Lessons learned from first time boat dives in Monterey Bay, CA

[live_2_dive]

Bill, you have put your finger on a problem with the diving world. The people who are leading are frequently barely out of follower status. I think the best you can do is ask how long the person has been functioning as a guide/instructor, and how long and frequently they have been diving in the environment where you are asking them to help you.

To be brutally honest with you, a great many dive professionals would not pass the entry-level class for the agency I work with.

now I have to ask the question, what agency is that? (not trying to dispute your claim in any way, just curious )


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PADI Rescue/DM 09100Z7445
Dr Dive/Wet Dream/Sea Cobra/Y-Knot

Diving is my passion...I live to dive!

 

[Adobo]

What should we ask for? I mean, what would people consider "good" credentials for an instructor to teach OW thru, say, Master Scuba Diver or something. Is there a different set of credentials for cold water?

When I go out on a dive to somewhere I have never been before, especially if it's cold water, we usually ask for a dive guide. What credentials should we seek in that situation?

Thanks!

Bill

With regards to what credentials to seek in a dive guide, I guess the question is, what do you need him or her to do?

If all you need from a guide is to show you around in a site that is unfamiliar to you, then it seems to me that you will want someone who has a lot of knowledge about the local dive sites. For example, someone who knows things such as:

• what the good dive spots are
• when a good time would be to visit those spots
• interesting things to look for
• hazards that are present in the specific sites you are considering

In my mind, this is all we as certified divers should ever ask of and expect from dive guides.

If you need a dive master who will keep you "safe" because your knowledge, experience and training are not sufficient for a dive you want to go on, you will want someone who:

• will insist that you not go on that dive
• will refer you to a competent instructor that will provide you the knowledge and teach you the skills to keep yourself safe on dives such as the one that you want to go on
• point you to the nearest dive site that is within your current ability to plan an execute without needing someone else to keep you safe

 

[Canyondreamer]

Doing a boat dive as your first dive in cold salt water is, in my opinion, most definitely an error in judgment. Personally, I would extend this to say that getting on a boat as your first dive to an environment that requires completely different exposure protection is sketchy at best. Meaning, if you are a cold water diver and you are going to dive the tropics the first time, it is probably not that wise to do a 100ft wall dive of a boat until you've got your weighting figured out.

I like to sort out my weighting requirements in a reasonably benign dive (which usually means a shallow shore dive in a protected area) before I jump on a boat..........

For me, this is the most meaningful reply post, and the one we all, including future newbies to Monterey diving, can learn the most from.

As mentioned, we did 2 shore dives from Cannery Row the following day, and those 2 dives had all the benefits Adobo mentioned, so that if we had done those before the boat dives, at least the (under) weighting would not have been a problem on the boat dive, and the suit, vis, surf, temperature etc. would have been tested in a much less presured setting. Thus, for divers new to Monterey Bay diving with limited experience like what I have, I can warmly endorse doing a day of shore dives first.

I do find it quite depressing, that despite my body and me working great as a team when we go only as a pair (tropical/local lakes), hiring a DM, usually because we acknowledge our unfamiliarity with the dive area we are going to, seems almost counterproductive as it despite us trying to resist it, does put pressure on us to deviate from our basic training as exemplified in my posts here (and, sadly, my very first post as well!). It is problematic to recognize, that rather than going with a DM who supervises more divers then the 2 of us, we may be safer if going without, as the rules and responsibilities then are clear, though we may get less out of the dive. If you have accepted to be lead by a DM (and have paid big bucks for the pleasure), it is not easy for even "advanced beginners" to blatantly ignore the DM instructions as that for sure would create it's own confusion and discord.

But clearly, the lesson that has now been driven home with railroad spikes in this thread, is never to deviate from the primary buddy-buddy responsibility, DM or no DM, botched dive or no dive - and to make this clear to the DM - should we ever hire one in the future - up-front.

(I do not want to name the Boat Diving outfit as this is about our obvious mistakes - not theirs - but given a very pleasant shore-dive experience from Cannery Row the following day I have no problem naming that outfit as a recommendation: Monterey Bay Dive Charters w/Jim (owner) and Doug (DM) both diving with us. They took good care of us, let us take our time and let my son and me stay buddies!)

 

[Ben_ca]

body or buddy/buddies?

 

[Bob DBF]

Bill, you have put your finger on a problem with the diving world. The people who are leading are frequently barely out of follower status.

I think this is one of the first ones you missed. The actual problem is that divers are trained to be leaders and followers not self sufficient dive buddy teams.



Bob
-----------------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

---------- Post Merged at 08:09 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:53 AM ----------

Reading this thread makes me realize I really need to get down to Monterey and get on a boat.
Monterey conditions are nice and the boats are great.

Going to Monterey is a relief from some of the conditions we have to endure up here on the north coast.

Going to Southern California is my version of a poor mans tropical dive vacation.

I must admit that falling off a boat sure beats hauling gear hundreds of yards, down a cliff, across slimey rocks, swimming through boa kelp, making a long surface swim, and then having to bring a shovel if you want to dive more than 70'. It is not all be like that but...
God, I love it!!

As for tropical, the guys on the Peace don't bother to tell me my jacket zipper is down anymore.



Bob
-------------------------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[Dive Tigger]

I just want to say thanks for posting this story for us! I hope you don't feel too "beaten up" by the feedback - it's obvious that everyone here wants your future dive experiences to be awesome ones. Cold water diving (boat or otherwise) is fantastic but it is challenging and you are right, your mishaps could have turned out far worse. Good luck with the next adventure!

 

[SeahorseDeb]

For me, this is the most meaningful reply post, and the one we all, including future newbies to Monterey diving, can learn the most from.

As mentioned, we did 2 shore dives from Cannery Row the following day, and those 2 dives had all the benefits Adobo mentioned, so that if we had done those before the boat dives, at least the (under) weighting would not have been a problem on the boat dive, and the suit, vis, surf, temperature etc. would have been tested in a much less presured setting. Thus, for divers new to Monterey Bay diving with limited experience like what I have, I can warmly endorse doing a day of shore dives first.

(I do not want to name the Boat Diving outfit as this is about our obvious mistakes - not theirs - but given a very pleasant shore-dive experience from Cannery Row the following day I have no problem naming that outfit as a recommendation: Monterey Bay Dive Charters w/Jim (owner) and Doug (DM) both diving with us. They took good care of us, let us take our time and let my son and me stay buddies!)

Canyon thanks for the heads up on diving Monterey. I just wanted to add 200psi to this thread for learning purposes. I recertified OW after being out of the water way too long in 2008, and after over 70 dives I went back for my AOW. I dive cold fresh water in Washington and do both boat and shore diving in Puget Sound and Hood Canal. The waters don't usually get as choppy as the open ocean, but diving Monterey is on my bucket list!! However, boarding a boat out on rough seas is something I have not done before. So I would approach this with alot of questions from the dive boat operator(s). I know the operators can usually make their predictions based on the weather, tide and currents. What do I need to know if the waves pick up while we are diving and we surface to some serious choppy water with the boat bouncing up and down?? (I assume we dont go too close to the boat until we are told to do so by the crew) I've been on the boat when it's making people sick, but the chop wasnt so bad I would need a hoist to board the boat.

Also,, can u pin down the specific area of Cannery Row so I can use my tide app?? I also want to research the entry and local area.

Thanks!

 

[Adam S]

I joied SB just to ask you to please post Dive #3! I've got limited experience and have been on a long hiatus, and will be doing my first Monterey dives soon (I'm from SoCal, recently relocated to NorCal). I'm going thru a complete OW course again as a "refresher" before getting in the water, but by all accounts I'll still be a newbie when the time comes. Your tales are quite useful, and your one about the kelp would be much appreciated.

 

[billt4sf]

The actual problem is that divers are trained to be leaders and followers not self sufficient dive buddy teams.
Bob

Bob I agree with you more than with my earlier comment.

I am surprised that DMs and instructors don't necessarily have tons of experience. How do you find an instructor that's a bit above the norm?

 

[gcarter]

I am a little surprised at the blanket statements about it being *always* wiser to do a shore dive first - I have never dived Monterey, don't know the conditions, but the statements being made are not just specific to that locale.

There is nothing wrong with doing a boat dive first. I have done shore dives where entry & exit was SIGNIFICANTLY more taxing than some of the boat dives I have done. Surge & surf can be very difficult, not unusual to be more taxng than climbing a boat ladder.

OTOH, boat dives CAN be much less stressful. No lugging your gear a distance to the water - and back again.

My OW dives were all done as boat dives, hard bottoms in the 10m - 15m range, flat seas.

It is the conditions that matter, is it not?

I really dislike reading blanket statements.