How would you prepare a new OW diver for 80' and drift dives?

[diver 85]

What does your instructor say about it??..You can ask for all the advice here you want to, & no matter how smart everyone thinks they are, they have no idea how well you & your wife did in OW classes.......Only someone with experience can tell you if ya'll are qualified to go(for it)....My guess(guess only now) is ya'll will have have no problems.....Please, please keep one thing in mind, this isn't rocket science or neuro-brain surgeon testing ya'll just passed-12 & younger do what ya'll are getting ready to do, think about that statement....good luck, man it's a great sport- sit back, relax, & enjoy it.......you'll kick yourself for not taking it up 10, 20 or more years earlier........

 

[ZenSquirrel]

#1 is a loaded question.

How many new OW divers even know that a BC can fail, or that there can be a downcurrent coming over the edge of a wall or are prepared to have a complete stranger come up from their blind side and mug them for their primary?

I agree that any of that could happen. But I've never seen any posts about somebody dying b/c they got caught in a down current. I've heard a couple of stories about BC's failing, but that is also a truly exceptional event. I'll argue that a very, very small percentage of divers are actually "ready" for these kinds of events. No matter who it happens to or when it happens it is still going to be stressful.

I was on a night dive in low (5-10 ft ) vis and had somebody come up on my blind spot looking for air. I had less than 30 dives at the time. I got them on air, got the groups attention and we went up. Not all new divers are helpless. It helped that I tend to focus under pressure instead of panic. It helped that the other diver was as calm as soon as they got my air. It can be done.

The reason new divers are recommended to stay shallow is that if the **** hits the fan and they follow their primary instinct of bolting to the surface, they'll probably live.

Every foot of additional depth reduces the time available to handle emergencies, makes the diver more narced and makes a bolt to the surface less likely to be sucessful.

Terry

I agree. There are many good reasons for staying above 60 feet. I don't think that "because the book said so" is one of them. You can never know for sure how you react to a situation like that until it happens but you can get clues. And if you start to get clues that you can handle it then you can trust that.

I'm certified, my wife is not. Wife thought that she wanted to dive but didn't know for sure. So we went on a snorkel trip that goes near the dive site I wanted to hit. She loved it. I looked into a "resort course" for her that went to the same spot. But their policy was to load them up on a boat, go to the dive site, pull the tourist down and make them follow the DM. No pool training, no class time. I said, "No freaking way." Because even if there was class and pool work, I know that my wife would not be comfortable going out on a boat and just droping down into 40-50 feet of water. She tends to bolt.

Instead, we got her into a course that did some class and pool work and then went on an easy 15 foot shore dive. She didn't make the dive. She didn't like being 2.5 feet under water kneeling on the bottom of a pool, let alone being in the ocean.

I'm just saying that you have to take people on a case-by-case basis.

 

[Web Monkey]

you *DO* realize that the depth limit to basic open water cert is either 120 or 130 feet depending on the agency right? That 60 foot limit is a suggestion. It's suggested for a reason, but there's no reason a diver can't progress thier own limits slowly and comfortably as they dive.

Do you understand difference between the highest numbers on your dive table and the maximum recommended depth for OW?

I am unaware of any agency that recommends that an OW diver with 9 dives go to 120' or 130'.

Terry

 

[Scott in AK]

Wow!
Ya have to wonder sometimes.
I am reading this and it seams that the ppl with under 100 or so dives are all for you doing it. Yet the divers with over 100 or so dives are warning you to dive alot more before you try it. Just because diver X with 35 logged dives dit a 90fsw drift at dive # 7 and " it was no big deal" does not mean that it's safe.

Listen, learn and LIVE.

 

[fire_diver]

Do you understand difference between the highest numbers on your dive table and the maximum recommended depth for OW?

I am unaware of any agency that recommends that an OW diver with 9 dives go to 120' or 130'.

Terry

I wasn't talking about *recommendations*. I was responding to another poster who was stating the *limits* of recreational diving. I also stated (earlier) that personal limits can be progressively expanded beyond the *recommended* beginning limit of 60 feet. Personally, I think most brand new divers shouldn't exceed 30 feet until they get a few of thier skills worked out.

Comrade Stroke

 

[Ocean One]

Fire Diver:
Think you missed my point. I don't care how deep a new diver goes. I was just trying to point out some of the possible consequences of going beyond what they are certified for no matter how deep that is!

 

[IrishAngel]

Lots of good advice so far in this thread.. I too advocate experience over numerous certifications.. but check with your dive operator, some may require AOL for deeper dives.

The good news is you're diving is in May... and you're diving weekly locally.. so you MAY be ready.. If not, the 80' - 100' drift wall dives will still be there on your next trip.

* Improved Air Consumption - Does your current SAC support a 80-100ft dive on a single AL80?
* Buoyancy Control -
* Ability to perform skills while neutral
* Experience with Local Drift diving
* Free Ascent / Descent without reference
* Whistle / Dive Alert - Safety Sausage - Mirror
* Experience with progressively deeper dives.
* MUTUAL Comfort level..
* Practice Emergency procedures
* Dive Planning.. What should we do if ??? and when the unexpected happens... Start your discussion now.. The answers for 20-30 fsw might not be the answers for 80-100 fsw.. To start..
-- Low on Air
-- Out of Air
-- One of you becomes severely narc'd
-- Fin loss
-- Mask flood / mask knocked off
-- Separated from each other / the group / the boat
-- reg knocked out

Plan your dive.. Dive your plan.. Know & respect your limits.. Any diver can call any dive for any reason.. Be Safe.. Have Fun !!

Alternatives..
-- Shallower drift dives
-- Deeper dives with a rock bottom and no current
-- Wall dives with you staying higher up on the wall

 

[Xman]

...snip...
Here is how you figure out if you should go on a dive.
"Do you have a good understanding of the skills that you will need for this dive?"
"Do you think you can do those skills?"
"Does it sound like fun?"

If the answer to those questions is "Yes" then you are probably good to go.
...snip...

Personally, I disagree with your list of three. I would replace the second with:
"Are you willing to bet your life on being able to carry out those skills when stressed and task loaded".

I would add in another before the third :
"Are you (and your loved ones) willing to accept the risk vs benefit/enjoyment of the dive".

And lastly, like another poster, I would suggest that at 9 (or with 4 dives a weekend till then, 35 or so) dives, a diver is not in a sufficiently aware position for your first question to be meaningful.
************************************************
As for the original poster, I would suggest that you get some supervised experience of drift diving and diving to the depth you intend to dive to, before your trip. You need to be confident in your gas management and safety skills. I. like others, would suggest that you stick shallower for now, but if you do decide to dive to 80 ft then give yourself the benefit of some training/experience before hand (and no, it doesn't have to lead to a card).

 

[Tigerman]

Personally I had two dives that by PADI standards was considered deep dives before I took AOW, but I did both with an instructor as my buddy (the same i did OW and AOW with). I simply didnt want to go deep without someone qualified to take me deep, for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread.

I would not take my first deep dive as the same dive as my first drift dive..

 

[DiveDiva_Ashley]

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I agree that this is not really a good situation you are putting yourself and your wife into. What new divers so often fail to keep in perspective is the fact that diving is a matter of life and death. Every dive has the potential to be our last, especially if we are inexperienced and aren't sure of how our body will react in certain situations. I am not saying that you will most definatly have problems, but the likelihood of you having problems is much higher than if you had more experience under your belt. Sometimes, things we'd least expect to happen to us do and as a new diver, you may not be ready for some of those things. This could be a potentially fatal situation depending on how deep you are when things do go wrong and how close your instructor is to you at the time.
It sounds like you've already booked and decided to take your chances on this, but I would recommend that you at least look into hiring a private instructor or dm to go down with the two of you. Explain to that person that you are inexperienced and want that peace of mind. They will be able to watch you and help you- *help* ensure that little problems don't add up to a big problem. They can't prevent everything thing bad from happening, but their experience will sure help if things start to go sour. Practice your skills as much as you can between now and then- mask recovery, hose recovery, buddy breathing, etc. so that you are so good you can do them with your eyes closed. Those skills are the bare basics of diving and will help you in your future as well as for this trip. And when you come back, if you intend to keep doing dives like these, I would recommend finding a great instructor (ask around your dive community to see who has had whom and what they learned from them) to take AOW with. I know that some say it's just plastic, but having a good instructor share their years of experience with you is invaluable and will extremely benefit you. I'd sure rather learn from other's mistakes than make my own while I'm 100 feet underwater. Be careful and have fun, but not so much that you forget to watch your air. It is all too easy to get distracted and forget to watch it, which can also lead to huge problems (esp. that deep).
Hope you have a great (and safe) trip!