Return to diving - what to expect?

[hdndrgn]

Hi this is my very first post - hoping to get some idea about what I should be expecting, or not...


A bit about myself - I used to dive as a teenager with my father and elder brother. They are both instructors and operate tours at Green Island, Taiwan, and I would tag along whenever they went out. My father trained me, I'd say, quit extensively, though I was never certified. Certification for me at the time was never needed. I never thought of diving without my father, and he refused to give me the chance to run about to rent a tank myself without him, lol.


Anyway, that was twenty years ago and in these twenty years the total number of dives I'd done is, well, zero; I used to swim just about every day and that is no longer the case either; so here lies my apprehension. Is scuba diving sort of like riding bike - that once you learns it, it stays with you, sort of forever, and all you need is just some refreshers? Physically I'm stronger now than then, but my water skill has dropped quite a bit. Now I have a chance to start scuba diving again - I miss it terribly, and I'm wondering what I am getting myself into. There is something to say about diving with someone you completely trust. I knew my dad would get me out of trouble if needs should arise, - I relied on him and never questioned anything, - as a result I had no undue fear in diving, regardless how strong the currents were or how deep we dived. When I dive again, I won't have him this time.


I know my skills are really rusty so I have engaged a local instructor and will start pool exercises as soon as we can get our timing right. Right now I'm reading the Open Water Diver Manual. It is very interesting to read it, and remember what I was doing, that I have completely forgotten. There are also some pool exercises, I remember my father asked me to do, that are not covered in the manual. One of them being diving to the bottom of the pool, taking off all equipment except for wet suite, making a neat little pile at the bottom, surfacing, taking a breath, diving back down, putting all gear back on, and then swimming at the bottom for certain distance (can't remember). This exercise stuck in my head because I remember how difficult it was to try to dive without weights and fins. Did they change the requirements, or maybe my dad just wanted to challenge me?


Last couple of questions... Am I correct that boat diving is easier than shore diving? All the diving we did were shore entries (cheaper than renting a boat lol), and I remember not over enjoying trudging through the long shore lines of foaming churning water in heavy gear till it was barely deep enough to get to the bottom so I could drag myself out of the surf zone.... And, what kind of equipment should I consider purchasing? Embarrassed to say I never picked out my own equipment - totally handled by my dad, who picked put a set from his own shop for me... If possible, I would rather rent any thing I need at destination shop but I'm kind of hard to fit (I'm short), so is there something I am better off purchasing my own, instead of going through the frustration of trying to find something that fit me?


Really, I think I have bunch of questions, but not really know what to ask... So if there are any tips, please let me know... Thanks a bunch...

 

[drrich2]

You will probably use a dive computer, and will likely want to own your own, instead of using tables.

20 Years is a long time. Tell us what gear you used back then. Did you use a BCD, that you could inflate & deflate to adjust your buoyancy in the water column? Now-a-days you have the option for a weight-integrated BCD, instead of wearing a weight belt. Either is open to you. If you get a weight-integrated BCD, you can always wear a weight belt anyway, but the reverse is not true.

Boat diving is available in a larger number of tropical locations, and is sometimes easily than shore diving, but tends to be more expensive and you've got to book with a charter boat op., show up at the right time in the morning and go out, and should tip.

If you want to know more about shore diving, read some of the threads on trips to Bonaire.

Richard.

 

[261311]

The dof and don training method (take gear off, leave at bottom, surface and return) are no longer taught in PADI classes, unsure about other agencies. It seemed to add unneeded challenge to the dives of the tourist diver.

Wanting to rent your gear is fine, especially if you don't plan to dive a lot but if you're in need of special sizing a wetsuit that you own is recommended. For the most part every dive shop is able to rent you variable gear ranging from XS to XL just fine.

Welcome back to diving! If you have questions about your previous training while you're doing your new training be sure to voice them to your instructor, some things have changed since then (though not a huge amount). It's important to understand why you do something, it helps you retain the skill and judge the importance of what you're doing in emergency situations should they arise.

 

[hdndrgn]

As far as I see, the gear I read at the manual seems the same as the ones I used, except for the computer. We had the SPG to tell you your depth, pressure, and remaining air, but nothing to do "calculation" for you. Actually I didn't know you were limited by more than air supply. I went down and up following my father. lol.

As to equipment we had mask, snorkel, fins, wet suit, BCD, regulator, weight belt, gloves. All of them (except for computer) in the manual looked the same as what we used back then. The mask we used were the ugly black thing - unlike the modern silicon style, but the shape is the same. Yike, that makes me sound like an ancient... Anyway, is weight integrated BCD easier to use? The weight belt if I remember right was rather clumsy. And yes, I was able to adjust my BCD and remain neutral.

Talk about boat diving... and that brings up another question. Am I correct that if you don't have a buddy, they will assign you one? How exactly do you deal with your new buddy just disappearing into distance? I remember in more than a few occasions when I went out with my father, he had to chase down one or two over excited, over exhilarate divers to make them stay within the group. I'm sure I'm in no physical condition chasing down anybody....

Thanks for tips about Bonaire. I will look them up.

---------- Post added March 1st, 2013 at 05:59 PM ----------

I'm sure my dad didn't train the tourists to do this taking off gear and putting them back on method. I believe he was just trying to make it more difficult for me. lol. He is really old school. He told me I had to be able to do it to get certified, and then he backed out, refusing to certify me, because he didn't want me to go diving without him. Not that I complain - quite fun knowing I could do it, even though I couldn't for the life of me knew why.

It is really interesting reading the manual - when I was learning it all those years ago, I just did it without knowing much theory behind it.

 

[TMHeimer]

Boat diving: Costs money. Easier to get deep. You have to deal with several others, crew, rules, procedures, schedules, cancellations for not enough divers going or weather, etc. Most of the time this translates to a good time.
Shore diving: Usually but not always shallower. Not the myriad of items to consider as with boat. Cheap or no cost unless parking fee, etc.-gas. Entries/exits can be even easier than boat or way harder depending on where you are.

 

[TSandM]

My husband was in your position, pretty much, when I got certified in 2005. He took the class again with me, but he took back to diving very quickly.

It does seem, from the stories, that the training is a little easier now than it was 20 years ago. A number of water-comfort exercises, like the ditch and don and buddy breathing, have been removed from the curriculum now.

As far as gear goes, spend some time reading the equipment subforums here before you buy anything. I wish I had . . . it would have saved me from rebuying everything six months later.

 

[KeithG]

So you are not certified yet? Or did I read your posts wrong?

One of the major changes you may discover is that it will likely be much harder to obtain air fills with out a c card.

So I think one of your first goals will be to take the appropriate course and get certified. The course work will answer lots of questions.

 

[drrich2]

Anyway, is weight integrated BCD easier to use? The weight belt if I remember right was rather clumsy.

People bicker back & forth about these options. With a weight-integrated BCD, you can easily ditch part of your weight without dropping the whole set, in the rare event you need to. And the weight may not put quite as much a strain on your back.

With dive computers, you've got a couple of choices to make.

1.) Console style - like your old SPG. Often air-integrated. I'd get one that can log dives & download them to your computer. A good example is the Oceanic Worldwide ProPlus 3. Be mindful whether the one you look at buying has a compass & download cable included. A pricier option with a great interface some of us love is the Atomic Aquatics Cobalt. You will pay for that great interface, but if you really, really love an intuitive interface that makes switch & forth to nitrox easy, and a built-in rechargeable battery you needn't swap out...

2.) Wrist-style, not air-integrated. The Oceanic Worldwide Geo 2.0 is a good example of a watch-style option. Some are watch-like, some are bigger 'puck' style, but either way, you glance at your wrist and there's your data. With the not air-integrated, you'll still be consulting an SPG for pressures, and your computer don't be logging start/stop tank air pressures for you.

3.) Wrist-style, air-integrated. Like 2.), but you take a small wireless transmitter and screw it into a high pressure port on your regulator 1'rst stage. This lets the computer keep up with your air pressures. It also gives you something else to have to swap a battery out of once in awhile. The Oceanic Worldwide Atom 3.0 (watch style) or VT 4 (puck style) are examples.

Whatever computer you get, make sure it can handle nitrox, and again, I recommend one that can log dives & download them to your computer. Air-integrated is a nice touch. You can often buy wrist units without the transmitter and add it later, if you wish.

In the Caribbean, there are a lot more places with lots of boat diving than there are with lots of shore diving.

What part of the world do you anticipate doing most of your diving in?

Richard.

 

[Glenn08]

Work on your swimming. Spend time in a pool with mask, fins, and snorkel. Supposedly it is not necessary to be a good swimmer to scuba dive. I disagree. If you are a good swimmer, and comfortable in the water, you are less likely to panic. And if you can do a doff and don, that familiarity with your gear should also help prevent panic.

 

[spectrum]

Dive instruction has been reduced to the bare essentials. Full gear retrieval as you practiced is not a likely need in real life though it was a great skill and confidence builder. Today's audience has no tolerance for those challenges.

Ease of shore/boat diving really depends where you are.

Most of my local shore diving is much easier than what you describe. However local boat diving as a whole is a ton of work. Cold water boats are usually sort of self serve with you shlepping every ounce of gear including cylinders and weights to and from the boat. And don't count on parking at a slip! Conversely on a tropical destination boat or live aboard the cylinders are on board waiting for you and if you travel light you can fling what you need over a shoulder and in a hand. At worst you tote a modest gear bag. The work of tropical shore diving will vary but you are not dealing with cold water suits & weights so while there may be some tough stepping it's a lot easier. Most resort settings are located n the leeward side of the locale so high seas are a novelty.

Welcome back!

Pete