What does "Dive Planning" mean to you?

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Since I tend to solo, my dives plans are also abbreviated.
1) Determine the purpose of the dive, explore, practice skills, chill-out, look for a certain critter, etc...
2) Check my gear at least 2x to insure against stupid issues
3) Determine rock bottom pressure and turn pressure (if applicable) for the depth & location
4) Plot out a dive rout if possible (and applicable) to get back to the entry point (without doing a periscope ascent)
5) Plan a check-in routine to trigger a search in a reasonable time frame should the worst happen

 

[randini]

I'm a sort of diving safety officer for the marine lab I work at here in Chile where we have between 5-10 divers. Up until recently the dive planning pretty much consisted in making sure to have enough tanks for however many dives they would feel like doing and how to get to and from the dive site. Dives would continue until the tanks were empty, they were swapped and divers would go back in never looking at a dive table or computer. A few of the regs didn't have SPG's or depth gauges, pre-dive checks were non existent and nobody paid attention to whether divers were even certified.

That's changed now as I've recently finished the new regulations and make all divers operating under the lab (either research dives or dives using lab gear) fill out a form and send it to me 24 hours before diving, and keep copies of valid c-cards on file with me. The form forces them to think about: where they will be diving, making sure gear has been maintained/serviced properly, where the air fills are coming from (and if the compressor's up to specs), RDP's and dive tables, first aid kits, communications (radio or cellular phone), dive flags/buoys, formulate an emergency plan that includes telephone numbers and transportation issues (there is no 911 service here) for general medical needs and barotrauma, and so on. I tried to make the form painless so that it only takes about a minute to do once you've done it a few times. But if a diver never thought about any of this stuff before, it might take them half an hour to fill out if they don't know when a reg's been serviced last or where the nearest chamber is.

Tides or altitude aren't much of a consideration here since the tidal currents are pretty minimal and we're at sea level.

 

[Diver0001]

How loose do I have to make these screws to navigate that way please.

If a baby giggles and wants to shake your head.....

But of course, if you don't start every dive by looking out the window, & deciding if it's worth getting out of bed, "ya gonna die".

{serious mode on} I've had many dives that ended before they started. I check the weather the day before and the day OF the dive every time... even after 27 years. At that I still occasionally find myself standing at the dive-site saying "sorry boys but this isn't going to happen today".

R..

 

[Rhone Man]

As others have said it depends on where I'm diving but for most of the diving I do like in Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan, the Caymans, etc., my planning is usually get back to the boat or back to shore with 500 psi. Haven't seen a need to plan much beyond that in those conditions.

Huh. I don't like to criticise, but why do you cut your dives short like that? If the tank isn't on 200 psi, you are not making your LDS earn their money on the fills...

 

[Max Speed]

I always ask my wife what kind of dive she wants to do...