving, I too took the "follow your DM" style and Cozumel was the place. I too dove deep profiles, however, since I am a "cautious" person by nature, I had already taken the AOW course. It helped extremely well in preparing me for the deeper dives and I had already dove 90+ feet before I dove in the ocean. I have since gone further in my education (Rescue) so that I could learn even more about the sport.

By posting here, you are educating yourself as well and I commend you for being very honest even with all those flames around you!

 

[H2Andy]

Could someone post their dive profile of a similar dive? 100ft or so muti-level. I know there's nothing exact I just want to see an example.

sure. this is a dive from Bonaire (at Karpata) (seconds are omitted):

:15 minutes to 104 feet, from 35 feet
:10 minutes at 104 feet
:02 minutes to 50 feet
:03 minutes at 50 feet
:02 minutes from 50 to 40 feet
:30 minutes at 40 to 20 feet (following the reef)
:03 minutes at 20 feet (safety stop)
--------------------------------------

1 hour and 5 minutes total dive time

 

[undRH2OdivR]

Thanks everyone!
The more I read the more I am learning, I am really learning what plan your dive and dive your plan is all about.
I am also learning what I want to avoid (DCS) and how to minimize my chances of getting bent. I understand that it can happen to the best of us but there are ways of avoiding the possability of getting DCS.
By reading all these great posts I know that this is how I want to dive and the type of people I want to dive with.
Thanks again and may everyone be safe, and Please keep the information coming.
I am Glad you are ok Matt and thanks for the info, so tell us have YOU learned anything out of all this.
Eric

 

[mattr762]

The more I read the more I am learning, I am really learning what plan your dive and dive your plan is all about.

My main question here is... How can you plan your dive before hand, if you don't know what lays beneath the surface? Did I learn that at PADI? If so, I forget. You don't know if you're going to be at 30' for 15min and 60' for 10min? I mean, don't you just follow the reefs, or ocean floor (with in reason)? If you've planned a 40' dive and it doesn't include a valley that drops to 65' are you not going to go to that level because it wasn't in your plan?

I am Glad you are ok Matt and thanks for the info, so tell us have YOU learned anything out of all this.

- Look out for numeral uno!
- Pay more attention to your profile
- Don't go beyond your trained limits

 

[nategasser]

On a semi-related note, the caption on this photo reads "Hard core tour guide with no BCD"
http://www.mattrandolph.com/cayman/pages/0274872-R1-052-24A.htm

Is it ever ok to have no BC ability at all, especially if you're going to 100+ feet? He, like Matt, also has no wetsuit; nothing but trunks (well, you can't seem them; we can only hope...). If this is in fact the DM, I think I'll make a note to avoid going out with that shop next time I'm in Cayman.

And to answer Matt's most recent question:

How can you plan your dive before hand, if you don't know what lays beneath the surface?

Speaking as someone with barely a handfull more dives than you, I wouldn't go out unless I had a pretty good idea what was down there. I would expect the DM to mention topside if there was a 25' valley. Having said that, if you did encounter a valley like that while you were out, if you know the tables well enough to recalculate your bottom time, or if you have a computer and can watch it closely, I'd say go for it. But if all you've got is "hey, let's go down there, I've got plenty of air left" then yes, you should skip it and stick to your planned depth. Plan for the valley on your next dive rather than riding a chamber.

Nate.

 

[SwimsWithSharks]

My main question here is... How can you plan your dive before hand, if you don't know what lays beneath the surface?

Nategasser's response is good. But your question reminded me of a story a tech instructor told me. He was teaching his father and they had planned a dive as part of the training. The instructor's plan called for him to go 10 feet below his father's depth. At one point, the son started to motion for his father to come down to him. His father did and he wrote on a slate "Failed."

The point being is plan your dive and dive your plan. Generally, you should always have an idea of what you are going to encounter. If I am diving somewhere new, I always try to go with someone knowledgable about the area and I ask what to expect in terms of topography and depth. If you are doing your saftey stop and you see something really cool below, only you can assess the risks but in some cases you just might have to miss that really cool thing.

Glad you are safe and keep learning and diving (safely).

 

[Dive-aholic]

Can one of you PADI instructors tell me, isn't there a minimum depth that has to be reached during OW training dives before someone is PADI certified?

PADI says 30' must be reached. A lot of instructors will only go to 20' for most of the skills part - better viz in the lakes and safer for the instructor during the repetitive CESAs the instructor has to do. There should be a tour following skills, though, and that should get the students to at least 30' (didn't happen when I certed). Some instructors will get their students to 60' by the 4th dive, but it's not required.

 

[Dive-aholic]

My main question here is... How can you plan your dive before hand, if you don't know what lays beneath the surface? Did I learn that at PADI? If so, I forget. You don't know if you're going to be at 30' for 15min and 60' for 10min? I mean, don't you just follow the reefs, or ocean floor (with in reason)? If you've planned a 40' dive and it doesn't include a valley that drops to 65' are you not going to go to that level because it wasn't in your plan?

Listen to the dive site briefing. That should have been covered in the course. If the DM doesn't tell you the information you need to know to plan your dive, then ask! Ask what the depth is. Ask what you can expect as far as topography. Ask what you can expect to see. And, as has already been recommended here, if you come across something that's out of your plan, don't do it. Plan to do it on the next dive, if it's feasible. Above all, make sure you know your limits and know your own profile. Don't rely on anyone else. Buddies are to share experiences with and for emergencies. They're not there to provide you with profiles.

 

[TekDiveGirl]

PADI says 30' must be reached. .

Double check your instructor manual for the OW standards....

Kimber

 

[H2Andy]

Is it ever ok to have no BC ability at all, especially if you're going to 100+ feet?

well.... technically, you don't really need a BC at all

if you are close enough to neutral so that you don't have
to spend a lot of effort and energy trying not to sink, you don't really
need a BC.

at the beginning of the dive, you'll be negative, and so having a BC
might make it easier to get neutral.

as the dive progresses, you'll get more positive, so having no BC won't be as
much of a handicap.

depth, of course, is also an issue. the deeper you go, the more compressed
evertying you're wearing gets, so the less bouyant it is. also, your lungs
are not going to be as effective in acting as a bouyancy device.

however, as you come up shallower, these issues go away and you get
more positive.

so... the beginning of dive/deep part of dive would be the most critical time
(as I am thinking through this, even as i type) to keep an eye on how negative you are and stay ahead of your descent in case you need to "put the brakes on." a runaway descent is a concern, particulalry for less
experienced divers.

remember, you weigh yourself to be neutral at the surface (without air on
your BC) with about 500 psi of air left in your tank, so not having a BC
is not much of an issue here.