14 replies to this topic

[novicediver]

Recently, I completed a wonderful dive trip where I learned many valuable lessons. The trip was a live-aboard with 7 other divers, all very experienced divers. I was the lone new guy, the least experienced.
Quickly, I learned several things that are a must for future trips of this type and several things I should have done and will most assuredly do on future trips.

1. Always have multiple signaling devices when diving in the ocean. It is easy to come up away from the boat and find yourself drifting farther away. A good safety sausage is a must, a whistle is a good tool but the safety tube is best. On my trip, I came up 30 yards or more from the boat on 2 or 3 occasions and if the current had been against me, I could have been in trouble.

2. Practice and learn navigation skills. Learn how to recognize underwater landmarks. Note the direction of the mooring line, note the direction of landmarks - such as land, where the reef drops off, the direction of the bow of the wreck you are diving on. Learn how to keep track of directions - you may start off on one course but currents, interesting attractions or many other factors can cause you to deviate off course. Also, try to keep track of distances traveling on a certain course. I know I came back exactly on course but traveled past the boat before coming up, meaning I was 30 yards away when I actually navigated correctly.

3. NEVER, EVER be afraid to refuse to dive with a buddy and NEVER EVER be too shy to say you want to change buddies. Dive Buddies are obligated to each other and each has the right to call a dive at any time for any reason. NEVER EVER should a buddy signal to his dive buddy that he is staying down while the buddy goes up. I buddied up with a Canadian guy who obviously was better at air consumption and seemed to always have more bottom time than I did. Even though I got much much better at air consumption, often my computer indicated my bottom time was done even though I had 1000 psi of air left. When I signaled my buddy that I had to surface, he gave the "ok" sign and waved bye as I surfaced and he swam away. SILLY me, I was worried about his well being. I hated to leave him alone and then I realized, hey, he left me alone. He is the one violating the dive buddy rule. Because I didnt want to hurt his feelings, I stayed with this guy all but 3 of my dives that week. Never again, if I get a buddy that is unbuddylike, I am switching in a heartbeat and so should you.

4. Plan your dive. For my first 5 or 6 dives, I worked up a dive plan - how long I was going to be down, how deep, where I was going, etc. But my buddy was an "explorer" and each time I was off my plan after the first 3 minutes. Diving is a great sport but it can be dangerous if not taken seriously. For safety sake, plan a dive with your buddy. Make sure he/she is in agreement with the plan and stick to it.

5. Another good tool is a tank banger. Not extremely necessary but it sure beats having to hustle against the current to catch your buddy and get his attention. Sometimes 5 feet is a lot to make up when you are swimming against the current and that may be too much to overcome if you suddenly find yourself in the position of needing your buddy for help.

While I learned a ton of things from my trip, it is the things I didnt do perfectly that bother me most. I am proud that I significantly decreased my air consumption as the week went on. I am proud that I learned some navigation skills as the week went on. And I am proud that I got 250% better at buoyancy control as the week went on. BUT, I am ashamed I didnt have some necessary safety gear. I am ashamed I didnt refuse to dive with my dive buddy after the first time he left me. And I am ashamed that I didnt plan and execute a more specific dive plan.
The two most important lessons I learned are to be be better prepared and have the necessary safety gear. I have so much more to learn and intend to keep practicing because it is needed.

Good luck and safe diving wishes to all

[piscesgirl]

You made some great points. Sometimes that's how we all learn...by making mistakes. Fortunately, you did not get hurt, and instead of being angry at yourself, you took away from the trip some very valuable lessons. Newbie or seasoned pro, we are constantly learning everytime we dive. Keep it up!!

[Brinybay]

Recently, I completed a wonderful dive trip where I learned many valuable lessons.



3. NEVER EVER should a buddy signal to his dive buddy that he is staying down while the buddy goes up.

I'll go along with that, but more specifics are needed. e.g. would it have been acceptable to you if your buddy had escorted you to the surface, then once it was communicated that you were ok and he/she wished to continue his/her dive solo, did so?

I had to do that recently on a dive to the San Juans. I had not been up there for many years and although my buddy was a good friend, relatively competent diver, but she doesn't pay enough attention to her gear. The first dive was cut short due to her inflator hose malfunctioning and causing her to go through air barely 30 minutes into the dive (I could have gotten another 15-20 minutes bottom time easy). It just so happened that my neck seal started to leak right at that point anyway, so we aborted the dive and surfaced.

On the second dive, she assured me her inflator hose was functioning properly. However, she neglected to check her tanks before she left that morning. Her second tank was an 80cuft and had barely 2200psi. I was using a HP 102 w/3500psi. We agreed to stay fairly shallow and I told her I may have to abort if my neck seal was still leaking. My neck seal was fine, apparently it was just bunched up on the first dive, but her inflator hose was still leaking and combined with the low amount of air she had, we weren't even 20 minutes into the dive when she ran low. I still had over 2700psi, and I wasn't about to let her ruin my dive. I escorted her to the surface, made sure she was ok, the boat was in the process of picking her up, and I continued my dive.

5. Another good tool is a tank banger. Not extremely necessary but it sure beats having to hustle against the current to catch your buddy and get his attention. Sometimes 5 feet is a lot to make up when you are swimming against the current and that may be too much to overcome if you suddenly find yourself in the position of needing your buddy for help.

I'll go along with that. In fact, after last nights dive, I'm going to the LDS to get a couple of them. Here's my dive report explaining why (as Dive Girl says, nobody can hear you scream underwater!) I think I'll invest in a slate also, for the reasons stated in my dive report.

A buddy of mine and I did a twilight dive Saturday night at Cove 2. Vis was average, about 20ft. We followed the perimeter of the "forbidden zone" along the rope line to a max depth of 103fsw. There was another buddy team who were doing the same profile. We weren't really diving together, just happened to be diving same place, time and profile. One of them had a video camera. As the four of us reached a depth of 70fsw, I was trailing behind the rest, and my buddy was in front of the pack. I paused briefly as we past over some large metal plates to take a peak underneath. I saw the end of a GPO tentacle flailing about, but I couldn't see the rest of him. Most of the time when you spot them tucked away, the tentacles aren't waving wildly about, I got the impression it was on the move. I looked up to see a HUGE gpo w/a mantle about arms length wide come out the other side of the metal plates, out in the open. I looked to see where the other divers were. They were not far, but I would have to swim hard to catch them quickly, so I tried frantically to get their attention by waving my light around. Hard as I tried, they didn't see me. (Yes, I know, some safety issues there too, what if I had really been in trouble?)

I had a decision to make. Do I try to swim after them, and risk losing my new found friend, who was obviously heading out for a bite to eat, or do I stay and escort him for a while? (They were moving a little too fast, IMO. I prefer to stop and look and smell the roses, not cover territory, especially on night dives. It paid well in this case.) Since the others were following the rope trail, and I knew they would make an exact reverse course to my location, I staid. It was only a minute or so before my buddy returned to look for me in time to join the party. Apparently he thought one of the other divers was me, but the other diver had a slate and wrote that he wasn't his buddy, I was "back there". We played with and observed the magnificent denizen of the deep until he tired of us and hid underneath the plates. My buddy and I continued down to a depth of 103fsw, but the GPO was a tough act to follow for the rest of the critters.

At our max depth, I signaled my buddy that I was getting close to my no-deco limit, so we made a reverse course. The other buddy team was still with us. We stopped at the metal plates again, but our friend had moved on.

We made our way up and over to the wreck of the Honey Bear. Along the way we spotted numerous nudibranchs and a sailfin sculpin. At the pilings near the Honey Bear, we spotted several more orange-tipped nudis, and two decorated warbonnets. We proceeded back to the entry point in 15-20fsw. Numerous piling perch and other fish and invertebrates were observed along the way.

As we were breaking our gear down, we briefed the other buddy team on the gpo. Of course, the diver w/video was disappointed that he missed it. He literally swam right over it. I had second thoughts on whether we should have even told him. But perhaps he learned from this to slow down and smell the roses.

Lessons learned:

For them, slow down and smell the roses! Even on day dives, I detest trying to keep up with buddies who want to swim like mad to cover territory for no reason.

I don't know how many other divers use their lights to try to signal others, but for me and at least a few of my other buddies, waving the light back and forth quickly is a signal to "come here!" Usually it's to point out something interesting.

Underwater communication devices. As I said, I'm going to get a couple of tank bangers and a slate. Forget trying to play charades, nobody knows what the &^%$ you're saying, unless you both know American Sign Language, which I think should be taught as a specialty, perhaps even basic sign ASL as part of OW or AOW.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Good report. I think that a lot of people will find your information to be beneficial for their future dives.

Thanks.

[BeachBunny]

Thank you guys for sharing such valuable information. Lots of the points you brought up (extra safety gear, tank bangers, etc) are things that new and seasoned divers alike tend to get lax on sometimes, or simply just don't know.

[Dive_Girl]

I'll go along with that. In fact, after last nights dive, I'm going to the LDS to get a couple of them. Here's my dive report explaining why (as Dive Girl says, nobody can hear you scream underwater!) I think I'll invest in a slate also, for the reasons stated in my dive report.

Since tank bangers can be hard to reach with all our PNW gear on, we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them. You can slip it in a pocket or clip it onto you and shake it when you need to get your buddy's attention. Apparently my dive shop will not give me one...I have no clue why...

[PerroneFord]

we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them.

Apparently my dive shop will not give me one...I have no clue why...

We call those shotguns down here in the south. But we install triggers on them. They can really get your attention! I would probably not give you one either...

But this goes back to my training and though process. If you are too far from your buddy to reach out and touch them when you want them, you are too far away, period.

[gracefulc]

Since tank bangers can be hard to reach with all our PNW gear on, we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them. You can slip it in a pocket or clip it onto you and shake it when you need to get your buddy's attention. Apparently my dive shop will not give me one...I have no clue why...

DG, there is a VERY GOOD REASON why you cannot have one of those! Mainly it involves keeping the other dive staff from "accidently" removing your regulator after they lose their sanity....

[Dive_Girl]

Since tank bangers can be hard to reach with all our PNW gear on, we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them. You can slip it in a pocket or clip it onto you and shake it when you need to get your buddy's attention. Apparently my dive shop will not give me one...I have no clue why...

DG, there is a VERY GOOD REASON why you cannot have one of those! Mainly it involves keeping the other dive staff from "accidently" removing your regulator after they lose their sanity....

Then I will just continue to rely on poking my buddies with sticks or turkey bones found underwater...

[gracefulc]

Since tank bangers can be hard to reach with all our PNW gear on, we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them. You can slip it in a pocket or clip it onto you and shake it when you need to get your buddy's attention. Apparently my dive shop will not give me one...I have no clue why...

DG, there is a VERY GOOD REASON why you cannot have one of those! Mainly it involves keeping the other dive staff from "accidently" removing your regulator after they lose their sanity....

Then I will just continue to rely on poking my buddies with sticks or turkey bones found underwater...

That was not poking, that was beating! And I was taking a CLASS then too!!!! Student abuse!

[Dive_Girl]

1. Always have multiple signaling devices when diving in the ocean.

2. Practice and learn navigation skills

3. NEVER, EVER be afraid to refuse to dive with a buddy and NEVER EVER be too shy to say you want to change buddies.

4. Plan your dive.

5. Another good tool is a tank banger.

Great post, by the way!

1. When diving in open ocean, besides a bright orange lift bag that doubles as a signaling device, I carry a Dive Alert (made locally in the PNW). Very loud, so I do not recommend turning your back on your buddies when you have it connected to your tank and your tank is on...

2. Navigation is very important and all-too-often I find divers outside of the PNW not feeling as though they need to know navigation because they are: diving in caves, along wrecks, walls, drift dives with llive boat pick up, or in waters with tons of viz. Regardless, all divers should really understand the concept of underwater navigation, know which direction the exit/shore/boat is, and have a back-up plan when the primary plan hits that fan. (my tech instructor once told me "in diving, we don't use the word "if" when talking about problems arising we use the word "when" because at some point problems will happen. Being prepared is better than believing you will prevent all problems.)

3. I completely agree! Never be afraid to say "no thank you".

4. Not all dive planning needs to be complex. Think about the basics and make sure you cover those in advance of diving with your buddy, especially if you haven't dove with this buddy before. Don't forget a review of hand signals and what to do if you were to become seperated. Although yes good buddy skills should keep you together, always plan for the worse case scenario and killer seals...just keeping you readers on your toes...

5. I find a good dive light is the best way to get my buddy's attention. I have never dove with a tank banger or one of those cylindar attention getters I mentioned, but thought they might be useful for diving with newer divers. In a pinch a stick or turkey bone works wonders because as you can see above, your buddy will never forget the time you got their attention...and of course underwater stories always appear 33% larger than they actually are...

[ScubaDadMiami]

Since tank bangers can be hard to reach with all our PNW gear on, we have found another cool attention getter is the metal tube with metal ballbearings in them.

I'll be happy not to hear underwater quacking and computer beeps. That's all I ask.

[6Gill]

That was not poking, that was beating! And I was taking a CLASS then too!!!! Student abuse!

and the beatings will continue till moral improves.

Experience is learning from and surviving your mistakes
Stupity is repeating the mistake
Smart is learning from other's mistakes

[gcbryan]

My preference would be for using lights to signal rather than tank bangers. If you need one you are too far away and I doubt if your buddy would notice that either but everyone else probably will.

Quiet is good underwater.

Slates definitely come in handy with someone who is making up hand signals as they go along.

I've heard of several larger GPO's being out in the open lately at Coves 1&2. I haven't seen one recently.

While we're on the topic of slates (I haven't done this) I've heard of instructor's ,in particular, pre-writting common u/w commands/questions on multipage slates so that all they have to do u/w is use them as signs.

Edited by gcbryan, 26 September 2006 - 12:57 AM.

[drbill]

You say YOU planned your first 5-6 dives but ended up off YOUR plan in minutes. Was your buddy involved in planning YOUR (plural) dive? If not, you need to be sure both buddies are involved in the planning process and agree to the plan. If he was involved, shame on him.

I think that paragraph suggests the former, but that you learned the lesson of mutual dive planning.