Why jump in the water and then float around?

[redacted]

It also give you a little time to wiggle around a little and work trapped air out of your wetsuit before you try to descend. Some boat operators want to see an OK sign and may be concerned about a diver who enters and descends without signaling. I'll usually ask and descend immediately if OK with the boat.

 

[emcbride81]

Adjust gear, make sure you are properly weighted, locate your buddy, make sure others are ok, begin equalization in your ears (i'm an allergy guy). I always kick out a ways so there is plenty of room for other divers. And yes to get out of the way of the angry divers as well.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Remove ALL the air from the BC, breath the reg. while looking at the gauge to assure there is air in the bottle and the valve is truly open, look where are you going to jump and splash. If something is weird stop around 10 feet or so and figure things out. As long as you have air (which you assured before the splash) it is a lot less hectic at 10 feet than at the surface, especially if it is choppy.

This sounds like a recipe for getting separated to me.

I understand why bobbing endlessly on the surface is annoying to a lot of people. However, it is important to keep in mind that most diving problems arise at the surface, not underwater. Granted, in a perfect world, we would all do a thorough buddy check on the boat prior to entry. But especially in high seas, it's just not very practical because folks are anxious to get off the boat and/or nauseous. Also, reading about malfunctioning BCs and divers plummeting to depth and death, to me the regrouping and final check on the surface is the most important step of the dive.

Yes, one could ask why there is a need to regroup, given that the divers just did that a minute before on the boat. But I think regrouping makes sense in this case because while it may seem all you do is stepping off a ladder, in reality you are transitioning from land to ocean, you are changing elements during that short step, entering an environment with completely different conditions.

Or, as John Lennon once phrased it, after he got his AOW cert: "It's one small step for a diver, but a giant leap for the ones left behind..."

Wait, maybe it wasn't John Lennon....

 

[GrandpaScuba]

From a new diver perspective:

1. As a new diver, a divermaster or Capt/owner whatever may want to see an 'OK' sign so he knows you're doing good and not heading for the bottom with an issue that he could have helped with on the surface.

2. Regrouping with your buddy when you're new is a good idea so you can descend together and not start off seperated.

3. To control the deflation of the BC to control the descent...matching skill to the dive.

3. To let the angry divers descend first so I can stay out of their way.


-Dan

Exactly -- you are very smart.

 

[scubapatton]

For newer divers I think it is important for at least a quick gathering before descent.

Things to consider:
Taking a compass heading
Releasing trapped air in wetsuit
Final in-water adjustment
Making sure you AND buddy are ready to go
Relaxing for a quick moment to catch your breath
Letting hard-cores go first so that newer divers don't get swarmed over or chewed out etc.
Allow time to slowly deflate BCD and equalize as the descent begins


As a more experienced diver, I still avoid hot entry. I want to set my compass heading, make sure I can feel the drift direction and make sure my buddy is really ready to go. I do not dally at the surface mind you, but as an experienced diver, I better not have ANY issue descending the first 10' that cannot be resolved in a split second (eg convert to head down vs tail down). If I do, the dive ends until I resolve it (light weight, moronic entry move, whatever).

If someone wants hot entry and it is not a drift dive, then go ahead, I can move aside and I will go enjoy the dive. If I need speed, I go sky dive or ride my motorcycle at insane speeds. I do not beat feet to get below...

 

[SNorman]

I've only been on one boat, but we couldn't all jump in at the same time. I think it would be hard for us to group up underwater.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

On one of my trips to Grand Cayman, I started to get into the habit of making a negative entry. On one dive, as I decended past about 10 feet, I ran into a small jelly fish and got a sting. If I had paused at the surface and looked down before decending, I would have seen it. But because of the momentum I had from jumping in negative, I was on top of it before I had a chance to take any kind of action.

Take your time. Assess the bottom and what's below you. There are things that you can't see from the boat, even in 100ft viz.

 

[scubapatton]

Catfishbob.. touche'

 

[TheMotrCty]

When I was a kid, I invariably had to pee as soon as we'd left in the car on vacation. Same concept here, I stop to "make water".

Just sayin'...

Ron

 

[Oscar73]

For me it is common pratice to signal to the dive master that I have landed in the water okay and that I haven't managed to bash my head, lost a piece of gear etc.

I was taught to always inflate my BC and signal to the dive master once I have entered the water.

What exactly constitutes danger by spend and extra 10 seconds at the surface? My experience is that you enter the water at the rear of the boat. If the boat is tied off at the bow, then the current is generall taking the diver away from the boat after the entry.


For me, I am relaxed enough in the water that getting down isn't a problem. What am I missing here?

John