What's a "shakedown dive"?

[bumcikaz]

Well, they also have pretty clear requirements to get on their boat(s). I don't know if they actually enforce them by checking dive logs, etc., but it does seem to be a fairly no-frills kind of experience.

Are you talking about boat in ocean city, md?

 

[KeithG]

My one tropical trip to Panama had no shakedown (it was just me & the DM anyway). I find it interesting that I've never witnessed this on the charters I've taken (NS, SC,FL,MS,TX). Maybe on local day charters they just assume you know what you're doing.

a checkout dive (never heard it called shakedown before) is typical in the caribbean for unknown people starting a week of diving. in Bonaire it is mandatory to listen to a park orientation and perform a checkout dive.

for me a shakedown dive is one where I check out some new gear. last trip i had a new wetsuit, so the primary focus of my first dive was to ensure I had the proper weighting (no camera).

on a recent trip i witnessed a newish diver have an anxiety attack during the checkout dive. the DM handled it appropriately. maybe the dive resort was doing a shakedown of the newly arrived divers?

 

[BoltSnap]

They also call it "Check out Dive" in some places in dive tourism destinations. The resort wants to "check you out" and evaluate your dive skills in addition to you getting acclimated to the diving in their locale before they take you out diving for real.

 

[ScubaJill]

Are you talking about boat in ocean city, md?

Yes.

 

[SCRedWolf]

submarines go on shakedown cruises after having maintenance....

Technically aren't scuba divers just soft-sided submarines?

I'll use the shakedown term for just about any action after a maintenance window - anything from a brake job or oil change on the truck to a first dive of the season.

 

[Nemrod]

A shakedown dive is what you did not do when for the first dive of a year or trip you pull your suit on and the zipper is rusted stuck, you pull out your fins only to find the foot pocket ripped and then you hook your regulator to a tank and it goes into free flow and you watch the SPG, which is also leaking badly, wind down and then you hit the BC inflator and it sticks open and your buoyancy bag pops because the OPV was stuck with salt.

Yeah, so, you just spent a few thousand dollars to get some place to dive and you should have had a shakedown dive at least in the Y pool.

N

 

[EricTheDood]

Most shakedown dives happen in the Mediterranean, off the Sicilian coastlines.

 

[bumcikaz]

Yes.

I am a dm on that boat, if you have any questions, let me know
And no shakedown dives because people come to dive without checking their gear or weighting and have a lot of issues, its not a quarry or Caribbean diving, its a little different and i love it

 

[ScubaJill]

I am a dm on that boat, if you have any questions, let me know
And no shakedown dives because people come to dive without checking their gear or weighting and have a lot of issues, its not a quarry or Caribbean diving, its a little different and i love it

I have a lot of questions! I'm a mostly warm water diver who hasn't had a lot of experience with no-frills operations. What's the best introductory site to OC? The shoals? How much is a DM? What's your favorite site? When do you shut down operations?

 

[NAM001]

Shakedown provides the vehicle to test and operate everything. This is where yo find you battery in the puter is low or the air transmitter is dead, your a little heavy at safety stop, your buddy is not staying close enough to you for the conditions. your fin strap is tearing or wont stay tight. You fix the problems now so you dont have to when you have less favorable conditions.

Yesterday i took a couple out to expose them to skills. they found that their inflator lp hose would not fit the smb's. They were 6-8 # heavy at safety stop each. buddy skills were not what they should be.