Making a dive plan?

[drm]

Who is actually making a definitive dive plan before they go diving? Do you just talk about the dive before going or do you write down a plan and review it before getting wet? How extensive are your dive plans? Do you feel it's necessary to have a dive plan before every dive? Are some dives so common/obvious for you that a dive plan is not necessary? How do you decide?

Just trying to get a pulse on the dive community's dive planning procedures.

Dave
www.divingindepth.com

 

[RumBum]

My idea of a dive plan =
(before leaving house) "we are going to dive -insert location-. Find entry point. We may have to park here and carry our gear to the entry point."
(upon arriving) "it looks like a nice day. Let's go down to 50'. we will start out on a western heading. When we get tired of that we will turn south and go check out that thing over there. Don't forget -insert other location specific hazards or whatnot here-"
"Do you have everything? Do I have everything? Let's go!"

of course, my buddy is my hubby. If I were diving with a stranger we would probably go over hand signals too.

 

[timle]

well I don't have alot of dives but I have a plan for each one with my buddy. Now we dove Bridge Span 14 off of Panama City in Florida and the plan was simply: swim around the bridge looking at coral and fish, first one to reach 1000PSI signal the other and procede to the ascent line and make a 3 minute safety stop at 15ft.

Heck at the local quarry which is tiny and shallow we have a plan like swim out to the school bus have a look around at 1000PSI head back to shore.

 

[String]

If its a deep site or any sort of unknown site we generally go through the whole plan making process.

If its one of the usual sites we dize dozens of times a year or more its a lot quicker as its pretty much "same as usual". That doesnt mean there is no plan simply that its the same as we normally use. If taking someone inexperienced with the site or diving then again, the plan is highlighted fully for their own benefit.

The most important thing with a plan here is to let the boat handler know it. Maximum dive time, marker buoy procedures and so on so they know what to expect and when to get worried.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Who is actually making a definitive dive plan before they go diving? Do you just talk about the dive before going or do you write down a plan and review it before getting wet? How extensive are your dive plans? Do you feel it's necessary to have a dive plan before every dive? Are some dives so common/obvious for you that a dive plan is not necessary? How do you decide?

Just trying to get a pulse on the dive community's dive planning procedures.

Dave
www.divingindepth.com

It really depends on the dive. For most recreational dives, the plan needs to include not much more than how deep you want to go and how long you want to stay down. You should also make sure you're clear on buddy communications, separation plan, and turn pressure. It's a pretty informal thing, once you get used to doing it.

For more complex dives, there may also be contingency plans, "shore" support ... even support divers, gas consumption calculations, and even a written "schedule" for how long you plan to stay at what depth (multi-level dives). These are typically things that one does for technical diving ... but I have done these things for some more aggressive recreational dives as well.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If it's a familiar site we just get general outline down and follow it. If a new buddy or something out of the ordinary then it get detailed. Deep dives and dives for specific objectives such as a navigation exercise or search and recovery exercise get the whole treatment. Depths, times, headings, turnarounds, equipment familiarization if needed with new people, and documentation.

 

[Charlie99]

I find that a short discussion on mutual expectations is important when diving with new buddies. Things like...

pace of the dive. Where we will be just be swimming along at transit speed vs poking along looking in nooks and crannies. Macro photography or just snapping photos of interesting stuff on the way?

buddy position. Side by side preferred. Preferred buddy distances when transiting, ascending, and poking around.

to facilitate side by side buddy positioning, the dive leader will signal inobvious direction changes

non-lead diver can alway call for a stop or a diversion to something of interest

lost contact procedure.

Desired exit point vs. acceptable exit points. Can we abort and surface at any point in the dive?

Discussion of relevant experience and preferences, such as preferred method of surf entry.

What in particular would they like to see? Is seeing a turtle/eel/octopus a big deal or a ho-hum?
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All of the above are covered, but it's more like an informal chat and meeting of the minds rather than a formal brief.

 

[morris0352]

The only real plan I make is...The general azimuth we'll take going out, how far we'll go out, what the emergency azimuth is back to the shore, What happens if we get seperated. Other than that, we just dive until we run out of air. Pretty simple, we don't dive to a certain depth we just go as deep as we feel, not necessarily the safest choice, but it works for me.

Kyle

 

[SStrecker]

I agree with most of the previous posts. However, I place heavy emphasis on three items: projected maximum depth, maximum dive time and the area (range) being covered. Everything else impacts the gear selected and the general descriptiveness of the resulting competed log entry.

 

[paulwall]

It's also a good idea, when diving with new buddies, to go over hand signals. I tried to do an air check once, and got a signal to steal 3rd base! I had no Idea what the guy was trying to tell me, so grabbed his gauge (which showed he had PLENTY of air) I guess that's what "stealing third" means. If using light signals on a night dive, go over those as well.