What is a good dive plan??

[kanonfodr]

Dive planning - a basic tenet of our sport. It's preached by all, it's certainly a good idea to have a plan so everyone knows what to expect, but what does a good dive plan consist of? More importantly, is it possible to plan for the unknown??

Case in point - mine. I wasn't taught much about dive planning in either my PADI OW or AOW course. I was told it was a good idea, but never explained HOW to plan a dive. I subsequently went on several dives in my local area with little more than "There's the water, let's try and surface by 500 psi" as the dive plan. While these dives I was doing with someone I knew very well outside the water, it would still cause confusion during the dive.

In my Essentials coursework I was taught SADDDDD; Sequence, Air, Depth, Duration, Direction, Distance, and Deco. During the class it wasn't too hard: Sequence - We're going to swim out to the marker buoy, drop down, swim away for a few minutes while the instructor gets everything set, then practice skills until Rock Bottom, or someone is too cold. Air - Some were diving air, others Nitrox 32. Depth - 20 feet or so. Duration - Rock Bottom or discomfort. Direction - To the buoy. Distance - We will stay put at the line. Deco - 1 minute ascents, level every ten feet. We all had a good idea of the dive site and the instructor was very familiar with it while progressively taking a smaller part in the pre-dive sequence.

But what about the unknowns? Can you plan for that? Example: I recently discovered a new dive site while trying kayak diving. We had a plan, SADDDDD, and it was being very conservative in that we were overestimating the conditions we would find under the water, but is conservative a good plan??

I look at a plan as being the solution to the problem, but plan too much and you have just applied a tourniquet to a cut requiring only a Band-Aid. IMO, it does no good to plan a dive for 100ft depths when you will only reach 40. While it is possible to change the plan mid-dive, that could induce a certain chance for mistakes in understanding the new plan as underwater communication is not always the most effective means.

So once again, what makes a dive plan good? And is it possible to plan for the unknown (new site, different conditions, etc)?

I look forward to reading the comments.

Peace,
Greg

 

[tstormdiver]

Conservatism can be a good plan, especially for diving in an unfamiliar site with unknown conditions. Always better to err on the side of caution. A dive plan can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. Be aware though, a plan on either end of the spectrum too simple or too complicated, opens the door for things to go wrong. A decent dive plan should include dive time &/or air consumption limits, dive turn limits, depth limits, a general idea of what will be seen or done (dive objective), environmental conditions, emergency prceedures & maybe a contingency plan or 2. These should especially be gone over if diving with an unfamiliar buddy. If you have a familiar buddy, as time goes by, I would say that there will probably be a little verbal less planning, as you both become aware of eachother's movements & limitations, in a sense you will probably be reading eachother's minds- that is when a buddy team functions to the greatest effiecency. Be ready & flexible to adjust the plan according to conditions that may not be obvious from the surface. If too much adjustment of the plan is needed, call the dive. Remember one of the golden rules of diving- ANYONE may call ANY dive, at ANY time, for ANY reason, NO questions asked.

 

[Blackwood]

Remember one of the golden rules of diving- ANYONE may call ANY dive, at ANY time, for ANY reason, NO questions asked.

I will always ask questions when if a buddy unexpectedly thumbs a dive. Are we aborting? Yes. But I want to know why. If s/he is feeling faint, for example, I'm going to want to maintain physical contact.

 

[MichiganScott]

When I was certified (NAUI), My instructor stressed heavily dive planning, so much so it was almost like we would plan the dive with tables and use computers for backup (kinda backwards of what most people talk about now) however I've also been around instructors who do something like:

Case in point - mine. I wasn't taught much about dive planning in either my PADI OW or AOW course. I was told it was a good idea, but never explained HOW to plan a dive. I subsequently went on several dives in my local area with little more than "There's the water, let's try and surface by 500 psi" as the dive plan. While these dives I was doing with someone I knew very well outside the water, it would still cause confusion during the dive.

I must say my instructor was quite comfortable on 250 foot wreck dives. I on the other hand, really have no desire (yet) to go anywhere near that, or any tech type dives; sorry, ( I guess I'm a wuss). So as I'm quite comfortable with the shallower recreational dives on a single AL80, it's not so difficult to plan... And not so disaterous if you see something you want to inspect, a bit deeper than you had initially planned to go.

 

[tstormdiver]

I will always ask questions when if a buddy unexpectedly thumbs a dive. Are we aborting? Yes. But I want to know why. If s/he is feeling faint, for example, I'm going to want to maintain physical contact.

OK, granted that would probably be acceptable, but I was referring using it to ridicule that person's decision to abort the dive, whether for physical reasons or just bad vibes. Most will probably be forth coming anyways in that kind of situation where assistance may be needed.

 

[Codiak]

Planning process for me is a simple checklist:
1) Do we have a destination?
A wreck at 100ft is completely different than that "wall" over there somewhere?
If there's no destination or a first time at a location, the rest of the plan should be
very conservitive.
2) What is our planned max duration?
3) What is our planned max depth?
4) What is our planned min gas at safety stop?
Using your SAC rate you should be able to calculate your required air for this dive.
Do you have enough? If not go back to step 2.
How would a 100ft bottom, 1 hour dive and 500psi at the safety stop work for you? If the numbers do jive, don't dive.
5) Am I within my training?
Night dive anyone?
6) Am I within my ability?
7) Am I equipped properly for this dive?
Gotta a compass? How about a knife or too? Hey buddy it's just a POOL!
8) Has my buddy done the same check list?:
(8a) Are we effectively communicating?
9) Finally, am I comfortable?


Create your own list or get a checklist from one of the advanced class books: Laminate it and clip it to your BCD or the back of your dive slate... you do have a dive slate?

Believe it or not, your questions are common at your current level of experience.

I suggest you take rescue diver as one of the things you will discuss is common issues and ways to identify them before they become problems.

Otherwise dive, dive, dive... do the same list every time, expand it as you feel appropriate and dive some more. There is no substitute for experience as with every dive your confidence will build while your prep time will decrease.... there will come a point where you will easily be able to do a list like above in your head several times while you wait for the other less experienced divers to stress through their own plans.


Plan your dive, dive your plan!
Never miss a step use a list!


Final thought, I'm a stickler about staying within the plans maximum guidelines.
If I have extra air but I've reached the planned duration THE DIVE IS OVER.
If there is something 5-10 feet below the planned depth, I'll note it for a later dive and NOT drop down. I'll plan better on my next dive.

 

[TSandM]

codiak has a very good post there.

If we dive an unknown site, we agree on a maximum depth for the dive, and we have some kind of gas plan (which can depend on the site). We also agree on a leader and a deco strategy (upslope, direct ascent, etc.)

The goal of a dive plan is to make the dive go smoothly and safely. Since communication is more difficult underwater, it works best to sort out as many things on land as you can. Sometimes you just don't think of something beforehand, and that can cause issues during the dive. (I had a recent dive where we had our deco plan, in terms of time and gases, but neglected to describe WHERE we were going to do it, and that ended up causing problems.)

There is no need to plan every simple, recreational dive to the millimeter, but without some kind of framework to set the parameters for the dive, you can have a lot of confusion underwater.

 

[DCBC]

The Dive Plan requirement varies depending upon the situation. This can be quite detailed, but in-general it should include:

The name of the Divemaster responsible, a description of why the dive is to being undertaken, how the dive will be conducted, an understanding of buddy pairs or diving team, location of dive site, underwater features, u/w navigation features, description of the area/wreck, communications procedures, gas requirements, depth (max depth/time), redundancies, etc.

It should include a general site risk assessment, as well as outline the measures taken to mitigate hazards. Tide and current predictions should be projected and actual recorded before dive commencement. Vessel considerations (if applicable) should also be included. Projected gas consumption, decompression (tables used, computers), anticipated sea condition, on-site assessment, underwater visibility anticipated, temperature (surface/depth), access/egress procedures, tidal / current considerations (route), equipment requirements & test dates, pre-dive inspection. Emergency procedures plan and review with recall procedures, first-aider names and qualifications.

Not an inclusive list, but these are some of the high points.