NDL

[SeaJay]

jonnythan once bubbled...

Can't we just make MA, CT, and RI sink into the coast?

Hahahahaaa! You know, I've been in those States... And frankly, I wouldn't miss them. <ducking and running in a zigzag pattern>

I'd be up for that if NY was a reasonable distance from Charleston.

Whoops... My bad again. I read that you were three hours from CHARLESTON. Man, we've got to stop meeting like this.

I haven't bothered getting Nitrox certified yet because I'm too cheap to spend $11 on a tank fill when a $3.50 one will do.

You're lucky that it's even available to you. I wish it was here.

There are no divers Upstate, much less any instructors experienced and educated enough to "mentor." It's like pulling teeth trying to get anyone local to me to go diving.

I know exactly how you feel... I think that possibly with the exception of Florida, that's the consistent attitude everywhere. That's why Scubaboard's so special.

Yeah, it IS like pulling teeth, isn't it? Crazy... Don' make no sense, bo.

That's why I created the website. I was hoping that it would pull together our local dive community and get us all in the water. It's been successful in ways I couldn't have imagined, and it's been a complete failure in all the ways that I DID imagine.

Weird.

 

[SeaJay]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

Seajay you continue to insist on making everything about you.

You are not interested in learning only in rattling on about... who knows... whatever pops into your head...

I'm not interested in you or your desire to be a... who knows... whatever pops into your head.

I've had enough already... think I'll go find another forum where there are divers who want to talk about diving.

Instead of a 160 WPM typist who wants to discuss himself.

You know, Pug, some days I wonder why I like you so much. At least you're straightforward, I guess.

Last I looked, we were talking about diving and training for diving. If you don't see it that way, then whatever.

As I recall, Pug, my name was mentioned several times before I ever even placed my first post in this thread. It's not about me... It's about the dive. It's just that it was me who took it. Let's instead talk about YOUR mistakes, UP. Certainly with all of your dive skills and education, you've made some doozies... Got enough guts to share?

But if you feel that "it's all about SeaJay," then so be it. I don't think I can change your feelings about me, then.

 

[O-ring]

SeaJay once bubbled...


You know, Pug, some days I wonder why I like you so much. At least you're straightforward, I guess.

Last I looked, we were talking about diving and training for diving. If you don't see it that way, then whatever.

As I recall, Pug, my name was mentioned several times before I ever even placed my first post in this thread. It's not about me... It's about the dive. It's just that it was me who took it. Let's instead talk about YOUR mistakes, UP. Certainly with all of your dive skills and education, you've made some doozies... Got enough guts to share?

But if you feel that "it's all about SeaJay," then so be it. I don't think I can change your feelings about me, then.

Do a search for his anchored boat stories (I think that's what they were called). I lost a buddy in a three man team a couple weeks ago and dove EAN32 to 130' once.

That should hold you for a while..

 

[SeaJay]

I'd never read those before. I could only find a couple, but they're pretty enlightening.

They explain a lot about Uncle Pug. Which explains a lot, in general, about Scubaboard.

And I find that much more interesting than the actual stories themselves.

UP, I think they're too short, bud. (Just kidding.)

 

[Cave Diver]

SeaJay once bubbled...
2. Time to take a vacation and learn nitrox. Then do it again with advanced. There's deco theory in advanced? I'm talking PADI stuff here, right?

Y'all don't like the Hal Watts Deep Air thing then, eh? Certainly there's deco in that class, and it's all about 21% - exactly what's available to me.

Then I think it's time for me to purchase a few tanks... Maybe half a dozen of them... All nitrox tanks. Then, I can make the trip to Charleston or Savannah and get them filled, and it won't feel like a wasted trip.

Then, the next time I do a 100' dive, I've got the right gas and a longer bottom time.

Guess it's time to get an Explorer wing and a manifold or three, eh? And a second first stage.

There goes my bank account. Oh well.

Skip the PADI course and try to find someone that offers IANTD.

I started out as PADI BOW, AOW, and Rescue. I took a IANTD nitrox course during the same time period as my AOW.

Later, after I had taken IANTD Advanced nitrox, I took the PADI Nitrox course. The reason I took another nitrox course was because I was sitting in on the class with a friend, and the instructor giving the class was another friend. Instead of just sitting in, I decided to participate.

The instructor teaching the PADI Nitrox course is one of my regular dive buddies and was also my partner when I took the IANTD Advanced nitrox.

After the class, we both felt that the PADI course was lacking compared to the IANTD standards. The information that PADI put out was often confusing and my other buddy taking the class would likely have had a hard time with it if not for the "extra" coaching that me and the instructor gave him based on what we already knew.

I have also sat in on a couple of NAUI classes. They seem to be structured better than the PADI class, but IMHO, the IANTD was still more informative. In fact, I gave the NAUI instructor a laminated handout that I made for myself based on IANTD materials to use in his class. That handout simplified the formulas for his students. He since told me that made several concepts much easier for many of his students to grasp.

I also know all three of the instructors personally, and am familiar with their teaching styles. I think this allows me to give an unbiased opinion on which agency offered the best course. For my money, I'd stick with IANTD.

As far as the equipment and cost go, yup, you need to pretty much be prepared to step up a little more. Everytime I think I have all the gear I need, I find myself needing one more regulator, one more deco bottle, one more SPG, one more...

 

[bwerb]

Seajay,

This is a bulletin board, not a chat room. How does incessantly talking about anything except the posted topic of the thread help? It doesn't...it takes up bandwidth and tries everyones patience...look at who is posting and more interestingly, look at who ISN'T posting with any frequency on SB anymore...ever wonder why? Sometimes it's best to listen and not be heard.

Quick Star Wars reference: STAY ON TARGET, STAY ON TARGET!

Oh...mistakes...yeah I make lots of them...
Lost a buddy from a three person team last weekend. Ascended too quickly and set off major alarms, wound up in a ferry lane due to current, buddy lost a mask, almost dropped a tank for not wetting my cam bands...I could go on but that isn't the topic so I'll save it for a thread about diving mistakes.

 

[GeekDiver]

Speaking of training my LDS is prepairing to get into PADI's DSAT Tec course. From the sounds of it the course trains you in basic Extended range with nitrox for accelerated deco. The Course is set to train for depths up to 150'.

Has any one been through/conducted the course or have any thought about it.

http://padi.com/english/common/courses/tec/tecdeepdiver.asp


The DSAT Tec Deep Diver course takes you past recreational diving and immerses you in the world of technical diving

What do I need to start?

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
PADI Enriched Air Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
PADI Deep Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
Have a minimum of 100 logged dives of which 20 must be enriched air dives, 25 dives must be deeper than 18 metres/60 feet and at least 15 dives must be deeper than 30 metres/100 feet
Minimum age: 18 years old

What will I do?

After successful completion of the DSAT Tec Deep Diver course you'll be able to conduct gas-switch extended no-decompression dives, decompression dives and accelerated decompression dives using air and enriched air to a depth of 50 metres/165 feet. You'll also understand the hazards and risks involved in technical diving, as well as how to prepare for and handle reasonable foreseeable technical diving emergencies

 

[MikeFerrara]

SeaJay once bubbled...
[B
...So let me ask y'all this... If PADI says that a couple hundred dives ago I was ready for a 100', non-penetration wreck dive, what authority do you have to say that I am not ready for that?

[/B]

It's not a matter of authority. The math shows that a 100 ft square profile with standard rec gear is pretty marginal. Past that, the NDL's get really short and so does the gas supply. These dives just put you in a position with no time or gas to play with. Dipping down to 100 ft and working your way up along a reef or whatever is way different than a nearly square profile wreck.

As far as PADI's authority on deep diving, there are literally volumes written on what they didn't tell you about it.

I hope no one calls this flogging. LOL

 

[MikeFerrara]

Another thread thats not worth the time.

see ya

 

[Scuba Chip]

I've had the good fortune to have been on many liveaboards, from Africa all the way over to the Solomons (going back there in Sept). I have never seen a liveaboard do 7 dives a day, not even 6. Five is the max! There just isn't enough time for more. What with moving the boat from dive site to dive site, dive briefings to give, getting divers into and out of the water, bottom times, deco/safety stop time, refilling tanks, surface intervals, etc. Not to mention meal times. It just doesn't happen.

Typically there are 2 AM dives, 2 PM dives, and then a night dive.
If the waters have lots of current and/or little protection, there may not be a night dive for fear of losing divers as they surface at night. When doing some heavy tech diving - like repetitive OC staged decompression, or repetitive rebreather dives - there may be only 3 or 4 dives in a given day. I am not interested in how many dives I get in. I am interested in the quality of the dive experience. Using a computer is NOT gong to save You.
I have been on trips where people have gotten bent (not me!) within acceptable expsoure limits, people have died (obviously not me), and people have come damned close to drowning (no, that wasn't I, either). The approach YOU take to diving determines whether or not YOU end up in one of these situations. It's YOUR attitude that will DO YOU IN. It's like driving and maintaining a car, versus flying and maintaining a plane. The latter requires more education, and more attention to the details. IMHO, it is the same with diving. Push it, and sooner or later it'll push back!