Pretty New Diver Looking for Tips to Better Handle Future "Situations"

[living4experiences]

I should add too that like you we had great first for us ocean dives (we certified in a local quarry) with Key Dives in Islamorada. Then drove to Marathon for our next dives. It was bad. A lot of it was on us but the dive op was not blameless. We canceled the next day and went back to Key. So did the other diver on that boat that we had never meet before.

That experience was much of the impetus for for taking AOW in WPB.

I understand your reluctance to name the op but a shop that would tell a newish diver to enter rough seas and wait at the bottom, and then dive without locating her, is NOT a shop for newish divers and I think you are justified to get that word out.

Part of the reason I like this forum is getting information, good or bad, from all sectors of the scuba travel industry. Sounds like Rainbow Reef is the dive op here.

 

[uncfnp]

Part of the reason I like this forum is getting information, good or bad, from all sectors of the scuba travel industry. Sounds like Rainbow Reef is the dive op here.

I agree about the good and the bad. Any review that is all glowing I take with a grain of salt.

The dive op we had issues with was not Rainbow. It is a shop rarely mentioned here on Scubaboard. I have specifically not recommended them by name in the past but will not now because it was so long ago it really isn’t relevant any longer.

 

[living4experiences]

To the OP: You definitely had some challenges, and for a new diver, it can be scary when things so wrong. Scuba diving, by nature, provides new learning experiences all the time because nothing in the ocean stays the same and each dive, even in the same location, can be different. All the previous tips are great. I'll throw in my two cents here. I don't get seasick, but I take a lot of seasickness aids with me for the just-in-case occasion and I usually end up giving some away to others. I like ginger chews (not hard candy) made by The Ginger People, Gin Gins - US The Ginger People. They are widely available. I get mine at Whole Foods. With the chews, you can nibble on them a bite at a time Whatever you buy, read the label for the highest percentage of ginger--10% or higher. Some products only have 5% and it's not as effective. Then there's Meclizine, which is the active ingredient in name brand anti-nausea meds and it's a 25 mg pill dose. You can buy meclizine anywhere.
As referenced by others, you can also try the scopolamine patch that goes behind the ear. I used this for the first time a couple of months ago as a preventive for an 18-hour ocean crossing with rough seas on a liveaboard. You take it 12-24 hours before getting on the boat and it lasts for about 3 days. However, there are side effects, so check with your doctor and pharmacist. The side effect for me was extremely dry mouth, and I mean so dry that I was hoarse and no amount of liquid, gum, mints could bring back my saliva. I took it off at the end of the second day.

Only in the last couple of years have I taken the stress off myself to do every dive offered. There are times when your gut, instinct, intuition, whatever you want to call it, gives you pause to assess whether a dive should be called. On a recent liveaboard, dive number 1 of the day was totally screwed up for me by another diver, which caused me to miss the dive briefing. My stress was high, I lost my zen, I got a quick rundown of the briefing from the guide, then hurried to gear up. I was completely geared up and walked to the edge of the boat to get into the panga, paused, mentally reassessed, turned around, and went back to my seat and took off my gear. Being frazzled from this other diver's actions, I was not in the right frame of mind, so I aborted the dive. That was the right decision for me in the moment.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

I've never dived in 4'+ seas. I would expect that the boat does a thorough brief on boarding procedures in such conditions. I'd certainly be asking if they skipped this. Or is this common knowledge for divers with enough big water experience to attempt such a dive? But this is the New Diver forum. I think you'll agree that new divers shouldn't be out in such conditions?

Thank you for your insight, and for sharing the video from the boat in Thailand. I am certain the waves were higher than the video from Thailand. They did not start off that way, but by the time I was trying to get back on the boat, they were definitely higher. One dive boat near us, but a smidge smaller, kept having waves break over its bow, and as they started to splash in more, the boat headed out. Shortly after that, the other boats started leaving, too, as the waves got bigger. I don't know enough about seas or waves to know for sure what was causing them, though the skies were darkening and it did rain not too long later. I asked my husband, and he said he thinks they were probably 3-4 feet on average while I was trying to get back towards and into the boat. That was NOT the majority of the day, nor was it the day before, but it certainly added to the strain of the whole situation while I was feeling lost and trying to navigate alone through the current. I DEFINITELY am going to purchase an SMB or dSMB. And, I am going to practice and learn how to use them from the "comfort" of calm waters near me. Thank you again!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

@uncfnp and @VsubT, thank you both for your insight and tips around boarding with different dive conditions. I think it's going to behoove me to find different options for my fins; I found this old post and will read through it and then choose one option to try. I've learned so much from this post and everyone here.

At this point, I'm confident that while the op could have done a better job, I should have called the dive because it was beyond my limits. And ultimately, if I had more experience, I would have handled things a lot better. While it's not my "fault" I do not have more experience--that comes with time--I am going to make the most of my dry land time to keep learning and growing. Thank you again, so much!

 

[The Chairman]

Taking lots of salt water in the face while bobbing on the surface in the heat waiting to get back in the boat.

How much air did you have? If I have the air, I'll sit at 20 ft until I see the second to last diver get on the boat. THEN, I'll slowly ascend and get on the boat.

The boats can control anything but the weather. In the Keys, boats stop going out when the winds are 20 knots. I won't go out over 10. Those reefs aren't going anywhere. Yeah, you flew down to go diving, but there are many other things to do. If the waves are horrible on the ocean side, flip over and snorkel on the Bayside. More lobster on that side and you have a chance to see Seahorses and sawfish, which are quite rare on the Oceanside. Go visit the History of Diving Museum, The Geologic State Park on Wembley Key, go find the Key Deer on Big Pine Key and have lunch at the infamous No-Name Inn. Do a romantic evening in Key West on Mallory Square... don't miss the Kitty show. You can also go kayaking in the mangroves... they got lots of those.

I guess I'm saying, when the weather is against you, it's not going to be fun. Call the dive before you even get on the boat. January a year ago, we took a group to Cayman Brac (or was it Little Cayman??) I didn't make a single dive all week. Why? This:

Yeah, that was the boat I was supposed to be on. The windshield was shattered and one diver suffered a severe back injury. A few brave souls made it out on a few days. Not me. I know when to say when! We rented scooters instead and drove around the island. I had fun. Lots of fun and I didn't even get wet.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

@wetb4igetinthewater, I was a little embarrassed to share, but I know I have too much to learn to keep it to myself. At the end of the day, I do not think this is the right op for me ever to dive with again. With that said, I am equally sure that they're a solid op for plenty of other divers. They have plenty of boats, plenty of crew members, plenty of sites they can get to. If I were a lot more experienced and pretty serious about my diving, I probably wouldn't mind them or even notice some of the issues I noticed, because I would not be looking to them to "guide" and help me so much as to provide a simple service--"get me to the sites on your boat, get me back to the dock on your boat, I'll do the rest." Not that I'm not serious about diving, but I am definitely so new that I'm not razor sharp and a pro. Hope that makes sense, as I'm having a hard time trying to word what I am trying to say. Fun diving--it was definitely NOT the op for that, on that day. Even so, it was a perfect experience, I think, because my dive buddy/husband and I learned a ton, and we are safe now since it ended up with a safe outcome after it all, so we can keep learning.

 

[The Chairman]

Find another couple to dive with... lots of them here on ScubaBoard.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

How much air did you have? If I have the air, I'll sit at 20 ft until I see the second to last diver get on the boat. THEN, I'll slowly ascend and get on the boat.

On day 1, I had 1900 PSI (I'm not sure how to word that but hope that is written right), so plenty of air to have hung down the line. Unfortunately, I did not know that was an option--the DM with my little group had given me the "up" sign and everyone was at the surface waiting to board again, so I just stayed in the group. In the future, I know now I can tell the DM ahead of time what I plan, or even signal that, and do so. On day 2, I should never have gone in. I had plenty of air, but the current was way too strong for me to hang anywhere.

I also never thought of so many other fun things to do down there. I really appreciate the tips and insider knowledge... in the future, my husband and I both have agreed, we just need to be completely honest if we're not feeling it with a dive, or even many dives, and need to be ready to lose the money if that's what happens. I can't imagine divers going out under the conditions you witnessed in Jan. a year ago. No matter how much experience I build over the years, I would NEVER want to dive in those conditions!

Lots of lessons learned from this all, that's for sure!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

Find another couple to dive with... lots of them here on ScubaBoard.

I LOVE this idea!