Out of Air on Final Open Water Cert. Dive

[harleyxx]

I thought that training standards for most agencies say that training dives should not exceed 40'. Am I wrong in this? If so, why would the instructor have them this deep for in the first place?

When we went to Blue Springs we only had one more open water skill to demonstrate. We did this as soon as we got in the water. He had us all on our knees and we did a complete mask removal & clearing. Once this was done, he congratulated us and announced that we had all passed. The rest of the dive to 60'-0 was considered our first fun dive.

 

[harleyxx]

Welcome to Padi training my friend. Congrats on surviving,..most do but I can't figure out how more don't given how poorly most classes are run.

I guess you can't get proper and safe training when the Instructor doesn't have much of a clue either.

CheatinDeath, indeed

Thanks for the welcome.

I just want to say that I don't blame my instructor for at all. He was a great instructor, a wealth of knowlege. He went over all the necessary skills and even more. The mistakes I made were a result of my own bad judgement and inexperience. I don't think I was ever in danger because we began our ascent frrom 60'-0 with a little more than 500 lbs in my tank.
I still had 500 lbs when we began our drift back to the area where we were to finish our dive. The instructor was "johnny on the spot" when we saw me switch to my snorkle and made sure everything was ok. I hope no one is getting the impression that he was a bad instructor. Quite the opposite. I am going to go bak to him for the Nitrox class.

 

[LiteHedded]

this has never happened to me but it seems odd you wouldn't notice the reg free flowing.
i bet you'll keep a better eye on it from here on out

 

[Walter]

This link here shows what I consider to be the easiest, least ambiguous system for conveying numbers underwater.

I hate that system! It's confusing as hell. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I stick with the ASL numbers (except I use 1 - 0 for 10).

I thought that training standards for most agencies say that training dives should not exceed 40'. Am I wrong in this?

Yes, you are wrong. The limit for most agencies is a flat 60' for traing dives prior to the initial certification. PADI's limit is (I believe) 40' for dives 1 & 2 and 60' for dives 3 & 4. Those few agencies that certify 10 & 11 year olds limit them to 40'.

I just want to say that I don't blame my instructor for at all. He was a great instructor, a wealth of knowlege. He went over all the necessary skills and even more.

He may very well be, but how would you know? You have nothing with which to compare. He should've noticed your regulator free flowing and he shouldn't have been taking photos.

 

[ClayJar]

You got to learn a bit more than most people do on their training dives, which should prove to be good for you as a diver. I'm sure you won't mind if I throw my two cents in, eh?

First, let me say that the one-handed numbers have proven to be absolutely delightful to me. I picked them up early on (thanks, ScubaBoard!), and at the first opportunity, I indoctrinated my primary buddy. Using them has made our communication so much better, I've gone so far as to be somewhat perplexed (even slightly bothered) that they weren't taught in any classes I've had. On my latest lake dive, I printed out that page and left it in the van of the guy we were diving with, and when I saw him last night, he was all excited about how he's been practicing them. (On the dive, I had ended up using the, "What in the *world* are you trying to tell me? *Sigh*... Just show me your gauge." method. )

For my second cent, remember that the deeper you are, the faster that last 500psi will go. With luck, attention, and practice, you may never be at that point again, but should you find yourself there, don't be complacent based on how long (or short) 500psi may last shallower. (With experience, attentive divers develop an intuitive feel for how long a given amount of air will last at a given depth and conditions, but until you develop that, being more conservative with depth is not just the training blowing bubbles.)

Hmm... That's two cents, but since I'm in Louisiana, here's a little lagniappe: While it may be nice to use your power inflator to get yourself floaty at the surface, it's my standard practice to highly prefer manually inflating my BC at the surface. It's not an absolute, of course, but by manually inflating my BC regularly, it becomes completely natural to me. If I ever have a power inflator failure and have to disconnect it, manually inflating my BC on the surface is a well-practiced skill to me and will pose no problem. (When I did my later classes, it seemed almost humorous to me that one of the skills they tested was the ability to manually inflate your BC at the surface. It felt like someone checking that I knew how to inhale. )

 

[Lead_carrier]

I hate that system! It's confusing as hell. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I stick with the ASL numbers (except I use 1 - 0 for 10).

It can actually work for some of us Walter. I use it quite a bit without all of the extra zeros and stuff.

We used it on the flight deck of the carriers I served on, which some will argue is almost as dangerous as scuba training, and it's worked well for a long time. In fact, it probably saved my backside more than once, which some will argue is a good reason to do away with it.

 

[dbulmer]

Harley,
If you do keep the instructor and did not cover gas management in your course, ask him how to use gas management in dive planning. This is something you need to know - 500psi is not a lot of gas for a lot of people.

 

[Walter]

It can actually work for some of us Walter. I use it quite a bit without all of the extra zeros and stuff.

ASL numbers are also 1 handed and even easier to use. Much less confusion than the reinvented wheel.

ASL numbers.

 

[Summer06]

Good job HarleyXX

 

[ClayJar]

If a buddy pair knows ASL, then ASL makes perfect sense. (I've met a pair of hearing-impaired divers at an event, and the fact they had gone from a gaseous to a liquid medium meant basically nothing to their ability to communicate.) Frankly, learning at least some ASL would probably do many of us some good.

I fail to see the confusion, however, in something that can be summed up as: "To signal, hold up one to five fingers, and if you want to make six through ten, hold your hand sideways in front of you to show 'add five'."

In fact, someone else might say that the 3/6 pair of ASL numbers might possibly confuse someone, as might the similarity between ASL 9 and divers' OK. (I would assume that ASL 10 would never be used, as I can certainly see conflicts between it and the divers' thumb-it signal.)