|
macado posted:It's weird. There a few dives up here in 90-100fsw range that I can function and "feel" perfectly fine. I know my way around them and have been inside them a bunch. Well wait till you get startled as you are so aware 0_o Also its complicated as I spend a lot of time at 120ish feet so I do not know I am impaired filming. Its interesting but you remember TONS more on Helium 
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2013 02:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 13:20 |
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:Dude mentioning cotton mouth reminded me about a question for you tec divers. Do you guys bring snacks and poo poo for long deco's? My old instructor would use to bring paperback books (just tear off the page when you're finished with it), capri suns/apple slices for his 60+ minute decos. I know that underwater/speaker unit for ipods is popular to watch movies, but i'm curious how many people you've seen actually bring food down. I don't take food but I have been known to take a Camelback bungeed to my tank(s) - even keeping to NDL's in a single tank of air I get mad cottonmouth. It works well. I've seen other people do the same. I've never seen food taken down but I don't really dive in environments where people would do that, though I have heard about it. Most guys I know doing deco just do sudoku or some poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2013 09:01
|
|
|
I might be going to the Tampa/St Petersburg area next month. My buddy has a decent boat and my brother and I were thinking about doing some diving while Friend With Boat fishes or something. He could have gotten certified when we did but choose not to, the bum! Any recommended sites we could just boat to ourselves? Neither of us have too many dives logged so something pretty standard is probably smart. Also, my bro is currently living in Charleston, SC. Can anybody suggest a good dive shop or charter or something for when I eventually visit there?
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2013 03:48
|
|
|
Hrm I finish my pool sessions last night. Though I am still having buoyancy problems. I can get neutral and swim all around the pool without too many problems. But the second I start to fiddle with anything, like taking off and replacing my mask, i start slowing creeping towards the surface. I make sure to keep breathing, so it's cant be that I'm holding a big breath of air. Is this normal? Am I subconsciously kicking myself to the surface without realizing it? Also is there a place online that will describe what Ill have to do in the OW sessions? I want to be mentally prepared
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2013 21:34
|
|
|
BlueBayou posted:Hrm Wall o text incoming. I can with near certainty tell you you aren't subconsciously kicking to the surface. One thing is you could be unproperly weighted and are floating to the surface when you aren't in motion. I doubt thats the case, but its worth checking. It probably is just your breath control, even if you are thinking about it. Buoyancy control comes with experience and comfort in the water more than technical skills in my opinion. You can know everything about it, but it just has to click for each individual diver and in my experiences its when the student is comfortable with everything going on, and isn't focusing on just one thing. During the rescue class, they teach you about how a panicked (i'm not saying you are, just using it to illustrate a point) diver locks into one thing with 100% focus, and can forget about other things, so as the rescuer you are in charge. Students just learning to dive also sort of have this mentality to a degree. They are more focused on "i need to do this first, then this, after this, then this, etc" which is needed at first to just hammer down the skills. When you do that though, you're not focused on buoyancy control as you are doing something else at the same time. Once you get comfortable with the skills, you become more comfortable in the water and you can focus more on buoyancy. When you are just learning skills you gotta jumble lots of new info and multitask a lot of stuff. Technical skill wise, try to keep your breathing constant throughout everything you do. One mistake i see students do with buoyancy control is when they change body position. They can swim horizontally neutrally buoyant, but when they turn vertical to stop and either mess with something or look around, they start to ascend. The amt of gas should be the same, but when students feel it all shift around in their bcd from horizontal to vertical, there's a big tendency to hold their breath as its the bodys natural reaction to a new sensation. Good buoyancy comes with time/experience/comfort in the water. Each of the OW dives is broken up into "do a few skills for your instructor, then go on a instructor/divemaster led tour". You'll do your mask skills, your alternate air drills, etc again, and then swim around for 20-30 minutes depending on air to get some real diving experience. In between dives you'll log them, do your tables/computer stuff, and then brief for the next dive. The only thing new in the OW dives is that after your skills you do a tour around like a real dive, and you will be in the ocean/lake/river/whatever. This is so you get some practical real world dive experience under the direct supervision of the instructor. Nothing new is thrown at you skillwise. Edit: Also, i just realized you said "slowly creeping towards the surface" and not "floating towards". With proper buoyancy control, when you inhale you ascend and when you exhale you descend while floating still. When you kick forward your forward propulsion minimizes this to near undetectable levels. If you are just floating still, you will bob up and down a bit. More experienced divers will minimize the amount they bob to around a foot tops through better breath control. Crunkjuice fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Jun 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2013 23:24
|
|
|
Chances are you're still sorta holding your breath, or not breathing as normally as otherwise. I have this problem when I'm trying to take close-up photos. I'll find a subject, choose an angle of attack, and try to compensate for current and obstacles, but still find myself floating away at some points. My solution? If I know I'm going to be doing something that takes a lot of concentration, I'll make myself slightly negatively buoyant to offset my propensity to stop/hold my breath while snapping closeups. Unless there's a reason for haste, feel free to take your time with skills to make sure you're not forgetting something (or floating away). It's a massive balancing act which adds to the fun in my opinion.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2013 01:05
|
|
|
A mask remove/replace/clear can be complex buoyancy wise because you have to take a deep breath to do the clear. Also you lose orientation during the remove/replace part. My suggestion is that during the first few stages, get your lungs near empty (exhale right before taking the mask off) if you are able to. This is not feasible if you are already just above some coral or in a silty environment. Then take a decent sized breath and do your mask clear so your lungs end up around half full again. I mentioned earlier that on a dive a few weeks ago I had to deploy my backup mask because my primary lost a lense. I stayed pretty calm throughout the ordeal but I still moved about 5ft up so I can relate. Another thing to rember is that if you need to, you can open your eyes in salt or pool water. Might burn a but later on but it's better than letting a situation get out of control. Don't do that for a class though because the point is learning to do things blind. I've got a good weekend lined up. Two relatively easy deco dives tomorrow and Saturday, then a 200ft one on Sunday. Also I already saw some sea turtles having sex so there is that!
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2013 01:11
|
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:
Ok, so its pretty normal to have buoyancy issues for a while, especially when doing other tasks I figured as such, but, wanted to make sure. sometime in the future there is going to be a computer that will automatically change the air in your BC so you stay neutral. I look forward to having such a computer. So OW is same stuff as in the pool? There's no "pick direction on compass, swim 100 yards that way. turn around, swim 100 yards back, see how close to the start you get?" Cause that sounded cool. I'm pretty good and land navigation/orienteering, ocean navigation sounds neat.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2013 02:27
|
|
|
BlueBayou posted:Ok, so its pretty normal to have buoyancy issues for a while, especially when doing other tasks I figured as such, but, wanted to make sure. Totally forgot about compass nav. Yes you do that. Its really easy. They give you a heading, you go for a while and turn around. A DM or instructor will be with you the whole time. Crunkjuice fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Jun 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2013 02:49
|
|
|
My drysuit is finally back in action! I sent it off to Dive Right in Scuba to be repaired. I have been borrowing a suit for the last month while mine was out to service. I had my drysuit retrofitted with a new TiZip (plastic zipper) and had a new neck seal installed. They were also nice enough to patch a couple small leaks I didntk now about. Hopefully everything is dry. I'm crewing on the boat tomorrow but I'm hoping to get one quick dive in to test it out. Probably one of the last scallop trips of the year. Boston Harbor has way too much residental boat traffic in the summer making it much harder to hit the scallop beds.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2013 02:31
|
|
|
Did my first two OW dives in Cancun today. 3 and 4 are tomorrow morning people as white as me were not meant to be in the sun for that long 
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2013 23:57
|
|
|
BlueBayou posted:Did my first two OW dives in Cancun today. 3 and 4 are tomorrow morning Get a rash guard at a dive shop. It'll make life a lot easier for you.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 00:59
|
|
|
Hey, y'all, do me a favor. We have tickets to Belize in December, which is why we did our AOW recently, since we read some places require that for the Blue Hole. We are stoked about doing the Blue Hole, but now we want some advice on where to stay there. Ambergris? Caulker? Somewhere else? Help!
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 02:11
|
|
|
jackyl posted:Hey, y'all, do me a favor. We have tickets to Belize in December, which is why we did our AOW recently, since we read some places require that for the Blue Hole. We are stoked about doing the Blue Hole, but now we want some advice on where to stay there. Ambergris? Caulker? Somewhere else? Help! Depends what you like Caye Caulker is a lot more smaller than Ambergris. You can pretty much walk around the entire island in 15 minutes. It is more budget/backpacker friendly, more laid back. Ambergris Caye is a more built up and has more resort style hotels. It also has more traffic (golf carts) whereas most people in Caulker get by on foot or bicycle. There are more amenities here (large supermarkets, condos, high end hotels, more bars) Ambergris has more "beach" area although neither islands are really known for beaches. I prefer Caye Caulker but you could always do a dual approach and spend a couple days at one location first.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 02:36
|
|
|
Thanks macado! We have zero issues with either large resorts or small island hotels, since we've done both and will do both again happily. We thought about doing Ambergris for a few days with diving, then going to Coppala for a few days to do the rainforest thing, then back to Ambergris for a few days for more diving. But, our last trip to St. Lucia reminded us exactly what a rain forest is, and that made us start thinking we might be better off with something like Caulker for the entire trip, especially since a lot of the best dive sites appear remote.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 02:53
|
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:Get a rash guard at a dive shop. It'll make life a lot easier for you. Next dive is tomorrow morning at 10am, i wont have time :[
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 03:31
|
|
|
I hot dropped the northern light today and drifted almost 5 miles on deco. Max depth 195. And my bottom gas was air. I was expecting some  poo poo but I honestly did not feel narced at all. No fish singing happy birthday or anything. Saved $150 on helium too. I don't plan on making a habit out of taking air that deep but it was interesting to see that at least today, going deep on air was no big deal.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 03:38
|
|
|
Bishop posted:I hot dropped the northern light today and drifted almost 5 miles on deco. Max depth 195. And my bottom gas was air. I was expecting some I agree, I wanted to feel narced when we intentionally went deep. The manual tells me I will feel drunk or , but I just felt bored. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
You guys and your tech diving scare the ever-loving poo poo outta me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 03:49
|
|
|
Bishop posted:I hot dropped the northern light today and drifted almost 5 miles on deco. Max depth 195. And my bottom gas was air. I was expecting some We had a Philippinees-trained DM diving with us for a few weeks who told us some crazy poo poo... We're used to fairly strictly following PADI standards on Koh Tao so we were pretty shocked to hear about his 90+ meter (295+ feet) dives on normal air. He told us it's refreshing to not get narced anymore when he dives - apparently it was quite normal for him to go 50+ meters (164+ feet) on normal air.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 04:24
|
|
|
Trivia posted:You guys and your tech diving scare the ever-loving poo poo outta me. As far as deep air: I did it for the thread also my own curiosity. There was some discussion about narcosis earlier and I realized I've never been deeper than around 120' on air. So I wanted to see how I would react close to 200' and it was very underwhelming considering how much I was questioning my decision pre dive. I might have gotten the "drum beats" in my ears a bit at the beginning but that went away. Like I said all it really did was make me have to do the last 15 minutes or so of deco alone because the guys on 21/35 trimix cleaned up quicker and we waved bye bye to each other. I've seen and heard some crazy stories, like people going after a dive knife at the bottom when they are in 3,000 feet of water, etc, but really nothing happened to me (even when dealing with an equipment failure early on). It makes me question spending all that money on helium but I suspect your susceptibility to narcosis changes day to day based on mindset/body condition/ the will of Poseidon. Bishop fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Jun 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 08:21
|
|
|
Just got back from a short trip to Vanuatu; some really nice diving, particularly on the SS President Coolidge and the MV Henry Bonneaud wrecks. Didn't go any deeper than 42m, all recreational equipment, would like to go back there and try with some exotic gases and twinsets so that I could have a proper look around in the deeper parts of the Coolidge.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 09:07
|
|
|
Has anyone here had any experience with down currents? A couple of guys on the club trip say they got caught in one after the boat dropped them off away from everyone else, one got down to 42m the other hit the bottom at 60 before coming up with his single 12 sucked dry. Sounded very scary but I'm sure I've read that genuine down currents are very rare and normally people saying they get caught in them are normally just massively overweight and used to getting dropped over shallow bottoms at the start of dives. Not saying these two didn't but interested to know other peoples experience.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 11:25
|
|
|
yay Im certified. the two dives today were insane. Saw lots of cool stuff. Didnt get sunburned but thats because there was a crazy-rear end storm rolling in. So much chop on the water. And major current. It is hard to just go with the drift and not fight it. So many waves on the surface, they took my weight belt clean off (oops). Saw loggerhead turtles and got stung by coral. Equalized just fine on the way down, but not on the way up (ow) I am so freaking exhausted. This is an interesting hobby.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 20:35
|
|
|
BlueBayou posted:yay Im certified. Did you find your belt? Had one slip off in the Bahamas and the dive guide spotted it at the end when we were doing our safety stop. He swam down, probably to about 70 feet and grabbed it right in the middle of a bunch of reef sharks, who seem to be pretty chill...but I would have let it slide. On another dive that same trim I had to chew my wife's rear end because she tried to replicate our guide's heroics and pick up a weight belt she found on the way. She dives with maybe 8 pounds in that environment and grabbed like a 15-20 pound belt. I tried to tell her to just drop it but she wouldn't. So I took it from her while holding on so she could vent from her BC and then let her have it at the surface. 6'5" and about 330 pounds, my BC had a bit more lifting power than hers. What's your guys' take on stuff like that, especially for standard OW divers. My policy is mostly just let anything heavy lie, lighter stuff can be stuffed in a pocket or mesh bag if you happen to have one. We're AOW and we've both got pretty decent buoyancy, but I'd rather not have to deal with extra variables if possible.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 21:07
|
|
|
Cru Jones posted:Did you find your belt? The current was so strong and the bottom was 50 ft or so down.... it was gone. Cost me $20 to replace. Alas.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 21:47
|
|
|
During my OW cert, one of the students lost a fin and didn't notice until we surfaced  Needless to say it wasn't found.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 22:10
|
|
|
Also left my swimsuit at the dive shop BlueBayou: super pro at diving!
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2013 23:48
|
|
|
tl;dr: I dropped my brand new mask on my first dive after certification. Just *bloop* let it slip out of my grip while I was floating, didn't even realize until I tried to put my mask on. The story: I first got into diving because my dad had been certified ages ago, and I thought it was a cool thing we could do together (and cool in general, of course). So my first dive after I was certified was with him off his ski boat in a local lake. He was really out of practice, was using a lot of his old gear, and really really should have had a refresher course instead of just reading my manual, but he's old and stubborn and stupid like that sometimes. I was still a teenager and didn't feel comfortable calling him out on it, so after I got geared up he was still fiddling around on the boat dealing with his antique equipment. It got really hot so I jumped in the water and inflated my BCD, and out of fear of my mask falling off the back of my head I held onto the strap instead. Ten minutes relaxing in the water later, my dad gives up and says his 30-year-old horseshoe BCD is leaking (  ) and I realize my hands are empty. EDIT: I should clarify this was a decade ago and I learned my lesson, I just wanted to join in on the embarrassing dive stories. DarkHorse fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Jun 18, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 00:35
|
|
|
The general rule about masks while on the surface is twofold: Don't take it off if you can help it or, pull it down around your neck so you don't drop it / a wayward wave doesn't knock it off your head. Don't put it up on your forehead, that's just asking for it to get knocked off.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 01:27
|
|
|
Loving Africa Chaps posted:Has anyone here had any experience with down currents? A couple of guys on the club trip say they got caught in one after the boat dropped them off away from everyone else, one got down to 42m the other hit the bottom at 60 before coming up with his single 12 sucked dry. Sounded very scary but I'm sure I've read that genuine down currents are very rare and normally people saying they get caught in them are normally just massively overweight and used to getting dropped over shallow bottoms at the start of dives. Not saying these two didn't but interested to know other peoples experience.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 02:27
|
|
|
Loving Africa Chaps posted:Has anyone here had any experience with down currents? A couple of guys on the club trip say they got caught in one after the boat dropped them off away from everyone else, one got down to 42m the other hit the bottom at 60 before coming up with his single 12 sucked dry. Sounded very scary but I'm sure I've read that genuine down currents are very rare and normally people saying they get caught in them are normally just massively overweight and used to getting dropped over shallow bottoms at the start of dives. Not saying these two didn't but interested to know other peoples experience. Underwater waterfalls and rivers? Hell yes! They are very real but you need to be in places that have varying topography like here in Hawaii. Its quite amazing and the currents can get ripping and then there is shadows, amplifications, rivers, upwellings, downwellings etc. Me 10ft away from buddy can be difference between RAGING and calm..
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 02:37
|
|
|
There's a dive site in the Bahamas nicknamed the washing machine for its crazy currents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykp5dJGtv4
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 03:17
|
|
|
Crunkjuice posted:There's a dive site in the Bahamas nicknamed the washing machine for its crazy currents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykp5dJGtv4  That's one hell of a cut to navigate from the surface even.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 03:26
|
|
|
I might try to do Nakwakto Rapids next year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzFAyiXeITk Apparently it's some of the fastest ocean whitewater in the world? There's a cone of sanity that you follow around the island as the tides change where you can see a ton of goose neck barnacles. And once the dive's done you can pop to the surface and take the white water for a ride
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 05:34
|
|
|
ehnus posted:I might try to do Nakwakto Rapids next year: Theres literally nothing about that video which speaks to me "hey, this here is a safe dive site". I'm sure the locals know the ins and outs and can dive safely, but that video makes it look like a better place to dump a body than scuba. poo poo, from how violent that current is i literally thought you were on a boat filming the wake until the camera panned.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 06:06
|
|
|
I need some advice! So I never ever dived in my life, I had a family friend who is a biologist and it is his job so I've talked sometimes about it. Now back in May we went to Malta with the GF for an holiday and apparently diving is very popular on there so I was interested but since our trip was short didn't get the chance to dive. However I have the chance to change all that. In late august we are going to the Maldives and I guess this would be a perfect time to do it. I understand I need to do the newbie certification and was wondering what you guys thought about me doing it in the Maldives? My GF is a bit worried because we are taking the plane for ~12hours to get there, would there be any problem with that? Also our doctor, which is a long time family friend said I shouldn't do it because it's needlessly dangerous but I suspect that he's worried since he knows me since I was a kid Oh also all newbie advice are welcome!
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 09:02
|
|
|
Le0 posted:I need some advice! Maldives have a lot of current in the very open water. But at the shore you have probably the best spots you can have on earth to learn diving. needlessly dangerous???? I leave that with you.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 09:49
|
|
|
Le0 posted:I need some advice! There are no problems diving after flying other then being tired (diving just before flying is an issue). No idea what your doctor is talking about unless you have significant health issues because recreational diving is extremely safe. I'd recommend you try and do the theory portion of your cert before you leave so you don't have to spend time in Maldives in a classroom when you could be underwater.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 10:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 13:20 |
|
|
Loving Africa Chaps posted:There are no problems diving after flying other then being tired (diving just before flying is an issue). No idea what your doctor is talking about unless you have significant health issues because recreational diving is extremely safe. I'd recommend you try and do the theory portion of your cert before you leave so you don't have to spend time in Maldives in a classroom when you could be underwater. Thanks for the info guys. Like I said I think my doctor is a wuss! Anyway, could anyone point out to me what kind of cert I should be looking at doing? I think doing the theory part before leaving is a nice idea
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2013 11:34
|
|