Tethers....

[CaseyJr]

Hi! I posted a week or so ago regarding the use of tethers. My concern was that we are newly certified and would be a three-some (mother, father, and 13 y/o son). I was nervous about our getting separated.

Just a follow-up: We took our first dive trip since getting cert. this past Saturday. We were in water with about 10'-15' visibility (we had 3'-4' for our OWD). Everything worked out very well for us and we had a good time! We did not use a tether.

I thank everyone for your posts of advice, suggestions, and confidence-building words of wisdom! -- I think that's all I was grasping for in the first place.

We were able to come up with a good dive plan (although we did forget a few things on the first dive -- we forgot to remind son about safety stops, but even though he couldn't figure out what we were doing, he did stay right with us!) that worked for us. We alternated leaders (more or less), worked with compass navigation, and practiced u/w communication (among other things new divers practice). Once or twice when I was leading, I'd look back and not see my husband at first -- he was just a foot or 2 out of range. We talked about this afterward for future dives. But I didn't panic. All was well!
So proud of us all!:dancingsnoopy:

 

[diver 85]

Glad everything went well, keep up the good work ie diving.....Where did ya'll dive??.......

 

[CaseyJr]

in Terrell, TX (just this side of Dallas). It was a great place for beginners to practice and was only 1 tankfull (of gas) away which made it a convenient day trip.

 

[TSandM]

Congratulations! It's a big confidence booster, when you realize you really CAN plan and execute your own dive -- I still remember that.

If you're routinely diving in visibility that poor, you might consider talking over positioning strategies. Diving in single file in poor viz makes it very difficult to keep track of people, and it's very easy for the person in front to fail to note that the person behind has had to stop for some reason. You don't have to swim very long to lose somebody in ten foot viz! Swimming side by side makes it MUCH easier to keep track of one another. In a team of three (which it sounds like you're going to be managing frequently, with three divers in the family) you put the leader in the middle, and the two "outriggers" can keep track of the leader easily, and the leader can see both of them with a simple head turn.

On walls, where you don't want to use that positioning, you can turn toward the wall and have your buddies just a little behind you (in that strategy, you will lose visual contact with them each time you turn forward to swim along the wall) or you can use high intensity lights, and keep track of your buddies by noting their lights on the wall. There are some nice, focused and bright hand-held lights you can use for this purpose.

Have fun with it. If you can dive well in low viz like this, then when you get to warm water and 100 foot viz, you'll be ecstatic!

 

[CaseyJr]

We tried to stay in a sort of "V" formation and close enough that the leader could look around to see and touch the other 2. Usually we ended up like the Starship Enterprise with the saucer in front and sligthly below the nacells. Son didn't want to be leader, so whichever parent was toward the back made sure to keep him in sight.

 

[diver 85]

We tried to stay in a sort of "V" formation and close enough that the leader could look around to see and touch the other 2. Usually we ended up like the Starship Enterprise with the saucer in front and sligthly below the nacells. Son didn't want to be leader, so whichever parent was toward the back made sure to keep him in sight.

Reminds me of our 'earlier' days, @ 1st in '85 it was myself, wife & 14 yo daughter---by about '90 it was 5 of us--our 2 younger sons each got cert. @ age 12.......I would stay in the middle and the other 4 would pair up as 2 buddy teams, one pair on each side of me.....my head never stopped moving from looking back & forth...Ah, those were really the good ole days......Again, keep up the diving-practice makes perfect........

 

[Guba]

Glad to hear the dives went well. Also, it was great to see you dived at Clear Springs (Terrell, Texas), which is one of my "stomping ground" sites. You might want to visit the "Texas Swamp Divers" forum here on Scubaboard. Many TSD members dive at Clear Springs on a regular basis. If you and your family would like to meet other divers or attend some dive events, watch the TSD board for information and contacts. We're always willing to meet folks and get underwater!

 

[spectrum]

Once or twice when I was leading, I'd look back and not see my husband at first -- he was just a foot or 2 out of range. We talked about this afterward for future dives. But I didn't panic. All was well!
So proud of us all!:dancingsnoopy:

It sounds like a great outing. Congratulations to all.

The perk-a-boo husband may have been due to lighting or gear colors. If you had something like yellow fins he may have seen you clearly while his black hood may have been invisible to you across the same distance. For this reason IaAlways choose yellow accessories for diving in our local limited visibility.

Pete

 

[tomboyy]

Hi! I posted a week or so ago regarding the use of tethers. My concern was that we are newly certified and would be a three-some (mother, father, and 13 y/o son). I was nervous about our getting separated.

Just a follow-up: We took our first dive trip since getting cert. this past Saturday. We were in water with about 10'-15' visibility (we had 3'-4' for our OWD). Everything worked out very well for us and we had a good time! We did not use a tether.

I thank everyone for your posts of advice, suggestions, and confidence-building words of wisdom! -- I think that's all I was grasping for in the first place.

We were able to come up with a good dive plan (although we did forget a few things on the first dive -- we forgot to remind son about safety stops, but even though he couldn't figure out what we were doing, he did stay right with us!) that worked for us. We alternated leaders (more or less), worked with compass navigation, and practiced u/w communication (among other things new divers practice). Once or twice when I was leading, I'd look back and not see my husband at first -- he was just a foot or 2 out of range. We talked about this afterward for future dives. But I didn't panic. All was well!
So proud of us all!:dancingsnoopy:

Is your son certified? Glad everyone surfaced safe.

Tom

 

[CaseyJr]

I have yellow fins, so that's probably why he could see me better than I could see him.

Yes, our son is certified (we certified together), but as a "junior" diver (he's 13) he will need adult supervision & guidance for a while.