New Diver Questions

[boulderjohn]

At this dive in particular I had made it VERY clear before I booked, as i booked and after i booked that while I'm certified I am a novice and looking for a novice dive. I don't know why they chose to put me on a boat with expert divers and go to that site.

Some operators have a lot of trouble with this, either through incompetence or through a logistical problem. For a couple of years in Cozumel I used a dive operator that had a lot of boats and made a big deal about their policy of dividing groups up by ability. I saw them screw that up enough that I stopped using them. I was once on a boat in which every diver but one was a professional. The other was on his first dive after certification.

The logistical reason is that they might not have enough divers of a certain ability or enough boats to make good groups. Years ago I did an advanced Cozumel dive (the Devil's Throat) and discovered afterward that a young couple on the dive were on their first trip after certification. The operator only had two boats, the one with the less experienced one was full, so he put them on the boat going to the Devil's Throat. Last year I went with an operator for two days who had only one boat. The first day was great--everyone was very experienced. On the second day, one of the divers was such a beginner that the DM gave her a buoyancy lesson at the beginning of the first dive and then held her hand (literally) for both dives. Everyone had to dive at her level of competence.

If you want to dive with a boat at your level in Cozumel, you really have to pick your operator very carefully.

I guess that's my other concern... if I'm an OWD and certified to 60 feet... when i present that card and tell the shop that, shouldnt they be keeping me at sites in that parameter? If every boat is going to sites that are 80 or 90 I feel like I run out of choices.

That's because you went to Cozumel. Unless you are able to make special arrangements, every day will be like that. They do two tank dives. The first one will be well beyond 60 feet. The second one will be above 60 feet. If you don't want to dive below 60 feet, then you really should not go to Cozumel. If you insist on 60 feet for the first dive, you will be a very unpopular person on the boat, because that means everyone will have to dive at that level. The 60 foot limit is not a law.

Compared to my first few dives I feel very comfortable and I feel that I've done a good job of staying calm in some cases where things go wrong. I don't expect that I'll do many things that will get myself into trouble. my biggest fear is something like an o-ring blowing and ending up in an emergency on my own.

Scuba insurance agencies differentiate between an "event" and an "emergency." To put it bluntly, an emergency occurs when an event is not handled properly. A blown O-ring is an extremely rare event--I've seen it happen once. It only becomes an emergency if you mishandle it. In the event I saw, the diver took off his BCD, shut off his air, fixed the O-ring, turned on the air, and resumed breathing, only taking one puff off of the regulator I was offering him in that time. Now that is extreme competence not expected of the average diver. But the average diver should be able to get an alternate from a buddy or make a safe ascent to the surface in that event.

I'm confident that I could safely buddy breathe and take care of myself, but if all my buddies screw off it could be harrowing... that's whats got me thinking a SpareAir or something would be nice to know. at least I've got 30 or 40 breathes in an emergency So I could either ascend or get back to the group.

First, little vocabulary: "buddy breathe" is a technique in which two diver take turns breathing off of one regulator. I am sure you were referring to using an alternate air source.

Next, if you choose to use a Spare Air (the commercial product with that name), you will not get anything remotely close to 30-40 breaths. You will need something much more substantial if you want that much extra air.

 

[TSandM]

Your experience with the dive where you got too deep is a really good incident to analyze a little bit. You started the dive using equipment with which you weren't familiar -- in particular, you weren't familiar with the operation of one of the most important things you have with you underwater, which is your depth gauge. Depth, time and gas are what you absolutely need to know at all times during a dive, so understanding the use of the instruments that tell you those things is CRITICAL.

So you had one foot into the incident pit, before you got off the boat; maybe two, because you also didn't have a buddy who could help serve as a depth reference and make you immediately aware of depth changes.

Then, you got into a situation where the current was challenging both your experience and your capacity -- and what went out the window? Your situational awareness, in that you lost awareness of where you were in the water column. This is NORMAL for new divers. Everybody has only so much bandwidth (this is true whether you are diving or not!) and if you are managing too many things at the conscious level, something is going to fall off the radar. In new divers, that's generally awareness of where they are, or how much gas they have; both have serious implications. This is a big reason why you will read a constant theme here that new divers should keep their dives fairly simple. Minimizing the number of variables you're coping with, and setting up your dive so that, if you MAKE a mistake, you can't get in too much trouble (for example, a hard deck at a relatively shallow depth) allows you to build processing capacity without too much risk. To me, Coz is a perfect example of where new divers shouldn't be diving -- coping with current, no hard deck, blue water ascents.

The good news is that you have recognized some of the issues and are working on strategies to deal with them. The bottom line is that you can only build capacity by diving until the underlying process of buoyancy control and gear usage are relegated to subconscious processing. That takes hours underwater; nothing else will do it.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Hey guys,

I'm a new diver with 13 dives under my belt. On my last trip I had my first taste of being a 'diver on the boat' and I have some questions.

Up until that part I had been diving in close proximity to my instructor during my certification. My first trip after my OWD I went in low season to a company that really deals well with new divers. I ended up one on one diving with my dive master for the whole week. It was awesome but I'm a little nervous when I end up on a boat with strangers and don't know anyone. My spouse can't dive and I have not been able to convince any friends so far to come with me!

My two main questions are around safety...

1. Buddy System
- It seems that when a buddy gets randomly assigned it all goes out the window once you're in the water. In some cases the boat wasn't even assigning buddies. If that's the case, what are my best practices to stay safe? I make sure I stay with the group but I would love to always know I have that other person beside me and vice versa. I've considered buying a SpareAir or something along those lines just in case. I'm not really assertive enough to demand a buddy on a boat of strangers. I'm also concerned about if I get buddied up with a group and hold them back which leads me into my next point...

2. On the last trip I ended up on a boat with three experienced divers and the dive master. The two ladies paired up, one guy was a lone wolf and the dive master did his own thing. I tried to stick with the dive master but it ended to no avail. We were in Cozumel at Santa Rosa Wall and when we hit the current I got sucked away. I was really frustrated because there had been no briefing and until we went through the swim through I had no idea what was happening. in hindsight I see the importance of making sure I know what I'm getting into; up until then i had just followed my instructors lead.

I'm looking for some confidence building tips and safety practices. I feel that I'm safe and controlled under the water. i do worry about gear breaking or rough conditions someday putting me into a dangerous place though. I feel confident that in a one on one with my instructor I could stay calm and we could safely fix a problem that either of us had. But when I'm diving on vacation and don't know anyone on the boat I can see this happening more and more often. it's fine until there's a problem. Would a redundant air supply be a good way to fix these problems? If my buddy takes off at least I've got a backup if the group is a bit too far to get to me if my air goes? (I ensure I stay close to the group, but if my tank malfunctioned and I was 20 feet away I can't promise myself I wouldn't panic. I'm an air hog so a held breathe wouldnt last me very long if I was stressed and knew it was my last one..)

any help would be appreciated!!

Your very valid concerns shows your level of situational awareness, which is a great predisposition to have as a new diver. What you've outlined is very common. As others have mentioned, it's important to always communicate your level of skill, as well as any concerns/questions you have ahead of your dives. For example: I usually skip swim-thoughs (for a whole host of reasons I won't go into), so I always make sure I let the guide know ahead of time. That being said, it is equally important for you to be the best prepared buddy and diver you can be for the collective safety of the group, and also so you can help them feel more confident too. Train, review, and practice. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

With each dive you will steadily improve and become more efficient. Keep things simple, always prepare with a focus on safety, and just keep diving. Shortly confidence will be the product of holding up your end of the equasion.

 

[danvolker]

I definitely need to spend some time working on emergency skills. I know that even in 20 feet of water you could get in big trouble if something went wrong and you freaked out. I'm pretty calm under water at this point now though. It seems the general theme in this is really to take responsibility for myself. That does make a lot of sense to me. in the future I'll ensure that I don't rely on other people or the dive company to keep me safe.

I'm going to be diving with Cozumel Marine World when i go back in January. thusfar the owner has seemed completely on board for what I want but when i get there I will again double check. Before I book and pay for the week I'll be making sure I know what sites we're going to, how many people are on the boat, the experience level etc.

What really hit me on the Santa Rosa dive was that as soon as I got stuck in the current I felt myself getting swept away. I turned to try to fight it to stay with the group; I didnt want to go off on my own. I quickly realized I couldnt make any traction swimming against it so i decided to calm down, turn around and go with it and just try to stay safe. I didnt keep an eye on my depth gauge (to be honest I didnt know I had one, Id never used one up until that point. i thought the only depth gauge was on a computer :S know better now!) and I didnt realize how deep I was getting. When I realized I wasnt in control of the situation I remember feeling really angry. thinking "If I had known this was what we were going to be doing I wouldnt have come down. now I'm alone, no buddy and I'm F*%Ked". Luckily the DM did end up following me and he saved me from going even deeper. he also made sure that we did several stops before he sent me back up.

believe it or not, I maintain that there was no briefing. I've always paid very close attention to the briefing (maybe just due to nerves as a beginner) but there was nothing in this case.

I've had some experience with diving out over walls before with no visible bottom. Like I said, I was certified in Cozumel down near Colombia and Palancar. in those dives there was a current we could feel and had to deal with but it was nothing terrible. also in those dives my instructor prepared me and told me that halfway through the dive we'd come out over a wall and it would be creepy when the bottom dropped. he let me know to stay close to the wall and make sure I kept my depth even when there wasn't a cue coming from the bottom.

luckily on this trip I spent a week in Akumal with an absolutely incredible instructor and we were one on one the whole time. i learned a lot about how to tailor diving to me. I was hoping he could take me to Coz for the day but he was too busy so I booked it on my own. I did book it with a large, reputable and highly rated shop. If i had to rate them just based on my SECOND dive of the day I would have said it was quite good. but that momentary lapse in judgement by not briefing, not preparing me, and letting me go on that dive in the first place almost cost me dearly.

I'll look into prices on hiring a guide privately, that's a good idea if I can afford it.
I'm also trying to get a couple of friends into diving but I doubt theyd travel as much as I do.
there IS a really good dive club here locally that I will do some lake/river diving with next summer to build skills. I'll also likely try to tag along on some of their trips.

Mike,
This could sound like I am trying to drum up Palm Beach buisiness.....as I am connected to Palm Beach Dive Tourism via the hotels.....BUT.....If you came to Palm Beach, the experience would be VERY DIFFERENT from Cozumel.
First, there are MANY boat operators here that go South of the Palm Beach Inlet to Breakers Reef every day, 7 days per week...this is a beautiful reef, 40 feet to the top of the reef crown, 55 feet to the bottom of the inshore ledge where the reef hits the sand. The boats drop you way South on Breakers, and a gentile current allows you to swim a little, and drift a little, and to have an effortless experience over a huge reef tract....At the end of the dive, you go up with your group , whether 2-to 4, or 4 to 8( usually the largest size is around 8 in a group, each group with a dive leader..some with a DM). Each dive, you can learn Drift Diving from the people that invented Drift Diving, and do it better than anywhere else in the world, and way better than it is done in Cozumel.
With the Palm Beach boats, or with a Shop like Force E, you can explain to them that you need to have a good skilled buddy willing to dive with a novice, and they WILL find this for you. They may even find a mentor for you...Part of this is going to be up to you when you are here, and how you interact with others. But this happens all the time. One thing I can pretty much promise, is that if you get good at drift diving here...first Breakers till it is easy, then Juno for the deeper reefs and bigger currents.....when you get good at Drift Diving all of the Palm Beach Reefs, you can dive anywhere in the world and find their "drift diving" to be without challenge.....You will also know what is intelligent Drift operation for the boat, and what is NOT....which is what keeps a good Palm Beach diver safe when they go to Fiji or the Mona Passage, or some other place known to freak divers out.
...This is what Palm Beach diving looks like...and the video includes the big shallow reefs like Breakers I spoke of....
[video=youtube_share;BbppKZ3qxfk]http://youtu.be/BbppKZ3qxfk[/video]

Let me know if you want to know more about mentoring, Boats finding Buddies, or anything else.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I have no link to Florida but I really think that is a good destination for you to get those bottom hours in. Build the skill and hours then add the more challenging trips. Great to hear you have a good local dive club. Nothing like building rapore with people of like mind and you may be able to build a good buddy relationship or two to travel with. Good luck. Keep asking questions, keep blowing bubbles and stay safe>

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Hang in there Mike, its not always easy being a new diver, these are my thoughts on how you may find it easier:

1. Firstly as has already been mentioned in several posts, every diver holds the responsibility to look after their own personal welfare. But also remember whatever dives you do, you are paying for. Therefore you are entitled to the level of service that goes with that parting of money - which should include an adequate dive briefing, buddy procedure and what do do if you become lost/separated. So if you don't get this you are well within your rights to ask for it, and should never feel bad for that!

2. In general, you have very little control of who your trip leader will buddy you up with, and it can be a bit of a russian roulette in that sense. Sometimes you may feel a little nervous being paired up with someone more experienced. But just have an open predive chat with your buddy if you have concerns. We all remember how we felt as new divers starting out, so most buddies will make an effort to make you feel comfortable if they know you have concerns. There are some exceptions to the rule for sure, but most divers are a friendly encouraging bunch, who just want to share dives, experiences and stories. They may actually learn more from you in this situation than you learn from them.

Good luck on your future trips and happy diving

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

The dive buddy system seems simple but by reading all the comments on SB as well as my own problems trying to enforce the buddy system at the university I worked at, I think it is far from a simple system. Since we the people are flawed, the system is flawed.

Having a good dive buddy is a treasure. Not only do you communicate well but you communicate well underwater. The instabuddy system can work but there are very good chances it might not. Every dive is different and some can bring real challenges. When those times come we'd all hope to be with a good buddy.

You should never be shy about addressing any concern you have about any dive you are about to take. If you are not comfortable and confident before entering the water, things often don't get better once you are down. You are the only one that knows what it takes for you to feel comfortable and confident. Be sure you do and say what you must. Adventure-Ocean