Why no slates?

[rjack321]

I'm thinking for noting time/distance/gas of interesting areas on the way in for checking out on the way back. Should be quicker than rearranging the light and pulling out the wetnotes each time.

I can pretty much do that in my head but only up to about ~6 landmarks. After that I need another dive. Although I'm not scootering in caves, the concept of making notes on a slate or on scooter hull wetnotes would probably only let me penetrate beyond where I (mentally) have learned the cave. And that would be bad.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

When I plan a dive that requires a substantial deco obligation, I take my deco schedule and contingency schedule (+5min @ +10'), and write them on a piece of blue painter's tape that I stick on top of my stage al80 facing me. I don't have to worry about crap hanging on my arm, getting entangled, or trying to contort myself so that a buddy can see what I'm writing on my wrist. For Team or buddy communications where hand signals are not sufficient, wet-notes can be pulled out of my pocket quickly and written on. I don't think it's a skill that's too hard to master.

Safe Diving

 

[TSandM]

I'm thinking for noting time/distance/gas of interesting areas on the way in for checking out on the way back. Should be quicker than rearranging the light and pulling out the wetnotes each time

You know, I asked Danny if it was okay to do that, especially in the beginning, when I'm trying to learn to keep more "bookmarks" in my head. He strongly discouraged it. He told me it would impede me learning to do it mentally, and he said two or three bookmarks was probably all I'd be able to do at first, but it would get better with time, and it did. (We'll see how well the skill has stayed with me when I get back down there in November!)

 

[Elemental]

I can pretty much do that in my head but only up to about ~6 landmarks. After that I need another dive. Although I'm not scootering in caves, the concept of making notes on a slate or on scooter hull wetnotes would probably only let me penetrate beyond where I (mentally) have learned the cave. And that would be bad.

How are you tracking your average depth, mentally or using a BT function? I could track potential sites better if I used the latter, but that's not the case.

Obviously this isn't going to come up all that often, but it would be nice for creating rough maps like the Zero Gravity guys' on the fly and having a choice of sites on the exit.

 

[RTodd]

How are you tracking your average depth, mentally or using a BT function? I could track potential sites better if I used the latter, but that's not the case.

Obviously this isn't going to come up all that often, but it would be nice for creating rough maps like the Zero Gravity guys' on the fly and having a choice of sites on the exit.

Honestly, I can't even tell what you are asking here. Learning the cave is about developing a good mental picture. Taking notes is useless unless mapping and that is completely different. Danny and Chris will often rattle off tunnel names to me when planning dives and I look blankly at them. Then they switch to a description of second jump to the left, three Ts to the right, the Z line throught he two unstable breakdowns and I know exactly what they are talking about. When driving home you know your street is the second right after the Chevron station, etc. That is all it is. Taking notes doesn't really speed that process given you need to be able to do it on the fly, not pulling out notes when your more experienced buddy losses a mask, both contacts and thumbs the dive and you become primarly responsible for the quick exit.

Now, if you are talking about doing circuits/ alternative exits in a cave you need notes to navigate, that is just farm animal. I can't tell if you are saying that, but if so, not remotely DIR.

 

[Elemental]

Nothing too exotic or likely to happen very often for that matter. It's not much more than the "recalculating thirds" taught in C2 except with more gas, more potential numbers to remember, and a difference in breathing rates to compensate for.

I'm playing around with the idea of scootering to limits I've already established on single or double stage swim dives, taking notes on time and gas used to interesting jumps or areas on the way in, then choosing one or more out of however many I've recorded and exploring it/them on the way out as gas permits. After the dive, I can transfer all the readings to my wetnote maps for future reference.

All this presupposes systems that I don't get to dive very often.

 

[Bismark]

Without reading the other six pages, has anyone said that wetnotes hold a lot more pages to play tic-tac-toe on deco?

 

[rjack321]

All this presupposes systems that I don't get to dive very often.

Dive it more often.

If you have to take notes, you don't really understand where you are IMHO. As Rtodd said, I know left, left, right, up,etc. etc. but generally have no clue about the names of places.

I can come up with an average depth just fine without any fancy tools. Although in MX many of the systems I'm still diving in are known well enough that I can ask or figure out reasonable averages from maps ahead of time too.

 

[Elemental]

Are you saying you don't think recalculating thirds on the fly is safe unless you know before the dive the time & gas to any potential area of interest?

If you can keep a running average depth on a 75 minute penetration while simultaneously bookmarking time & gas used for six potential recalc sites AND doing it with a sufficiently high degree of confidence, then bravo.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

WOW...

I never thought that too much info would be a bad thing!

So what if the guy wants to write some notes down?? I didn't think that note taking for reference or safety was against DIR philosophy!!!