Is 130 ft too deep?

[pediatron]

Hi all. My husband and I will be diving in Belize and staying on the Lighthouse atoll in December. One of the dives he is really looking forward to is the Blue Hole. It seems to be one of those once in a lifetime type of dives, but I am a bit nervous. I have done about 30 dives with the deepest around 115 ft. I really would hate to miss out on this opportunity (I doubt we will be back to Belize any time soon). But -- I promised myself I wouldn't take any significant chances diving (2 kids at home I really need to come back to!). Is this a risky dive????

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Hi all. My husband and I will be diving in Belize and staying on the Lighthouse atoll in December. One of the dives he is really looking forward to is the Blue Hole. It seems to be one of those once in a lifetime type of dives, but I am a bit nervous. I have done about 30 dives with the deepest around 115 ft. I really would hate to miss out on this opportunity (I doubt we will be back to Belize any time soon). But -- I promised myself I wouldn't take any significant chances diving (2 kids at home I really need to come back to!). Is this a risky dive????

EVERY dive is risky. It's a matter of minimizing and accepting the risk. Is there something @ 130 feet that you can't see at 50, 100, 75? Dive to whatever depth (within your experience and training) that YOU feel comfortable.

 

[Wendy]

Just because the blue hole is deep doesn't mean you need to dive deep. If you only have ow cert you should really stay within your training and your limits of 60' or less. AOW depth limit is 130'. At deeper depths you will be victim to narcosis, which isn't really fun. There is no reason you can't do this dive and stay at 60'. You will learn that 2 important things in diving is to never go beyond your training and your comfort level. I think you even bring up this question here means that you are not 100% comfortable, in my opinion, don't do it then. Whatever you decide be safe. A vacation is nice, diving is great, but its not anythign worth getting hurt over or worse, die over.

 

[RIDIVER501]

I have done the blue hole 4 times now. It is an awesome dive. But Like Green said do what you feel comfortable with.

The Bull sharks are incredible. and if you do go down deep you can see the stalagmites and stalagtites they are at the 130 to 140 mark.

you will have an awesome time. Enjoy

 

[MikeFerrara]

The only one who can answer that one is you. How good are you? That's something to answer for yourself of course and not for me. How good is your buddy? Do you know how much gas to reserve for both of you to be able to ascend on one tank if needed? I haven't been there but I don't think the bottom is at 130 ft. Can you hold your depth with no bottom under you? Can you do it while managing a problem? Can you do it while replacing a mask that some one might kick off? A free flow? a stuck inflator?

Just some things to think about.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Just because the blue hole is deep doesn't mean you need to dive deep. If you only have ow cert you should really stay within your training and your limits of 60' or less. AOW depth limit is 130'. At deeper depths you will be victim to narcosis, which isn't really fun. There is no reason you can't do this dive and stay at 60'. You will learn that 2 important things in diving is to never go beyond your training and your comfort level. I think you even bring up this question here means that you are not 100% comfortable, in my opinion, don't do it then. Whatever you decide be safe. A vacation is nice, diving is great, but its not anythign worth getting hurt over or worse, die over.

Actually the max depth allowed on a PADI AOW deep dive is 100 ft.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Why not go on a deep dive refresher or get some training.........really the best way. If something goes wrong, it's way more interesting at 130ft, than at 60ft.

 

[MSilvia]

Yeah, if you want to get the most out of that dive, you'll probably want to get deep enough to see the stalagtites. With 30 dives though... well, you're right to be concerned.

If you can get more training in deep diving, are willing to dive that deep on air (which may be all that's available on a recreational dive charter), and feel you and your buddy can comfortably deal with potential problems while surrounded by sharks and narced in the deepest water you've ever been in, I'd say go for it. If not, there are a ton of other good sites down there that aren't nearly so risky. Either way, I'd try to get in some practice dives before you go.

 

[RIDIVER501]

Actually the max depth allowed on a PADI AOW deep dive is 100 ft.

Correct:
Padi limits are:
60 ft OW diver
100 ft AOW diver
130 ft Deep Diver Specialty certified

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I haven't been there but I don't think the bottom is at 130 ft. Can you hold your depth with no bottom under you? Can you do it while managing a problem? Can you do it while replacing a mask that some one might kick off? A free flow? a stuck inflator?

Just some things to think about.

The bottom is something like 400 feet.

I don't like how this dive gets marketed ... basically as an opportunity to push your limits.

Some dive operators make it a planned decompression dive ... taking people down with very little diving experience, and no training beyond basic Open Water, bringing them up on the DM's octopus (because they ran out of air at depth), and putting them on a hang bar for several minutes breathing off a spare cylinder while trusting a computer to tell them when their deco obligation expires.

Another question to ask yourself is if you will even have enough air to go to 130 feet and come back up safely? If you don't know how to find out, perhaps you shouldn't go.

When I was down there, one of the tourist divers "got away" ... meaning that he sank beyond the depth where a DM was willing to go after him. They never recovered his body.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)