Underwater Navigation. Where to start.

[NJMike]

Gary D.

Nice picture. And not a bad idea, either. I have a field nearby where I should be able to easily take 100 paces in each direction. A trash bag, a new light, new compass, a thermos of coffee...be back in a couple of hours, dear...

 

[jpcpat]

Thank you, everyone! This November 18-19 I will be taking my OW 1-2 dives. This is in Dutch Springs. I'm looking forward to it. Even thou I have been doing freediving for years I'm excited. I never did or will do " ...You wana bet..deeper/longer.." kind of thing, water is not new to me, but scuba diving is. It's tottaly different. It's weird. My mask does not feet any more, had to get different masks (three of them, by time I found more or less good fit, not perfect thou). Breathing in the pool, one push awy from surfice is one thing, breathing at depth, is another story. Specially, when you learned not to breese. This weekend will be "Make or Brake".

Again, thank you, everyone.

Don't sweat this weekend too much. I never saw an experienced freediver have trouble with SCUBA. They tend to be confident that the surface is just a CESA away!

Be ready for a chilly day, though. remember that the bathouses are heated, with warm showers. If the group was all male, I've seen the dives debriefed in the bathouse.

 

[riffdiver]

Don't sweat this weekend too much. I never saw an experienced freediver have trouble with SCUBA. They tend to be confident that the surface is just a CESA away!

Be ready for a chilly day, though. remember that the bathouses are heated, with warm showers. If the group was all male, I've seen the dives debriefed in the bathouse.

Really! I never have been to Dutch Springs. Did not know they have heated bathhouses. That's great. Thank you!!!

 

[ZzzKing]

Read Scubaboard and Practice....

THIS should be a sticky at the top of every forum on the Board!

 

[riffdiver]

Well, I can assess last weekend's trip to Dutch Springs.

Fiasco! ! !

Saturday, the 18th it was OK. I had 5mm Full suit and 5mm step in jacket. Hood, gloves, weights, the works.Got into the suit relatively OK. Felt a little tight, But I thought it will stretch. ScubaPro, XXL written in Magic Marker from my LDS.
12:40 PM in the water, 3:15 PM out. Skils, swimming aroud, navigation. By the end of the day felt the suit tightened up.But, thinking, tomorrow, shoud be OK.

Sunday, The suit is dry, but not as dry as it was the day before. In my house, laundry room temp is 72F.
Getting into the suit was a little hard, But I got in. The only thing is, I felt hard to breathe, and the suit is tight, and I mean TIGHT.

Got my gears, all ready to get into the water. Going to the platform. That is where the problem starts. The neck seal is really squising my neck. Getting hard to breathe.
Got into the water. As the suit got wet, My chest felt like there is no room for expansion.

No matter what I tried, I could not do anything with this suit.
I had Akona suits, Bare suits and I have never felt like that. Four ladies in the group, as much as I did not want to look like a wimp, I had to get out of the water.

In the bathhouse, opened the suit and had to breathe for 10 min to get my breathing to normal. My adam's apple still hurts like ... you know what.

After doffing the suit and inspecting it, to my total surprize, I found a nametag that said XL.
In the store, I have tried the suit, felt a little hard to put on, But knowing it's a XXL I thought I'll be OK.

How stupid of me not to check nametag in the store. I had blown up the dive. OUCH.

 

[Charlie99]

.. tight neck seal ...Getting hard to breathe. Four ladies in the group, as much as I did not want to look like a wimp, I had to get out of the water.

Congratulations!

While navigation is a sometimes difficult skill to master, you have clearly mastered the even harder, and the even more valuable skill -- Aborting a dive when needed, even if you feel a bit silly about it at the time.

 

[riffdiver]

Thanks, Charlie.

I do feel a bit silly. But, I guess I paid for the lesson. Always check your equipment yourself. Do not rely on LDS. But then, again, if not to trust your LDS, then who?

 

[ClayJar]

Isn't it Ronald Reagan who had that "trust but verify" line? I consider my LDS to be a valuable source of information, but in the end, it all comes down to me. (In fact, that's pretty much what they drill into you in Rescue class -- in the end, it's *always* your call if something's just not right.)

 

[riffdiver]

Isn't it Ronald Reagan who had that "trust but verify" line? I consider my LDS to be a valuable source of information, but in the end, it all comes down to me. (In fact, that's pretty much what they drill into you in Rescue class -- in the end, it's *always* your call if something's just not right.)

Precisely.

Well, as I've said, I have aquired another bit of knowledge.