training?
- Thread starter elfn
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No, i haven't done the dry suit, debating on whether to leave that until next year. My buddy suggested waiting until I was comfortable with all the other stuff before working on that. Thought she just wanted me to watch her be dry and warm, while I was wet!
I think I'll do the AOW, since it doesn't matter too much, the extra dives might help.
I think I'll do the AOW, since it doesn't matter too much, the extra dives might help.
Do the dry suit specialty with your AOW. It will just add one more dive to it. If you are diving locally or on the coast you won't regret it. You will have six dives in the dry suit over the period of doing your AOW, which is a good start to getting comfortable using the suit.
Hotpuppy
Guest
I would tell you to go for AOW if you have the time and budget. Increasing your skillset will make you a better diver and you will have the opportunity to tune your dive skills. If you have not yet taken Drysuit that would be an excellent course that will make your dives more enjoyable.
AOW is a fun course and you get to pick the dives that make it up. As you dive and get more experience you will figure out what you enjoy most. AOW helps you get more experience and try some of the different things that diving has to offer.
As fas DrySuit... oh gosh..... do it! You will love it. I took my dry suit after OW and before AOW because I don't care for being cold. Lived in Alaska once, so I know what cold is and I don't enjoy it. DrySuit is expensive.... so make sure you have budget for an undergarment. But it will transform your dive experience in the Pacific NW. You will be able to do multiple dives and focus on enjoying what you see instead of worrying about being cold.
I now joke that when it comes to cold water there are only two kinds of divers... DrySuit Divers and Cold Divers. You can dive a wetsuit in cold water, it's just not as comfortable. So if your budget precludes the right gear for diving dry, or you can't rent a drysuit, don't fret.... just watch your exposure and be safe.
AOW is a fun course and you get to pick the dives that make it up. As you dive and get more experience you will figure out what you enjoy most. AOW helps you get more experience and try some of the different things that diving has to offer.
As fas DrySuit... oh gosh..... do it! You will love it. I took my dry suit after OW and before AOW because I don't care for being cold. Lived in Alaska once, so I know what cold is and I don't enjoy it. DrySuit is expensive.... so make sure you have budget for an undergarment. But it will transform your dive experience in the Pacific NW. You will be able to do multiple dives and focus on enjoying what you see instead of worrying about being cold.
I now joke that when it comes to cold water there are only two kinds of divers... DrySuit Divers and Cold Divers. You can dive a wetsuit in cold water, it's just not as comfortable. So if your budget precludes the right gear for diving dry, or you can't rent a drysuit, don't fret.... just watch your exposure and be safe.
If I remember correctly, the deck of the Saskatchewan is at about 95 feet -- that's a deep dive. I think it would be much better to do your first dive at that depth with an instructor who can watch you for signs of narcosis, and who can also help you understand just how fast your gas goes at that depth.
The wreck dives are also square profile, so some practice with ascents and safety stops would be a good thing, too (although you should have an upline to help). Dives off charter boats in the PNW don't have a DM or guide, either, so some compass practice wouldn't be a bad thing.
You'll have fun. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Nanaimo a couple of years ago.
The wreck dives are also square profile, so some practice with ascents and safety stops would be a good thing, too (although you should have an upline to help). Dives off charter boats in the PNW don't have a DM or guide, either, so some compass practice wouldn't be a bad thing.
You'll have fun. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Nanaimo a couple of years ago.
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The two main charter wreck dives in Nanaimo, the HMSC Saskatchewan and Cape Breton are both at around 100 feet depth. It can be cold and the vis low and possibly currents. This would be slightly different to the lakes that you certified in with some slight simlarities. There are other really cool shore dives in Nanaimo also, but depending on what you want to do, you will find yourself below 60 feet quickly.
I would recommend getting in some practice and the AOW course while in the calgary area. During your AOW, I would say that Night, Nav, Deep, Drysuit and Search and Recovery are among the better ones, unless you can do wreck, then replace S&R with wreck. This will give you experience with the things you will need to be comfortable on the sort of dives found in the Nanaimo area, including some exposure to depth and narcosis, plenty of practice with navigation skills, getting comfortable around wrecksl experience with lights and lower visibilities and most importantly, warm and dry in a drysuit. Depending on the charter boat, they may or may not have a heated cabin on the boat, and being on a open boat after a dive in a wetsuit is not only crazy, its an easy way to get hypothermic, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
When you get there, make sure you take some serious time and figure out your buoyancy in saltwater, as it is quite different compared to fresh. I would recommend trying to get some shore diving in before you hit a charter boat so that you can get in some saltwater practice before you drop off the boat see the wrecks, it will make you that much more confident in the water making the expensive charter dives that much better. There is a nice site for this called Madrona point, gorgeous shore dive with easy entry so you can get in and out to adjust your weight.
Anyway, that's my two bits.
I would recommend getting in some practice and the AOW course while in the calgary area. During your AOW, I would say that Night, Nav, Deep, Drysuit and Search and Recovery are among the better ones, unless you can do wreck, then replace S&R with wreck. This will give you experience with the things you will need to be comfortable on the sort of dives found in the Nanaimo area, including some exposure to depth and narcosis, plenty of practice with navigation skills, getting comfortable around wrecksl experience with lights and lower visibilities and most importantly, warm and dry in a drysuit. Depending on the charter boat, they may or may not have a heated cabin on the boat, and being on a open boat after a dive in a wetsuit is not only crazy, its an easy way to get hypothermic, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
When you get there, make sure you take some serious time and figure out your buoyancy in saltwater, as it is quite different compared to fresh. I would recommend trying to get some shore diving in before you hit a charter boat so that you can get in some saltwater practice before you drop off the boat see the wrecks, it will make you that much more confident in the water making the expensive charter dives that much better. There is a nice site for this called Madrona point, gorgeous shore dive with easy entry so you can get in and out to adjust your weight.
Anyway, that's my two bits.
AggieDiver
Contributor
My suggestion is to do the AOW. The extra training and dives can't do anything but help you. What I will also say is that the class where I learned the most and really became fully aware of diving was Rescue Diver. I took it along with a Nitrox class when I had about 50 dives under my belt, and it totally changed the way I looked at diving and how I perceived those around me.
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