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

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

One more thing...knowing when to call the dive is a skill that you will develop. I've called a few dives when I just wasn't into it for whatever reason and I've seen much more experienced divers do the same. I think, for very new divers, many feel that it's not OK or that it makes them look inexperienced. It's OK to not have experience. In fact, when I meet very experienced divers that I may be diving with on boats, I will let them know that I don't have nearly their experience. People are often so helpful when they know you are open to learning and hearing suggestions. You don't have to follow those suggestions (I often don't), but it sure is nice to hear about different techniques.

Anyway, where I was going with this is that as a newer diver it's sometimes more difficult to discern whether you should call the dive. It is particularly so when others (DMs or other divers) are encouraging you to go. If you're unsure, ask enough questions to either be comfortable splashing or bow out. Early this year I witnessed something that could have ended very very badly and it really hit home that one should recognize their experience or lack thereof and make decisions based on both experience and comfort level....not just do the dive because someone else says it's OK. TLR basically a brand new diver was on a dive that he never should have been on. He (and his wife) shouldn't have been let to do the dive in the first place, but they were encouraged to do so even though the dive had some pretty big red flags for people with only 5 dives that had been certified the afternoon before. So the guy did surface on his own (thankfully!!!), but was completely OOA. I mean, zero air in the cylinder. He looked pretty panicked and later commented that it was too early to be doing the dive. He learned an important lesson, but the way he learned it was pretty scary.

Thank you for your additional feedback. Do you mind explaining--what were some of the red flags the fellow who ended up OOA ignored? Was the dive classified as advanced, or...? Also, do you mind sharing some things that would lead you to call a dive?

On Day 1, I spoke with a lot of other divers and, just as you said, was clear I was open to learning. I learned and got great insight. The boat on day 2, it was set up really differently. The boat ride out and the boat ride back were short; the boat ride "between sites" ended up being a quick-ish loop because they determined there were no other safe/feasible sites except for the site we'd already dove, so they took us to another part of it. The whole atmosphere was pretty frantic, no one really talked to one another, and it was just all-around unpleasant for me. The briefings were minimal, too. I should have asked more questions and will in the future, but honestly, I don't think I would have known not to splash the second time, since we had just dove that same reef. NOW, I realize other things occurred--it got more and more cloudy, the sun hid, the waves got deeper, but I did not understand what that all meant until it was too late.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

I think you did great. Nothing to feel bad about. As has been said, work on how you take your nausea meds. Plus, keep diving - it will get easier and less stressful as your experience increases.

A couple thoughts: 1) I would not agree to splash or submerge unless your buddy is with you. 2) Think about the optimum time to start kitting up. If you know how long to the dive site, use that info to make sure you don’t have to rush and are ready don BC/fins and splash as soon as the boat stops. May not be feasible in every situation, but a good goal.

Thank you so much! I am def going to work on each of these points!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

Just read they PUSHED you into the water?

Ha, yeah. I get that they were trying to "help", wanted to hurry, conditions weren't optimal, etc., but I was not afraid to giant stride and do it fine. I would have preferred to just step when I was ready... I was certainly not taken a long time or anything and just was not expecting it when it came. Ah, well. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

Yeah, I definitely agree. Lots of red flags about that op on the second day. As a new diver, boat dives can be a challenge. There is even a Specialty course for boat dives. Boat dives in rough conditions can be a challenge for seasoned divers.

Seasickness is definitely not pleasant. I grew up in and around the water, and on boats as far back as I can remember. As such, I don’t often get seasick, but have on a few occasions, when the rollers hit me just right. One time was in Key Largo on a dive boat. I was in the first group down and up, so we had to wait a bit for other groups. That was getting to me. Jumping back in the water actually helped me, but it sounds like it didn’t help you. I’ve tried a few different seasickness meds, and didn’t like any of them. They made me feel funky enough, that I’d rather do without. I say that because you may need to try a few to find out what’s best for you.

Some of the second ops practices may be OK, but the way they went about things seems problematic. Lack of a down line isn’t necessarily a problem, but it should have been clearly explained. Absentee DM is a big concern, as is rushing you in to the water.

Don’t fret the nervousness you felt. I’d bet a lot of divers would have been equally nervous.

To get past it, do several dives in pristine conditions, if possible. Just to make sure you are comfortable with diving itself. Not sure what options there are in the Pittsburgh area, though. If there are some confined water dive sites in your area, give them a try. Probably not as interesting as the Keys, but any time spent underwater will help.

Thank you so much for your insight and how you worded things. I like how you framed it. For instance, I understand now that not everyone has downlines... laughing at me wasn't great, though. (And I'm not usually sensitive, but it was just snarky.)

I am going to get better with figuring out meds, and also I'll practice a lot more. We have some quarries around, and I'm going to do my AOW with my husband before too long just to get more experience and practice! Thank you again!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

I think the sea conditions were not in your favor. It’s tricky to get up a pitching ladder the first couple of times, and coupled with low visibility and surge, not a great sightseeing dive. It’s okay to call, and still even better to cancel, even though you might forfeit the costs of the trip. At least you’ll have the opportunity to do something else more enjoyable topside.

Thank you! I feel like I definitely am learning a lot from each of you here. Your point about it being hard to get up a pitching ladder... that is really true. I found it extremely hard to get my fins off in the rolling waves, then to hand them up to someone, then to try to not get busted in the teeth while waiting to get my feet onto a rung and climb while the boat kept rolling. All in all, I guess I'll need a lot of practice with this all, and to just find what works easiest for me/my body to, for instance, get the fins off and not lose my regulator or mask while getting wave-swept. Others were definitely more graceful, I think! I will learn!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

Oh yeah! I forgot one thing I was going to say. I feel like when I was getting certified (or maybe it was during AOW) there was a lot of talk about dive boats having down lines. Most of the diving I've done has been from boats and I think I've only done 2 or 3 dives where there was a down line. One was a shark dive in pretty good current, but with that dive we not only followed a line down, but also followed lines across the ocean floor until we were properly situated. The other that I remember was the Speigel Grove as there is pretty good current at the site. There was likely one or two others, but nothing that stands out. So while a down line can be super helpful, especially in current or even just as a visual reference, definitely don't count on there being that line when you're boat diving. I worried about this a few times, but it's been very helpful to have to practice hovering for a safety stop rather than relying on a line. Sometimes forced practice is helpful.

Thank you! My biggest fear for needing a downline was if I could equalize well, but basically, I did fine with that and did not need to! But, it is SUPER helpful to know many boats don't have them. Where was that shark dive with the downline and lines across the floor? Someday, that might be really neat for me to try! (After LOTS more experience!)

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

My hat is off to you that you are looking foward to your next dive rather than finding a different hobby. @Centrals pretty much summed it up well in his post.



People have given go advice on seasick meds, which I would take if I needed them. And my advice is to plan your next dive to avoid bad weather and go to a more benign spot and work on some fun diving to offset your last dive. Practicing skills and normal dives will get you ready for the next s**t show.

You did good for the situation you wound up in, you kept your head and kept an incident from becoming an accident. When someone talks about an experienced diver, it's learning from situations like this that make you one. Anyone can dive when it's easy and everything goes right. Oh yeah, thank your instructor next time you see him/her.

Thank you so much for the wisdom. I greatly appreciate it! I know now to call dives if needed, but I am also really grateful that I was able to stay pretty calm (or as calm as I think I could have). I am glad I knew to surface, etc. I plan to get much more practice in calm conditions so certain actions become second-hat, and I also know that if I had been better at navigation skills, I may not have struggled so much with figuring out how to swim back to the boat in the current. That was a HUGE struggle for me--I'd go back under water and swim right where I thought I should, then, surface and find I was nowhere where I thought I was going and had to turn around again to find the boat.

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

In rough conditions and with inexperienced divers, it is not that unusual for a crew member to "help ensure the diver safely clears the stern" while entering. That often means a little helpful push while you are leaving the boat. Nobody should be shoved off a boat when they are not ready. If someone was not expecting the push, it could seem weird. You want to push at butt level at the tank and avoid pushing high or they tend to rotate and do a face plant.

Thank you for pointing this out! That makes total sense. I was still trying to step up to the edge for my entry, so I definitely was not ready, but I am glad to know it's not uncommon and how it SHOULD be done, for the future!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

Even though you had a crappy experience, I would not worry about being a bad diver. If you were bad, you would have gotten in serious trouble and might well have drowned. So pat yourself on the back for surviving.

It sounds like the crew did a reasonable job trying to support divers (especially swimming a rope/pfd to you), but you are a certified diver. You decided to enter the water in those conditions, you determined that the conditions were within your capacity and you became overwhelmed and incapacitated by sickness, weakness and the seas.

Having something like this happen early in your "career" is actually a very good thing. You now have a much better idea of what you can (and can't) handle, you probably now know what type of seas you will go out in and you will probably try to get a decent vis report before going on a boat.

And most importantly, you were taught a very stern lesson about how you are, more or less, on your own when diving and you should not count on a DM to always be there. You also learned that being on the surface can be more dangerous and scary than being underwater when it is very rough and there are currents.
People can tell you these things, but until you experience it for yourself, it just doesn't have the same impact.

Everyone needs to get their AZZ kicked sooner or later. You have to respect the ocean. Just put it in the log book under "things I'm not going to do again".

I saw a situation like yours in the keys, but it was more severe and the poor lady had to be hospitalized (over night) for near drowning by the time she was hauled in to the back of the boat while holding onto a rope in very rough conditions. She had to be lifted into the boat by several people and just collapsed on the deck, crying and gasping for air.

I think a lot of people would be done diving after a trip like that. The fact that you want to continue says a lot.

Thank you for your response. These were all good lessons. I'll be really honest, as stupid as this sounds, I did not really think I could "call it" (did not know that was quite a thing), and I did not really think, as you say so simply, "but you are a certified diver. You decided to enter the water in those conditions, you determined that the conditions were within your capacity." I guess in my mind, I thought, the dive operator knows how experienced or inexperienced we each are, and they would not bring us out if it weren't safe... or they'd tell some of us the site was not optimal for us. The day before, the operator formed small groups of solos/buddies that seemed to be based on experience level. Frankly, I think in our society, we've all gotten so used to litigation causing businesses to coddle us that I, foolishly, just figured the operator would take full responsibility for where it put us. That is, if they said it was okay to dive, and they knew how inexperienced some of us were, then clearly it was fine to dive. Except... it wasn't. Again, I know that sounds really stupid... but I am glad I learned it NOW instead of in the future, when the situation may even have been more dangerous. Thank you again!

 

[Pittsburgh_Mom]

I think you did a fine job handling some really poor diving conditions. And you had a great learning experience. Just don't let it sour your future diving dreams.

As mentioned earlier you need to learn when to call a dive. The time to call this one was when the hurricane passed though the area. That is just going to be no fun for anyone regardless of experience level. Every bad experience you had was downstream of that condition. You were sick. The dive ops were stressed. Nerves were strung tight.

Get your self some gear of your own for your next trip. A full reg set, mask, computer, and wetsuit. The rest you can rent.

And buy those scopolamine patches to keep with your dive gear. Hopefully you wont need them again if you can avoid the hurricanes!

Thank you! I used a scopolamine patch with my last c-section in May and it really helped me to not have any nausea from the anesthesia. I had no idea they could be obtained for "personal" use until I started reading on these boards.

I'm glad I know now about how hurricanes affect the waters afterwards. I had spoken with probably 4 operators down there, and they each basically said vis might be a little less but all should be fine. When I got there, it was clear that they had a bit of a greater impact. Probably to folks much more experienced than me, the impact was lesser, but for me and with my lack of experience, it was greater.

When you mention a full reg set, does that mean BCD and regulator? I have a great mask and fins. No computer yet--that was going to be my next purchase. I was waiting to buy a wetsuit and BCD until I had a little more experience, but maybe I shouldn't....