Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
Really need this translated into internationally understood numbers!
I understand where you’re coming from with a 3l pony. When I was pushing the limits of a 15l, there were thoughts of a 3l pony. Ended up with a 10l pony and swapped the 15l for a 10l, as the 3l didn’t really work beyond 40m.
Guided dives are controlled by the heaviest gas consumers or there is a mechanism for them to ascend early. This is not gas planning. I never limit my group with regard to gas consumption. Planning your dive applies to independent dives where you and/or your dive buddy(ies) have to plan your own gas use to successfully execute your dive. I'm not at all sure you ever do that.
This all leads back to where I made my initial post which I still consider valid bearing in mind it was in the basic scuba section. I probably would not have made such a post in the advanced or technical section. However I still have a view that is difficult to explain in a way that will not be misinterpreted. The impression given by the posts in that basic section was you you should know your SAC exactly and calculate your dive on that. My view is that early on in your dive career it is just as valid to know how long you can expect to dive various profiles on a given cylinder size and bar.
Very occasionally I dive solo but I prefer not to just in case I have a medical issue. Quite often I dive with just a buddy or two and we take turns leading / navigation. Our gas planning consists of letting the other know when we are at pre agreed cylinder pressures, typically 150, 120, 100, 65, 50. We usually max the dive time according to the lowest bar or first NDL, if necessary incurring a long surface swim. Quite often there is a guide but they may be for up to 16 divers, they are more like a divemaster who leads the weaker group. We may all gather at the bottom of the shot line or descend as separate groups. Common to do part of the dive as one big group then separate. We plan our dives based on underwater features or maps and how far we should get on a cylinder. We do not use SAC calculations. You only need a "photographer" to hang about or someone to fin at 0.2 m/sec too fast and any gas calculation is up the creek anyway. One time the boat was going to a place we had been before so me and a buddy asked if we could be let off the boat about 3/4 of a mile from the jetty. Other than knowing the depth was unlikely to much exceed 20m, and the house reef adjacent to the jetty, we knew nothing about the dive, we just followed the contour at about 18 to 20m and turned left at 80 bar until we came across recognizable parts of the house reef. I plan to do the same next year except from the north east. I am quite happy to dive without a plan, just get off the boat and drift with the current seeing whatever we come across then surface when air gets low. hopefully the boat will have followed the bubbles, if not there is always the smb and or a long surface swim. I have attached a screenshot of probably my favourite dive site, You just head south and play about until you gas get low then head north.
