Night diving/Master Diver cert

[leigh]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago I did my AOW cert (naui) and loved it (2 deep dives, drysuit, nitrox, search and recovery, fun fun) with the one exception of the night dive (which I hated, passionately, almost drove home right after and bagged the rest of the course). I would like to progress on with rescue and master diver courses, but with NAUI another night dive would be required in the master diver course. I recognize that I could just suck it up and learn to tolerate night diving, but part of me just says why. It's not my bag so why force it. Which would lead me to taking the PADI progression instead which I believe doesn't have the night dive requirement. I certainly don't want to turn this into another PADI vs NAUI debate (I have plenty of great local instructors in both groups which is all that matters), but does anyone have any feedback on my night diving, master diver cert dilemma. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Oh, and as an edit: my night dive was in a low-vis quarry...is it really that much better if you do it somewhere tropical with good vis? and if so are there ways to do the naui progression with some of your dives being on travel somewhere tropical?

 

[Scottri]

PADI will require a night dive certification at some point if you choose to go on to Divemaster or higher. Try night diving under better conditions or take along a buddy that has a lot more experience. Night diving is my favorite but I can understand how people hate it when the vis is bad.

Don't write night diving off all together just take your time, do some more diving and work up to it. Try and find a sight that has better vis. Night diving in warm clear water is a real treat! I do a lot of night dives here in the Pacific Northwest when the vis is bad but I've gotten used to it. Just trust you compass and take it slow.


Good luck and keep at it!

Scott

 

[UndrWatrDan]

but with NAUI another night dive would be required in the master diver course. I recognize that I could just suck it up and learn to tolerate night diving, but part of me just says why. It's not my bag so why force it.

does anyone have any feedback on my night diving, master diver cert dilemma. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Oh, and as an edit: my night dive was in a low-vis quarry...is it really that much better if you do it somewhere tropical with good vis? and if so are there ways to do the naui progression with some of your dives being on travel somewhere tropical?

Hi Leigh,
I don't want this to get into a PADI vs NAUI debate either. PADI requires 5 specialties to get the Master Diver Cert., and night doesn't have to be one of them. I personally love night dives, there is so much to see that is not present during the day, and yes there is a big difference in an night dive in a low vis quarry and say Cozumel. I looked on the NAUI website and it says, Limited visibility or night diving. Your profile doesn't say where you are from, but maybe the limited visibility could be an option on a day dive. Come dive in one of our Texas lakes and you can get that everytime you go! ;-)

www.naui.com
Required Dives
Emergency procedures and rescue
Deep/simulated decompression diving
Limited visibility or night diving
Underwater navigation
Search and recovery – light salvage


Danny
www.divingrebels.org

 

[leigh]

Scott, thanks for the moral support Speaking of your pacific NW location, on a side note, I'm going to be in Portland for work in July. I'd like to get in a few dives while there, any suggestions?

And Danny, thanks for looking up those rules. I don't think my shop would be game with someone doing the dive just as a daytime low-vis dive. After all, I live in Michigan, every dive is a low-vis dive. I guess this means I'll just have to up and move to Cozumel, *sigh*, life's rough

 

[MechDiver]

I would talk to your instructor, or another one if you're not comfortable, to try and work out exactly what your fear of night diving is. You're far from being alone by the way, but as many coldwater dives in low vis are very much like night dives, you would do well to become comfortable with that type of diving. Especially if you wish to progress beyond rescue.

Also, the Padi Master Scuba Diver and Naui Master Diver are not the same thing. With AOW already done, I think you could make Padi MSD without additional night dives, but I think you would be doing yourself a disservice.

MD

 

[Ber Rabbit]

A low vis night dive isn't a lot of fun. Don't decide you hate night dives until you have a good one either in a quarry or lake when the vis isn't blown out or someplace warm. I took my NAUI AOW students to Gilboa for their night dive May 15/16 and the first 10 minutes were great then we got into a silt cloud and I spent the rest of the dive feeling like I was swimming uphill even though my gauges said I was maintaining an even depth, it was a lot like driving in the fog. It's hard to enjoy a dive when you're fighting vertigo.

I've had great night dives at Gilboa, usually during the week when there aren't any students there to blow out the visibility. I recommend that you get a few more night dives under your belt but be choosy about the conditions.
Ber

 

[leigh]

Okay, sounds like I should give it another go, somewhere warmer with good vis.

Ber--so you were the one kicking up all the silt at Gilboa on the 15th! Just kidding, but that's when and where my class was too...we must've been like ships passing in the night ...er, unless of course you were one of my instructors, in which case I'm going to feel like a total heel for being caught publicly griping about that night dive

 

[jdr159]

Definitely try night diving in clear water! You will be able to see alot of stuff, and won't "need" your light to see it. I tend to use my small secondery light as my primary (so my buddy can see me), and watch everyone elses lights for stuff.

Also, try to dive a site that you dove earlier in daylight. Good luck.

 

[MyDiveLog]

Leigh:

Night diving was a bit .... creepy ... for me at first as well (I'll admit that, after I first saw Jaws, I was afraid to swim at night ... in a fresh water lake in Michigan!). It is now my favorite kind of diving. The ocean takes on a more relaxed mood at night and everything seems more peaceful. You get so see a whole different set of creatures at night: that's when the lobster, rays, octopus, and eels come out to feed and, often, interact with divers.

I couldn't tell what un-nerved you about night diving. While you probably already know this stuff from your Master Diver course, I wanted to share some thoughts that might help:

- Don't dive a site at night that you don't know intimately and haven't dove recently. It's amazing now limited vis, either from particulate matter or just because it's limited to the beam of a light, seems to make it hard to place your position underwater in context....I've gotten temporarily 'lost' on a reef that I'd dove over a hundred times due to low visibility.
- Think about printing a map of the dive site onto a waterproof label (Avery sells them through Staples.com) and putting the label onto your dive slate. That makes it easier to keep track of your current position relative to the overall site.
- Ease into it ... find a supportive buddy that's an experienced night diver and tell them that you're a bit nervous (sometimes just talking about it helps!). Ask them to lead the dive and pay particular attention to staying close under water. Go slowly and don't cover a lot of distance.
- Enter the water and descend at twilight, sitting on the bottom and watching the light fade with your light off. Play with the bioluminescense (not sure of you get it in Michigan). You will be amazed at how, on a clear night with a moon, just how much you can see. Once yout do turn on your light it will seem that much brighter.
- Do your first few night dives in only ideal conditions, with low waves, current, and surge.
- Make sure you have a great light ... I started with a so-so C8 light and, after diving with a buddy that had a UK light cannon, upgraded immediately. The light cannon is so bright that it can scare the sea life, but the white spectrum and the brightness give you much greater vision underwater. Make sure you have an easily accessible backup light as well.

Most of all .. be patient and stick with it, because it's worth it. A tropical night dive, when vis is 100'+ and the water is warm is an almost magical experience.

Good luck!
Phil

 

[zboss]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago I did my AOW cert (naui) and loved it (2 deep dives, drysuit, nitrox, search and recovery, fun fun) with the one exception of the night dive (which I hated, passionately, almost drove home right after and bagged the rest of the course). I would like to progress on with rescue and master diver courses, but with NAUI another night dive would be required in the master diver course. I recognize that I could just suck it up and learn to tolerate night diving, but part of me just says why. It's not my bag so why force it. Which would lead me to taking the PADI progression instead which I believe doesn't have the night dive requirement. I certainly don't want to turn this into another PADI vs NAUI debate (I have plenty of great local instructors in both groups which is all that matters), but does anyone have any feedback on my night diving, master diver cert dilemma. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Oh, and as an edit: my night dive was in a low-vis quarry...is it really that much better if you do it somewhere tropical with good vis? and if so are there ways to do the naui progression with some of your dives being on travel somewhere tropical?

Diving at night with good vis is a lot like diving at day with crappy vis in that it's generally better to use a lower wattage light, you see more and don't blind your buddy or scare aware the animals you are trying to see in the first place. I admit I still sometimes get wierded out diving at night, but one way I got over that was to trail a reel behind me. It pretty much guarantees that I am able to get back to where I started from without having to worry too much about navigation. I've also heard some divers trailing a hand in the sand behind them instead of a reel to help find their way back.

BTW - night diving helped me get over my fear of Blue Water diving during the day.