How do you plan your dives?

[Gombessa]

I'm interested in hearing how divers typically plan your average dives, and how you would ideally do so.

I've had dive plans that vary radically, from "turn at half and surface at 500" to full head-to-toe gear checks, bubble checks in the water, full review of hand signals and communications, description of anticipated dive profile and safety stop obligations, contingencies in case of separation, equipment failure, accrued deco, etc.

They typically differ based on who I'm diving with - while I prefer the latter system, even for "routine" dives I'm incredibly familiar with, I won't impose my own standards when I'm joining a group I'm not familiar with, and I'm generally comfortable with that - I just do my own checks and planning in my head. However, when asked I'll usually suggest a more thorough procedure, and I tend not to ever see doing so as "overkill" for a simple dive.

For the record, I've never met anyone who I thought "overplanned" or overprepared for a dive, and in general I've found that the more rigorous planners also tend to be "better" buddies in terms of sticking together and staying in view and communications.

So, how far in left field am I? I imagine most of us have had buddies (insta or otherwise) who are of the "same ocean" variety, but have you ever dove with someone who you thought overplanned (different from planning too conservatively) a dive and generally made a mountain out of a molehill?

 

[J.R.]

Wow... that's a pretty broad question. For me it depends on where I'm diving, who I'm diving with and what I plan do do on the dive. Planning can be as simple as... "Let's go out and look at the pretty fish." to a much more elaborate plan and proceedure (with props) for mapping projects.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hmmmm ... some things that need to be known before going on the dive ...

- hand and light signals
- type and volume of gas everyone's carrying
- basic dive profile (depth and time)

How much detail we go into beyond that depends entirely on where we're diving, and who's involved. If we're all familiar with each other, we're more comfortable "winging it" ... especially at the local haunts that we all know so well. Otherwise, the less familiar we are with each other, the more detail we talk about before the dive begins. Also, the more aggressive the dive, the more attention we put into making sure that everyone's properly prepared.

Basic buddy and bubble checks ... always. It only takes a minute, and you'd be surprised how often even an experienced diver can neglect to connect a drysuit inflator hose or get their necklace and primary hoses crossed without knowing it. Sure, those are easy fixes underwater ... but why not catch them before you have to do that?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Gombessa]

to a much more elaborate plan and proceedure (with props) for mapping projects.

Lol, I need to dig out my old Monopoly pieces and give this a shot. Some guys do bring laminated bathymetry maps to the site, but none of my dives have been complex/long enough to require anything like that.

 

[TSandM]

I think my most thorough and detailed dive plans occur when I'm diving with somebody I haven't dived with before, and who doesn't have the same training I do. There, NOTHING is a given, so everything gets reviewed. Site, equipment, signals, gas, separation protocols, the whole works.

If I'm diving with someone who has the same training, a lot of things go in the "given" column: Equipment configuration is known, what gas is being used is known, signals are known, protocols are known. At that point, the dive is planned for depth and time and turn pressure/reserves, team ordering and responsibilities, and deco.

On the dives I did in French Polynesia, a lot of the dive parameters were given in the dive briefing. Knowing that max depth was 70 feet with a profile that was mostly shallower than that, and that dive time was 40 minutes, meant that reserve would always be maintained by both of us, so gas wasn't discussed between us before getting in the water. We did (sometimes to the disgust of the dive operator) do equipment checks before diving, and I do that about 90% of the time. As Bob says, why solve problems underwater, when you can easily solve them before you get there?

 

[Gombessa]

We did (sometimes to the disgust of the dive operator) do equipment checks before diving, and I do that about 90% of the time.

Why disgust? Was he/she trying to keep a schedule, or did he feel you were being ridiculously anal?

 

[psychocabbage]

wife and I say we are going diving at x location.

Arrive at location and unload car.
Gear up.
Get wet.
When I have 1000-500 psi left, we start making our way back or up.. depending on what and where we are diving..

In Cozumel when we do our shore dives alone, when I have 1500-1000 we head back if we ventured far from the shore (in boat traffic area).. If we are still close to shore, 750 is when we start heading back and up.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I may or may not be a typical diver, since I dive 100% of the time with the same buddies (family). So our pre-dive planning for shore dives is:

1. Decide where we want to go / want to see (at the dive site).
2. Number 1 determines the depth and distance, thus the turn pressure to maintain adequate reserve and finish dive with at least 500lbs.
3. Pre-dive buddy gear checks.
4. Get in water, swim to descent point, descend.
5. Bubble check and compare air pressures before leaving the initial descent point.
6. Have fun!

 

[Blackwood]

^^ I dive 90% of the time with people who have the same training as I (and actually in most cases are people with whom I trained), so I have the same levity when it comes to communication, etc..



The level of planning depends on the dive. If it's just another day at the beach, we'll talk max depth and where/what we want to do.

If it's something more challenging, we'll talk primary deco schedule, team roles, turn pressure, whatever.



We do gear and bubble checks as a matter of course, and I don't consider that part of planning.

 

[Teamcasa]

It's a sliding scale.

The complexity and meticulousness of the plan increases with the depth and type of dive plus the familiarity of the site and my dive buddy.
When my wife and I spend the afternoon diving the Casino Dive Park, Catalina Island, our plan usually is buddy check of gear, I say “Let’s head down to this or that feature and look around”. Her reply is “Fine with me, I’ll follow you.”

Now if the dive is with new people, on a unfamiliar site and the features are +80 fsw, then the plan is more detailed, the buddy checks are more through that include safety gear familiarization, hand/light signals, leader/follower position, turn gas pressures, compass headings, and what if scenarios.

I’m sure that a dive to 400 fsw, in some remote location, on a wreck that is unknown the dive plan may take months to complete.