Inexperienced diver going to Micronesia

[Micronesiaquestions]

Hi, I am going to Micronesia shortly. (A few days each on Pohnpei and Yap, then a week on Palau.) I'm a very inexperienced diver... Certified over 10 years ago and have probably only done 7 or 8 dives total, most recently about 9 years ago.

Needless to say, I'd really like to dive while on my trip but after reading some of the descriptions of diving conditions it sounds like most sites are really best suited to advanced divers? Unfortunately I don't have time to take a refresher course before I leave. I'm wondering if people are familiar with dive operations there and how amenable they are to working with very inexperienced divers? And how difficult the conditions really are? Also, maybe there is some reading material I could brush up on during my (incredibly long) flight? Appreciate any input!

 

[Banyan]

In Palau at least, the dive operation seemed to sort divers by rough levels of experience (though it wasn't announced) and keep the inexperienced divers away from the dives with really strong currents. That said, the inexperienced group also started a dive by dropping down to 110' in a hole and going through a large cave for a couple minutes to get to an opening in the reef wall, which is not something I consider particularly newbie-friendly. Established dive operations with many divers on a boat will also have two dive guides - with the backup guide inevitably having to go up early with some new diver who sucked down all their air. You shouldn't be under any illusion that you're not going to an advanced dive location - even the dives without strong currents (or downcurrents) tend to have a lot of neat stuff to look and not to have bottoms, so you have to keep track of your depth and air, and not just follow the ocean bottom or the pretty fish as so many brand new divers do.

During my visit in Palau I met quite a few divers who had gotten their open water cert and gotten straight on a plane for a diving vacation. These were also the divers who had no sense of their buoyancy and seemed to think it was OK to stand on coral formations while posing for pictures and went through their air so fast I began to have safety concerns. I was truly astonished to see divers who ran their air so low that they just went on the guide's octo, rather than simply surfacing with their buddy and waiting for the boat to pick them up. The fact that divers aren't dying left and right despite themselves is proof (at least to me) that scuba is a spectacularly safe sport. Also, the fact that you recognize that you're an inexperienced diver puts you several steps ahead of a lot of people.

I would recommend the thread on how to use a reef hook that's stickied in this forum. I found it useful before my trip.

 

[Micronesiaquestions]

Thanks for your response. Hmm... I don't really want to be put in a situation where I'm uncomfortable, nor do I want to ruin dives for more experienced divers who've spent quite a bit of money and time to make it to Palau! Do you think it's feasible to hire almost like a private dive guide, at least at first until I get the hang of it again? I'm not crazy about the idea of diving with 18 other people and only one or two DMs...

 

[ScubaSaipan]

I just got back from Palau. Fish n Fins is a great dive operation. They never had more than about 6 people per DM and we had some very new divers. I highly recommend contacting them. They will make sure you're not outside your comfort zone.

 

[oly5050user]

Hi, I am going to Micronesia shortly. (A few days each on Pohnpei and Yap, then a week on Palau.) I'm a very inexperienced diver... Certified over 10 years ago and have probably only done 7 or 8 dives total, most recently about 9 years ago.

Needless to say, I'd really like to dive while on my trip but after reading some of the descriptions of diving conditions it sounds like most sites are really best suited to advanced divers? Unfortunately I don't have time to take a refresher course before I leave. I'm wondering if people are familiar with dive operations there and how amenable they are to working with very inexperienced divers? And how difficult the conditions really are? Also, maybe there is some reading material I could brush up on during my (incredibly long) flight? Appreciate any input!

You have maybe 4 dives done after your inital certification dives..Have not been in the water for 9 years.Not diving for 9 years and only having 4 dives after inital certification , so next to no experience..I would even suggest taking a ow course over again if you can get it done before the trip.
Diving in Micronesia can take you on some deep dives with current present and you most likely do not even own any gear,planning on renting it all....I would highly suggest at a minimum that you do some kind of refresher before you go on this trip.If you are located in NYC- metro area- pm me and I have 24/7 access to an indoor heated pool and can at least arrange a refresher session for you.

 

[cdoyal]

I concur. At LEAST get in the pool before you go and brush up on the basic skills. You won't regret it.

 

[Micronesiaquestions]

Yeah, the timing's unfortunate as I leave tomorrow. This was a very last minute thing. Thanks for the responses... Confirmed my suspicions that I should get some training in Pohnpei when I first arrive to make sure i'm more comfortable by the time I get to Palau. Thanks for everyone's contributions to the board... Have learned a lot by reading the posts!

 

[Travelnsj]

I've been diving with Sams for years in Palau and they have some great instructors. I've seen a couple of people get their final certification on the Blue Corner!...of course those days the current was not ripping but with the right instructor to give you refresher dives you should not have a problem!