I f*** up and I am ashamed

[BlueTrin]

@boulderjohn thanks it makes sense now

 

[Blackcrusader]

I was at the back and I followed even though I would not have if my wife was not in front of me. I could not see anything, could not see my DC because of the poor vis and did not see my wife.
Summary: I am stuck at a cave ceiling with 0 visibility, so shallow that I can't go down and I have lost sight of my wife and the DM.

Sing this song to yourself next time.

 

[Dody]

Except this thread is about you Dody. I understand you are very keen to get certifications. Personally I think you need more dives in different conditions before you went for your DM cert. Seems a bit rushed to me your training and even with that training you make very basic errors. Anyway you learn from your mistakes hopefully. I believe I was fortunate to have been in a BSAC club where 2 hour classes twice a week plus regular re-training / reviews of things you have learnt before were taught.

Maybe you should get into a club where you can dive regularly with more experienced divers. Try doing some night dives, they are easy and fun to do. You wrote you haven't done night dives yet? If you want to go diving and show a DM cert then operators expect that you know what you are doing, they expect you know when not to do an activity on a dive. Bring a dive torch on every dive as it can be used to signal people 10m away from you. Learn how to use the torch for different signals. This sort of thing a DM certified diver should know. Anyway enjoy your diving as I am doing very few dives this year.

I don’t agree on my motivation. In fact, I don’t care about C-cards. I want the knowledge and the experience. I am not a real DM if I don’t dive professionally, right? And I don’t. Let me give you an example. We had a planned shore dive yesterday but the sea was way too rough to get into the water and risky to get out because of rocks. I told the dive shop instructor that I wanted to dive in those conditions to learn and he said: ok. Let’s do that from the beach tomorrow (no rock). Everybody else refused the dive because it was clear that the viz would be crap. We just did it, just the Instructor and me. That was awful and awesome. Awful because the visibility was about one or two meters so very difficult for orientation and staying with your buddy. Very heavy surge. Going with the flow must really be natural.8 It was shallow, max 11 meters. We could not see the sea life. Impossible. I was not there for sealife anyway. Awesome because if I am able to feel comfortable in extreme situations, I will become a better diver and I will be able to react fast if it happens unexpectedly (for example, without a buddy line, I would have lost my buddy if I was only diving with my wife today). This is why I multiply experiences with seasoned diving professionals in 3 different diving shops. Not to have C Cards. This is why I plan to do introduction to Tech diving. I don’t want to be a tech diver. I just want the knowledge.

 

[Dody]

And the experience. But hey, my mark is only 91 today.

 

[ginti]

@Dody right mindset!

However, try other instructors and dive centres. This simple action will do so many things for you:
- to enhance your horizons dramatically (because you will deal with the perspectives of different people);
- to understand a lot better the training principles, and whether the one you received is good or not;
- to go out from your comfort zone, because you will dive with people you do not know and who do not know you;
- many more!

Also, do you ever dive without instructors/DMs? It's going to be perfect for you to dive with people with the same level/experience.

P.S. Pay attention to this:

I am not a real DM if I don’t dive professionally, right? And I don’t.

Some countries are highly regulated, like France So it doesn't matter what you do, but how the law sees you. In case of accidents, you may have serious issues even if you are NOT diving professionally, depending on regulations.

 

[Dody]

@Dody



Also, do you ever dive without instructors/DMs? It's going to be perfect for you to dive with people with the same level/experience.

P.S. Pay attention to this:


Some countries are highly regulated, like France .

I dived a dozen of times with just my wife in places that I already know. I have never dived with another buddy as two only divers. Not enough enthusiastic divers around here.

in France, they would not even recognize my SSI certification . OW, yes. AOW, probably but not even sure that they would accept Rescue .

 

[ginti]

I have never dived with another buddy as two only divers. Not enough enthusiastic divers around here.

It's a pity! but if there are no other options... well, continue like that!

in France, they would not even recognize my SSI certification . OW, yes. AOW, probably but not even sure that they would accept Rescue .

They would recognize any card from any agencies at dive centres. The story is different with dive clubs, but for sure, they know what OW, AOW and Rescue are. I'd say that most of the clubs also know the agency. There are agreements between CMAS federations and other agencies, so they are forced to accept your cards.

France was just an example. It is possible that many other countries are highly regulated, I just do not know. Maybe even Cape Verde (it is where you dive, isn't it?). Did you check the law?

 

[Dody]

It's a pity! but if there are no other options... well, continue like that!




They would recognize any card from any agencies at dive centres. The story is different with dive clubs, but for sure, they know what OW, AOW and Rescue are. I'd say that most of the clubs also know the agency. There are agreements between CMAS federations and other agencies, so they are forced to accept your cards.

France was just an example. It is possible that many other countries are highly regulated, I just do not know. Maybe even Cape Verde (it is where you dive, isn't it?). Did you check the law?

Scuba is not regulated in Cape Verde. There is not even a bathymetric chamber so in case of DCS, pure oxygen is the only treatment… or charter a private plane from abroad to go to Senegal if you survive the 24 hours it will take.

 

[boulderjohn]

in France, they would not even recognize my SSI certification . OW, yes. AOW, probably but not even sure that they would accept Rescue .

Here is one of many SSI scuba sites about diving in France. It would be foolish of them to provide diving instruction in a country that does not recognize them.

 

[Dody]

Here is one of many SSI scuba sites about diving in France. It would be foolish of them to provide diving instruction in a country that does not recognize them.

I think Agencies affiliated shops are fine. But the bulk of the clubs are national federation affiliated and consider that they own Scuba. For them, AOW is barely OW. DM is nothing if you are not deco and 60 meters certified. When French are arrogant, they are even worse than the Anglo-Saxons. I know. I am French. By the way, Cousteau was …