DivetheRock, I would suggest you PM NWGratefulDiver and ask him for his handout on gas management.
Whenever you dive, you should decide BEFORE the dive starts how much gas you have, how much gas your buddy has, and how that gas is to be used. Some dives, you can use all the gas you have, other than a safe reserve to get you and your buddy to the surface in the event of an emergency. Dives from a live boat are like that. Some dives, like your shore dive, are dives where you would very much like to get back to your starting point, but you do have the option of surfacing earlier if you must. Those dives allow you to use half of the available gas (reserving the amount for emergencies, always). Dives where you MUST get back to the starting point are managed by the rule of thirds.
If you understand this, you can plan, and say to one another, "Well, we need to turn the dive when I get to "x" psi." And doing that, you will know that you will be safe with respect to gas supply, failing a massive equipment problem (and they are extremely rare.)
Then, once you get in the water, you need to build a strong habit of checking your pressure gauge every five minutes. If you know what your typical gas consumption IS, you can pick up very quickly if you are under stress, working against an unforeseen current, or otherwise using gas faster than you planned. That will give you a clue as to whether you will be able to dive as long as you had expected.
Making good decisions in the face of problems underwater is something that takes time and experience. In most cases, especially in shallow dives, a significant problem or malfunction is best dealt with by surfacing (in a controlled fashion). As you get deeper, that changes, but certainly at the depths where you are diving, there's no reason to remain at depth in the face of any major problem.
You probably would also benefit from doing some additional reading about decompression and tables and computers, so that you can better understand why you were taught to do the things you were taught to do, and when exceptions can be made to the rules you learned. You would have been saved a great deal of anxiety on this dive, for example, if you had understood that the stop you learned to do is, in fact, optional.
You're a new diver, and there is a ton of stuff to learn about this sport. But do ask Bob for his gas management stuff. Diver0001 (on this board) taught me that the only real emergency is a lack of anything to breathe. Everything else is an inconvenience. (That's an overstatement, but the underlying principle is valid.) You need a better understanding of how to plan and manage your gas supply in order to be safe.
Whenever you dive, you should decide BEFORE the dive starts how much gas you have, how much gas your buddy has, and how that gas is to be used. Some dives, you can use all the gas you have, other than a safe reserve to get you and your buddy to the surface in the event of an emergency. Dives from a live boat are like that. Some dives, like your shore dive, are dives where you would very much like to get back to your starting point, but you do have the option of surfacing earlier if you must. Those dives allow you to use half of the available gas (reserving the amount for emergencies, always). Dives where you MUST get back to the starting point are managed by the rule of thirds.
If you understand this, you can plan, and say to one another, "Well, we need to turn the dive when I get to "x" psi." And doing that, you will know that you will be safe with respect to gas supply, failing a massive equipment problem (and they are extremely rare.)
Then, once you get in the water, you need to build a strong habit of checking your pressure gauge every five minutes. If you know what your typical gas consumption IS, you can pick up very quickly if you are under stress, working against an unforeseen current, or otherwise using gas faster than you planned. That will give you a clue as to whether you will be able to dive as long as you had expected.
Making good decisions in the face of problems underwater is something that takes time and experience. In most cases, especially in shallow dives, a significant problem or malfunction is best dealt with by surfacing (in a controlled fashion). As you get deeper, that changes, but certainly at the depths where you are diving, there's no reason to remain at depth in the face of any major problem.
You probably would also benefit from doing some additional reading about decompression and tables and computers, so that you can better understand why you were taught to do the things you were taught to do, and when exceptions can be made to the rules you learned. You would have been saved a great deal of anxiety on this dive, for example, if you had understood that the stop you learned to do is, in fact, optional.
You're a new diver, and there is a ton of stuff to learn about this sport. But do ask Bob for his gas management stuff. Diver0001 (on this board) taught me that the only real emergency is a lack of anything to breathe. Everything else is an inconvenience. (That's an overstatement, but the underlying principle is valid.) You need a better understanding of how to plan and manage your gas supply in order to be safe.
