Shallow Diving

[Lobalobo]

For a trip to Hawaii in December, I'd like to be able to dive, rather than snorkel, but for a limited purpose. I've never scuba dived and have snorkeled only a few times, so I'm starting from scratch here. All I'd want from scuba diving, for now, is to go down ten feet or so in areas suitable for snorkeling and stay there to observe, and take photos, at some leisure (i.e., not holding my breath). I know that to do even this much, I'll need to take a scuba course and be certified and I'm willing to do this, but I do have questions about whether this modest ambition actually affords me the safety I'd imagine it does, and whether it's even feasible. So here are the questions: (1) If I remained at no more than 10 or 15 feet depth is it correct that I could safely ascend quickly in the event of crisis? (The answer to this question may ease an argument I'm sure to have with my wife when I tell her that I'm taking a scuba diving course.) (2) Is diving in the presence of snorkelers safe, or are there separate areas? (3) Assuming that I were to follow through on staying with 10 or 15 feet of the surface, is it likely I'd find another scuba diver willing to be so limited (as I assume that it is never safe to dive without a partner, no matter how shallow)? Thanks in advance.

 

[swampdawg]

If you are at 10 to 15 feet,you can easily be at the surface quite quickly.If you dump your weight belt,it's a matter of a few seconds.There's usually no conflict with snorkelers,but you'll need to check locally.Finding a fellow diver at that depth would be hit or miss.

 

[danvolker]

For a trip to Hawaii in December, I'd like to be able to dive, rather than snorkel, but for a limited purpose. I've never scuba dived and have snorkeled only a few times, so I'm starting from scratch here. All I'd want from scuba diving, for now, is to go down ten feet or so in areas suitable for snorkeling and stay there to observe, and take photos, at some leisure (i.e., not holding my breath). I know that to do even this much, I'll need to take a scuba course and be certified and I'm willing to do this, but I do have questions about whether this modest ambition actually affords me the safety I'd imagine it does, and whether it's even feasible. So here are the questions: (1) If I remained at no more than 10 or 15 feet depth is it correct that I could safely ascend quickly in the event of crisis? (The answer to this question may ease an argument I'm sure to have with my wife when I tell her that I'm taking a scuba diving course.) (2) Is diving in the presence of snorkelers safe, or are there separate areas? (3) Assuming that I were to follow through on staying with 10 or 15 feet of the surface, is it likely I'd find another scuba diver willing to be so limited (as I assume that it is never safe to dive without a partner, no matter how shallow)? Thanks in advance.

First, if you did not know what you were doing, a depth of 10 feet could easily kill you on an ascent if you held your breath. Fortunately, it is easy to learn in a basic open water course, and to do what you want to do safely and easily....Diving is one of the easiest sports you could possibly learn.

Yes you can dive with snorkelors.
Diving as an activity is much smarter with a buddy you have planned on diving with...showing up with no buddy, hoping to find a good buddy, is not really an intelligent expectation.
If you are a brand new diver, tentative as you are, and without a good buddy planned for the trip, you should plan on hiring a Divemaster to dive with you.
You will not be skilled enough to dive by yourself( solo or with useless insta-buddy) in the timeline you seem to be planning.

 

[farsidefan1]

Even at 10 feet you DON'T want to hold your breath on the ascent. Never hold your breath while scuba diving. NEVER. Now go out there and have a ball I'm debating with myself whether or not I should tell you that the manta ray dive off the big island it truly a spectacular experience and a snorkeling wife could hang onto the floating ring they put above the divers and see most the action (and keep an eye on you ). The part that may not please her is that this is a night dive. But very cool.

Dang Dan, I put up my post and see you posted just ahead if me, Had you posted a moment sooner I could have just said, "What he said" with arrows pointing to Dan's post.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

First and foremost, from any depth you must ascend slowly- ideally 2 second per foot, but 1 second per foot will do. The reason to learn to scuba dive is to learn not just the equipment and skills, but also to learn and follow the many important important safety issues. There are locations to dive where you will see many colorful fish and other creatures at less than 20 feet deep, but I am pretty sure that once you get into the activity, you will want to do more. Look into doing the classroom and pool portion of your training where you live, and then get a referral to a dive center where you will be staying n Hawaii to complete your open water dives and certification. That will allow you to meet divers in Hawaii, and assure you of 4 training dives with a local instructor at fairly shallow depths. Start now the initial phases of your training, and have a great trip!
DivemasterDennis

 

[tracydr]

I would recommend that you take a Discover Scuba course. This won't require the commitment of a full Open Water course. You will get to try diving with the full attention of a dive instructor for a couple of dives. If you like it and decide to go forward, your dives will count towards an open water course.
Enjoy!

 

[Mantra]

When you first start diving recreationally, and within your limits (like me) you will find that in all the dives you do, down to 18m, you can directly ascend to the surface without a mandatory stop in a pinch. The dangers of doing so are comparable at 18m as they are at 5, in that (as others mention) there is the problem of the air in your lungs expanding as you go etc.

Am I reading too much into it to think that you are wanting to stay at these depths out of safety concerns? If so, read up more about the sport. You've come to the right place to do that! There will be some disadvantages to diving as shallow as you indicate. Firstly, you will probably need to go deeper than that in your OW course, assuming you aren't taking it 1-on-1. Secondly, as you indicate, you may have problems finding buddies who want to just stick to that depth. Can your wife be persuaded to join you? I was the less-willing partner when my wife and I learned, and I found that soon all my nervousness vanished. It's such a wonderful thing to be able to share with a partner, and solves the need to find buddies! Diving isn't for everyone, though, and it's good to respect that.

What I am thinking you will find as you complete your certification is that diving, when done sensibly, is not particularly dangerous. And there is a lot of stuff that you might want to see between that 5m limit you are thinking, and the 18m limit that you will be competent to dive. Don't get me wrong - there is a LOT to see at 5m in many places, and as a certified diver you get to plan your dive and stick to your plan. If you only ever want to dive at less than 5m, then you will enjoy some great long shallow dives, and nobody is in any position to criticise the goals you set for yourself. But you will be competent to further than that and I think you might find it hard to resist

Take the certification process seriously. Find a good instructor, and don't take a course where corners are cut. Take a longer course, with fewer students if possible. And then - enjoy. If you are poorly trained, then yes, 3-5m depth presents significant dangers. If you have been trained properly, then those dangers have been significantly mitigated - but that applies to slightly deeper diving as well.

It is good to be going in with a cautious attitude. I was quite nervous to begin, and would rather be that than overconfident and cocky. I sure paid attention to learning all those potentially life-saving skills properly!

As others have mentioned, discover scuba is a great way for you both to be eased in to the experience to see if it suits you.

 

[Fatterboy]

I agree with the Discover Scuba. They may also have Snuba, which does not require certification. I do not know much about snuba, but if I couldn't dive I would like to try it.

 

[AaronRiot]

You will not be skilled enough to dive by yourself( solo or with useless insta-buddy) in the timeline you seem to be planning.

Am I understanding you correctly in so far as that you think if the guy gets his OW he's not skilled enough to dive with an insta-buddy?

Granted, pairing up with an unknown partner can be hit or miss, however, there are a lot of skilled and experienced divers out there that may happen to be alone or in an odd #ed group. Many make fantastic insta-buddies, and may even offer advice to us noobs. I met a few during my first few days in Coz on my own and learned a lot myself.

If the OP is certed in Hawaii and feels comfortable after the OW dives why should he have to continue to have the personal DM?
Same environment, dives are clearly within cert depth of 60ft, assumed to be daytime diving if snorkelers are around.

I'd say get the training, make sure you communicate with your instructor so you can get the most out of your training, and let the text talk to your wife for you rather than generalizing this or that..

 

[west0ne]

I have recently bitten the bullet and got myself certified but over the past 20 years I have done countless discover dives whilst travelling. They cost a little more than a guided dive with all the equipment included and are usually done in around 10-15m of water. I found them to be an excellent way to do some casual diving without the expense of a course. I now realise that ignorance really is bliss as you don't really learn much but I never had any problems.

They are a good way to get in the water with minimal outlay, they are fully supervised and don't require any real commitment either in classroom time or equipment costs and there are no worries about whether or not you will find a buddy. Once you get certified you won't want to limit yourself to the shallows as you will definitely want to experience the full joys of diving.