Should I go below 60'

[jetblast00]

I completely agree with what most people have said already, do it or don't do it based on your confidence and comfortability level. But I do have one more question for the group...

Who in god's name would take uncertified divers to >110' on a resort dive?!?!?!?

 

[92630Diver]

In regard to being non-certified and having been taken to 110+ fsw... I get a similar reaction from any experienced diver that I've mentioned it to. The follow up reaction is... "that's Mexico for you!" or something to that effect.

The two boat dives made that day were good experiences overall. The second dive was to 60 fsw max, with a surface interval of approximately 1.5 hours. To the credit of the divemaster who took me on these dives, he also had us make a safety stop at 15 fsw for 8 - 10 minutes at the conclusion of the first dive. Once aboard the boat he commented that he hadn't intended to go to that depth, but gained confidence in my abilities as we dove and chose to go deeper in order to see more than mud flows and debris (the aftermath of hurricane Juliette which passed through just a couple of weeks prior).

I'm glad that I made the dives, but in retrospect I count my lucky stars and thank my guardian angel. I wouldn't recommend anyone dive to that depth without proper training. The risks are too great. Even with my c-card I know enough now not to presume that I can make a dive like that without proper consideration, and based on the opinions here... additional instruction.

Thanks go out to each of you for the advice. I intend to take the PADI AOW course as soon as possible. I'll then pursue cards in various specialties.

 

[DivingGal]

Originally posted by 92630Diver
Thanks go out to each of you for the advice. I intend to take the PADI AOW course as soon as possible. I'll then pursue cards in various specialties.

Good for you, you won't regret the training!

 

[trymixdiver]

Jet

Good question but i know it happens. heres a similar story:

My brother was taking O/W from the local College ( Cal State ...) he says it was pretty hard to get into because so many people showed up for the class. A swim test determined who could stay and who needed to try next time. Anyway, there cert dives were done at Catalina Island in Southern California. They dove a wall and my brother says the instructor took them to 160'. My brother also said once everyone was back on the boat this instructor was resetting everyones max depth needles on the computers. He was being sneaky about it too. Didnt want them to know what he was doing.

I wont name the college or the instructor who happens to be well known.

Andy

 

[ScubyDoo]

I just passed my OW course a few weeks ago, and dont have any logged dives yet (other than cert dives). I plan on doing some dives this summer in the Gulf (most likely Destin). Ive been told the Liberty Ships and barges offshore lie in 80-90 fsw.

You can call me a prude, but I distinctively remember learning that you should NEVER dive beyond your training or experience level. Its easy to say "Ah...its just a few more feet", but that is what gets people into trouble. Personally, I dont want to become one those statistics that everyone reads about.

That said, one of the first things I did soon after recieving my OW certification was to sign up for the Advanced Open Water course, in which Deep diving is not only included but mandatory. In addition I am taking the "Peak Performance Buoyancy" specialty and "Wreck Diving" specialty as well.

My LDS has set up thier AOW classes with 3 predetermined Adventure Dives + the mandatory "Deep Diving" and "Underwater Navigation". Since the 3 adventure dives are predetermined by the LDS, I didnt have the option to select "Wreck and PPB" as part of my AOW, which preturbs me a little. I guess they dont have much choice though due to the work load of the instructors. It will work out fine in the end though because I will have even more training since I'll be taking "boat diving", "search & recovery", and "night diving" as part of the AOW.

All those courses will take less time than my OW course took, and should provide me the proper training to dive the wrecks I want to dive off Destin this summer.

Sorry for the long speech.....my advice would be to take your AOW class first. The training is essential and the peace of mind is.........priceless!

 

[TexasMike]

Scoob...

Good on ya to take your AOW with those "Adventure Dives" you've mentioned.

Remember that the adventure dives are just that, a single dive within that "specialty" to give you a taste of what that is. Once you get a few more dives in your log after the AOW and adventure dives, I encourage you to persue the actual c-cards in those specialties.

As an example, even though I've had many dives using nav, at night, and deep to 120', I plan to persue the SDI cards for Navigation, Night Diving, and Deep Diver. This way I know that I have covered all of the academics and little important details that go with those dives.

 

[ScubyDoo]

Originally posted by TexasMike
Remember that the adventure dives are just that, a single dive within that "specialty" to give you a taste of what that is. Once you get a few more dives in your log after the AOW and adventure dives, I encourage you to persue the actual c-cards in those specialties.

Yes I know Mike. Sorry if I didnt make that apparent in my post. I could go ahead and do the specialty in Peak Performance Buoyancy (which Im told is one or two OW dives) in addition to the classroom and pool dives. For now I opted just for the pool dives. I can take the PPG OW dives at any time to go ahead and get my specialty card. I'm sure I will go ahead and do that sometime this summer.

The owner of my LDS kinda chided me on a recent visit. We were discussing how far I wanted to take my training, and I indicated I just wanted the basics. He said every single DiveMaster working for him said the exact same thing.

I'll probably wind up a DM working for him too!!

 

[TexasMike]

I'm in the middle of taking my DM class now (via SDI). And after just two class sessions, I gotta say it's almost like learning diving all over again from a more advanced slant.

I'm definitely having a good time with the class and definitely see that it will advance both my skills and general approach.

Oh, and once you get some more dives logged after your AOW, be sure to investigate the Rescue class.

 

[lazyfuzypanda]

What's nark feels like? Anyone?


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