Starting Classes Tomorrow - Advice Needed!

[Nasser]

Since the topic has arisen, I've asked this question before-- If you're going on a (tropical?) week long dive vacation and you are one who doesn't want to dive with new divers, are you usually able to get the dive op to confirm (by e mail, etc.) that this won't happen--before you book that expensive trip? Or, even a local charter-- I'm lucky enough just to get a boat to go out at all on the N. Gulf of Mex. in winter and therefore am not at all choosy about instabuddies, but that's just me.

You need to do some research. On liveaboards where one tends to do quite a bit of advance planning, you can get a pretty good idea of what kind of dives are being offered... in fact, some ops will require a minimum amount of dives (i.e. 100+ to get on ). With day trips it can be more of a mixed bag and you may need to ask various ops how they run day trips and let them know what you're looking for specifically.

 

[boulderjohn]

Well, sonuvagun! My apologies! I had looked at the "flow chart" here:

https://www.tdisdi.com/tdi/get-certified/tdi-diver-level-courses/

and thought that it meant that Nitrox and Adv Nitrox were prereqs for Deco. But, I just read the standards for Deco and now see that the only prereqs are Advanced Open Water (aka Advanced Adventure Diver) and 25 logged dives. Interesting, actually, that you could take Deco with so little prior training and experience.

Thanks for setting me straight, boulderjohn.

It really shows the difference you can have between agencies.

TDI has minimal requirements to start tech training. You start with a basic intro to tech course and work your way up (in the initial phases), through Decompression Procedures. Look at the course requirements for each, and you will see that the content is highly backloaded. By that I mean that there is not a lot of learning until you reach decompression procedures, at which point the learning gets very heavy. With PADI, the requirements for starting the tech program are much, much more severe, and the learning is frontloaded. You get an awful lot of content in the Tech 40 and tech 45 courses, and not so much in the tech 50 course, where they assume you learned the critical stuff earlier and are just working on the more advanced skills required at that level.

In both cases, whatever you learned in your recreational nitrox course is almost irrelevant, because you will learn what you need to know in the tech courses.

 

[tridacna]

"Seek first to understand... then, to be understood."

Hasn't stopped him yet. Prattling instead of listening is a "virtue" to many. Remember the eye doc from LI?

 

[RJP]

Since the topic has arisen, I've asked this question before-- If you're going on a (tropical?) week long dive vacation and you are one who doesn't want to dive with new divers, are you usually able to get the dive op to confirm (by e mail, etc.) that this won't happen--before you book that expensive trip? Or, even a local charter-- I'm lucky enough just to get a boat to go out at all on the N. Gulf of Mex. in winter and therefore am not at all choosy about instabuddies, but that's just me.

My experience is that if you show up someplace warm wearing a drysuit, BP/W, 7ft hose, can light etc and tell them you're from NJ... most ops simply ask you to not pick on the other divers and pretty much let you do your own thing.

But seriously...

Seriously.

 

[Tug]

My experience is that if you show up someplace warm wearing a drysuit, BP/W, 7ft hose, can light etc and tell them you're from NJ... most ops simply ask you to not pick on the other divers and pretty much let you do your own thing.

But seriously...

Seriously.

pretty much my experience as well.. I remember being a relatively new diver and having a boat DM take one glance at my BP/W and letting me do my own thing

 

[Learn It]

Best of luck in your classes. I work in the city but live on the south shore. Locally I have dove a few freshwater lakes and some shore dives in Newport, RI. Deff want to get up to Cape Ann this summer though.

 

[OliviaRose]

Update

I finished the rest of pool three and all of pool four last night and it was awesome! All of the staff continues to impress me, the quality of instruction is excellent, and the whole process has been a lot of fun so far. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of the very basics and every time I put on the gear my comfort in it (and the water) improves.

My left ear is bothering me a little - I feel like I am working very hard to keep it equalized on the way down, although once I am at the bottom of the pool it does feel better. It's very similar to flying. On airplanes, it drives me crazy during the takeoff and landing but calms down once the plane has reached its cruising altitude. Every time I made a descent, I'd have to stop and ascend a bit at least once.

My instructor did give me a good tip however - to tuck my chin down while equalizing - and it seems to help a little. They are aware that I've ruptured before and have all been really cool about helping me work with it. I consider it a huge win that I was to do several descents and ascents to the deep end without any problems or pain, even if it was really slow! I am very relieved and feel much more confident that the ear will not end up being a roadblock to diving. Overall really super happy with how it went!

I will be finishing the final two pool sessions this week and then hopefully doing the ocean dives in May or June. I'm going to try to do as many as I can, as long as the NE water is tolerable, before Hawaii in late July/August. I just booked the first two dives - Molokini Crater off of Maui and a night dive with manta rays in Kona! I didn't know about Molokini, but as soon as I saw it I knew I had to go there... Has anyone on here been?

Also - I've been seeing a lot of stuff about drift diving in Hawaii as I do my research. It sounds really cool but I don't know anything about it skill-wise. Is drift diving safe for new divers?

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

"Also - I've been seeing a lot of stuff about drift diving in Hawaii as I do my research. It sounds really cool but I don't know anything about it skill-wise. Is drift diving safe for new divers?"

Depending on the location and circumstances, it ought to be. i.e. moderate current, good captain, experienced divemaster/leader.

I've led hundreds of groups on drift dives. I would say the most common problem I saw in newbies was doing a safe slow ascent, and a good safety stop "in the blue." (i.e. maintaining good buoyancy and depth control without a physical aid or close visual reference.)

 

[boulderjohn]

Also - I've been seeing a lot of stuff about drift diving in Hawaii as I do my research. It sounds really cool but I don't know anything about it skill-wise. Is drift diving safe for new divers?

Drift diving is a general term for just going with the current and then ascending and being picked up by the boat. Is it safe for beginners? The answer is the same as for the question "Is climbing up mountains safe for beginners?" Some drift diving is about as easy as diving can possibly be. Some drift diving is extremely challenging and calls for very advanced skills. The rest is in between.

 

[OliviaRose]

Well, it sounds really fun! Maybe I will give it a try, why not? I can't wait to go "out in the blue!" I love reefs but am also looking forward to other experiences, including blue water and pelagic species. Is it more difficult to maintain close proximity to your buddy when drift diving? Also, how exactly does the ascent work on a drift dive? From what I understand, you are followed by the boat?

---------- Post added April 28th, 2015 at 06:05 PM ----------

Sorry - I am always full of so many questions! Thank you so much to all of you who have continued to reply, it has been very helpful throughout and hopefully can also be of assistance to other new divers such as myself who read the thread. So what do you guys think about the 3mm wetsuit in Hawaii? I don't mind getting another wetsuit but a 7mm would likely be too much, right? I do not get cold at all in the pool but the water is definitely warm.

---------- Post added April 28th, 2015 at 06:05 PM ----------

Layers?