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We had good friend/refresher student who rreally wanted to go on the night lobster dive with us, on the Marissa. It had been years since he dived and then in only Caribbean waters.
My husband and I ( he's and instructor, I'm a DMC) took him on a refresher scuba shore dive at La Jolla shores. He was afraid of leopard sharks and afraid to go below 30 feet. He actually made an uncontrolled ascent because he thought a shark was biting him. Thankfully, he remembered to breathe!
We told him that the lobster dive would not be the best starting boat dive in cold waters for him and he agreed. He had never night dived and lobster adds degrees of difficulty to the average night dive.
thankfully, he agreed with the decision not to go.
The conditions that night (hubby and I went) were rough with many experienced divers overcome by sea sickness. The waves and current made navigation back to the boat and getting onto the boat difficult. Water was 60 degrees. Visibility was 10 feet, worse on the second dive.
This was certainly not a dive for beginners. There was no hand-holding, no help with gear set-up, no DM Guided dive. Getting to the dive platform, making sure buddy checks are done was the responsibility if of the buddy teams, not the DM. (which is what my husband and I prefer). There were a couple of tech divers on board and everybody was experienced.
While we would have been like glue on our student, I honestly don't think the first dive, 90 feet in rough waters with waves, current and surge, would have been a good idea for him. What if he became separated from us? Could he navigate back to the boat? Not sure he had the presence of mind to use his compass. What if he panicked at 90 feet, like he'd done earlier at 30 feet, when he thought a leopard shark was eating him. Things get a little crazy while hunting. I had a free flow reg at 90 feet and shortly after my mask was kicked off by my buddy while stuffing a lobster into a bag. At 90 feet, panic because of a lost mask or free flow regulator would have been unacceptable.
Now,there were many exceptionally trained divers on board, the crew was diving a rebreather and doubles/OC.
Lobster diving is not really for the vacation, Caribbean divers. It's cold, rough, dark and can be deep. Plus, you have to remember to check air and depth while in the midst of chasing down lobsters. Big distraction! Serious task loading. Plus, many divers without night experience have freak-out episodes during night dives. Not a good combination at all.
My husband and I ( he's and instructor, I'm a DMC) took him on a refresher scuba shore dive at La Jolla shores. He was afraid of leopard sharks and afraid to go below 30 feet. He actually made an uncontrolled ascent because he thought a shark was biting him. Thankfully, he remembered to breathe!
We told him that the lobster dive would not be the best starting boat dive in cold waters for him and he agreed. He had never night dived and lobster adds degrees of difficulty to the average night dive.
thankfully, he agreed with the decision not to go.
The conditions that night (hubby and I went) were rough with many experienced divers overcome by sea sickness. The waves and current made navigation back to the boat and getting onto the boat difficult. Water was 60 degrees. Visibility was 10 feet, worse on the second dive.
This was certainly not a dive for beginners. There was no hand-holding, no help with gear set-up, no DM Guided dive. Getting to the dive platform, making sure buddy checks are done was the responsibility if of the buddy teams, not the DM. (which is what my husband and I prefer). There were a couple of tech divers on board and everybody was experienced.
While we would have been like glue on our student, I honestly don't think the first dive, 90 feet in rough waters with waves, current and surge, would have been a good idea for him. What if he became separated from us? Could he navigate back to the boat? Not sure he had the presence of mind to use his compass. What if he panicked at 90 feet, like he'd done earlier at 30 feet, when he thought a leopard shark was eating him. Things get a little crazy while hunting. I had a free flow reg at 90 feet and shortly after my mask was kicked off by my buddy while stuffing a lobster into a bag. At 90 feet, panic because of a lost mask or free flow regulator would have been unacceptable.
Now,there were many exceptionally trained divers on board, the crew was diving a rebreather and doubles/OC.
Lobster diving is not really for the vacation, Caribbean divers. It's cold, rough, dark and can be deep. Plus, you have to remember to check air and depth while in the midst of chasing down lobsters. Big distraction! Serious task loading. Plus, many divers without night experience have freak-out episodes during night dives. Not a good combination at all.
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