what do you consider an advanced dive?

[mala]

if ,as a buddy pair,you can listen to a dive brief on a boat at a previously undived site,do the dive without the guide in a safe manner and according to the plan then that for me is an advanced dive.

 

[FM1520]

I simply believe that it is better to catagorize the diver, and most relevantly, their approach to a given dive; rather than try to create some 'catch all' definition of a dive.

Attributing 'advanced' factors to a dive site is quite implausible. You dive in Northern Europe... what is 'basic' for you would be incredibly 'advanced' for a comparably experienced diver who dove the tropics. What you consider 'complex' might seem extremely undemanding and simple for a diver of higher level. So on, and so forth...

So...a dive site, or location, may demand an 'advanced approach'. That'd include specialist skills, protocols or equipment for sure... but relative to what? Also, shouldn't we also consider the application of specialist skills, protocols and equipment on seemingly 'basic' dives? Just because a site is benign, doesn't mean that safety cannot be improved by the diver's approach to the dive.

It'd be fair to designate a site as 'basic' - but that still has to be attributed towards a specific level of training/diving. For instance, a 'basic' open-water site... or a 'basic decompression dive'... or a 'basic' wreck penetration. That leaves us with an understanding that an 'advanced' site/dive requires something beyond the bare qualification-level essentials... some accumulation of further generic or specific experience, some specialist competencies etc etc

That's an 'approach-orientated' perspective to defining the demands of a dive.

Well said and I agree. To answer the OP, I don't think there is much value in trying to label a site as "advanced" or otherwise. As said earlier, the operators in SoCal don't seem to label sites but my experience on the east coast is different - operators require "advanced certs" for a lot of sites, which I think is more of a way to create a demand for AOW classes than anything else.

 

[fjpatrum]

I don't know of any particular sites but several other people have given fine examples. For me, I don't think it's any specific thing as long as it still falls in the "recreational" category. It's more an ongoing scale of "new to me".

Basically anything I haven't experienced more than a couple times. A night dive was "advanced" the first time I did one. The second time a little less so. A night dive with surge or a shore entry, advanced the first time but less so now. Boat dives with entry/exit in seas bigger than 3 feet would definitely fall in the "advanced" category. My first dry dive, while only to 40 feet was "advanced" because I had new equipment considerations.

Similarly, at this point, I consider anything beyond about 70 feet "advanced" because I've only experienced it a handful of times and it requires me to make different equipment and planning decisions than I would normally make for my "standard" 40-60 foot reef/quarry dives. I'm comfortable with those deeper dives but the extra thought/planning I need to consider makes them advanced for me. If/when they become my "standard" then my definition will change accordingly.

 

[Rich Keller]

*****

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I try to not make most of my dives "advanced".

Excellent point. To me diving is my relaxation and unwinding time. While it is nice to challenge yourself and extend you experience level by doing more advanced dives I am not one of the adrenalin junkies who needs to seriously push the envelope every dive by doing only "Advanced dives".

Our most common shore dive location has a multitude of options for different dives. It can go from a walk in the park to smell the roses to a run through the park trying to avoid the predators!

I think the most important things here

1) The diver does an honest assessment of their skills.
2) Someone gives them an honest description of the dive
3) The safety of the diver is not unduly dependent on another person.
4) The diver has learned the most important lesson of all..WHEN TO THUMB A DIVE!

IMHO many dive tragedies could be avoided by applying those four points before splashing.

 

[boulderjohn]

I had an experience recently that fits into the idea of the definition of an advanced dive being different for different people.

I was diving with someone who had been my student for a while, and he had done extremely well in previous dives. We had calculated his SAC rate pretty well, and we had done a number of dives together without an issue. We planned a dive in a very large sink hole to 130 feet to see a specific feature. He was excited. We planned it carefully and went down. We had not been there long at all before he signaled that he had reached his turn pressure, and we did our ascent. He had never been that deep before, and he had never been that dark before. We both had excellent lights, but it was really, really dark there.As a result, his SAC rate had exploded. He admitted that he was shocked at how anxious he had become.

For me, it was a dive I had done many times before, so I did not consider it advanced by any means. I realized that what is routine for me may be anything but routine to my buddy, and I should have paid more attention to that fact. We were never in danger by any means because we had planned well and taken all the proper precautions, but I should have been more aware of the possibility that the "routine" dive for me would have been a serious adventure for him.

 

[Frosty]

On thursday I did a dive with my regular dive buddy.It was a 400 yard swim out to start the dive with zero viz.Which was expected -its a silty bay.
The plan was to do a letter D -swim against the current for 15 minutes then out and around with the current to end up back at our start point Starting the dive and vis was maxed out at 10 feet down to 5 feet.It was a fairly shallow dive only 24 feet The whole dive was done using compass for nav back to the dive start point. Working with swell.current and a tide we were quite pleased to end up 45 minutes from dive start right back at the entrance to the bay. Advanced-MMM I dunno but it was a decent workout for the body and mind.

 

[CamG]

Once again this is a great read for all divers.
Great subject that requires a personal assessment of individual dive skills and experience.
To Advanced dives mean many things but agree that it depends on experience and skill sets.
Usually if I have to question then it is out of my experience level and will planned accordingly either to accommodate my skill comfort level or progress to achieve it.

Conditions, particular depth or ceiling issues can complicate dives in a hurry.
My rule is experience, skill set, comfort level with the plan those determine a dive plan.
It always is better to have a mentor in a particular environment the first few dives to point out these particular conditions and how to become aware of them.
Not that we need baby sitters or am I advocating dependence on other divers but specific characteristics unfamiliar to say a FL cave diver traveling to the west coast would present a issue.

Just my thoughts not to confuse or irritate anyone.

CamG

 

[geoff w]

This topic was on my mind when we were shore diving this weekend. I looked at the spots we dived in terms of whether they are advanced or not. I concluded any dive site an experienced diver familiar with the site looks at and determines conditions are not conducive to diving is an advanced site. I've driven up and down the coast some weekends looking to go diving, and ended up staying dry because of either surf / waves, visibility, tides or various other reasons. Yes, the sites could have been dived, but it wouldn't have been much fun, and the likelihood of losing or damaging equipment, or someone getting hurt, was a much higher risk than normal. By this reasoning, almost any site can be advanced or not, depending on the conditions and the judgement of the diver