35 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

great topic and better replies.... you will see me do a couple things different than I used to after reading this

That is awesome! And while we may not do a lot of 'teaching' via the site or even debate diving techniques...it is always AWESOME when someone learns something they can take away and use in their own diving!

[Fordan]

I have to say last summer when I did my first dives with SD.com, I had a lot of suprises. I was surprised that very few of the divers had snorkels attached to their masks...I'm still not comfortable with the idea, so I know my snorkel will stay on my mask for quite some time yet. I was also surprised that I was supposed to climb the ladder with my full set of gear, including fins. I'd done Cozumel and Caribbean diving prior to that and was used to "hand your fins up and then climb the ladder" and my Cozy diving included procedures to hand up your weight belt, fins and your BCD/tank, then climb the ladder. So it was different, but I learned to do it and it broadened my understanding of boat diving.

I stopped leaving the snorkel on my mask for most dives after the second or third time I dumped the air out of my BC at the beginning of a dive to discover while inhaling underwater that the object in my mouth wasn't actually my regulator but was instead my snorkel. I do carry a foldable snorkel in my BC pocket which attaches to my mask via velcro (although it works poorly), and do have a "real" snorkel I break out if conditions warrant or if I'm actually snorkelling. On the surface, if it's calm, I'll often swim on my back, or if rough or I need/want to swim face down, I'll breath the remaining air in my tank off the regulator.

Getting on the boat, it generally depends. I'll usually keep mask on and reg in, taking fins off and putting them over my wrists vs handing them up depends on conditions and number of people near the ladder (am I likely to be jostled off the line/boat contact by other people and drift away? How difficult would it be for them to come and get me if I do?) Most of the time, I do fins on wrists. And I do try to signal ok after I get in and anytime I break the surface, even if I don't think anyone's looking my way (or if my navigation sucked and I have no idea where the boat with the people looking is. )

Cozumel's a little different. The dive op I use when I go to Cozumel uses 6-pack boats where the ladder is hung over the side. I'm a big guy, and often the first up (or at least, was with my air consumption last time I was down there). Me + all my gear hanging off the side of the boat with only the captain on board isn't the most stable arrangement, so I hand my gear up generally, keeping mask and usually fins. Other people do climb up in full-gear, though.

As a contrast, one of the dive boats I've been on up here has a christmas tree ladder, and given the swells often seen up here, I ain't taking off a single bit of equipment until I'm sitting at my spot.

[PerroneFord]

In 2007, 4 divers entered the pool like open water area of Ginnie Springs. 3 cavern trained divers, one cave diver. All had completed at least the GUE fundamentals course. Standing in 4ft of water, doing the pre-dive safety briefing, one of the divers lost his balance and fell backwards into the water. He was in doubles and couldn't right himself. Because of his position, he couldn't get to his backup reg quickly. His buddy, deployed his 7ft hose to him underwater, got him calmed down, then assisted with getting him back to his feet.

A near drowning of a technical diver in 4ft of crystal clear, 73F water with nary a wave in sight. By the way, I was the cave trained diver in this foursome and watched the events as they unfolded.

Keep the basics clear. My reg is in my mouth from the time I start my descent on the ladder at the springs, or shuffle to the back of the boat. It is removed as I am heading back to my seat on the boat, or reach hard ground at the springs. My fins stay on my wrist if they are not on my feet. PERIOD. If the dive boat has an issue with it, I choose a new operator. My mask is on my head during pre-dive at the springs, and on my face as I shuffle to the back of the boat.

I just returned from 3 days in the keys. The safety breaches and protocol breaches I saw there should have called for some cards to be revoked. Lot's of safety conscious folks too, but lots of complacency where it didn't belong.

I had a very interesting discussion with the captain one of the days about the whole snorkel/reg thing. He and I were both of the opinion that the REG stays in for the entire time in the water. His new mate was taught differently in his "become an instructor in 3 months" course. We both told him that may be nice in class, but in the real world, we want a REG in the swells, not a snorkel. If you enter in difficult conditions, then come up with enough gas to deal with problems instead of bleeding the tank dry and surfacing half a mile from the boat.

Keep things simple, and be safe.

[diverdeb]

Well said Perrone.

[scubachick43]

Very interesting post since I am NEW DIVER. I will continue reading. I WILL definately go by what my instructor told me. I will admit I am nervous b/c it was June 08 when I was cert. So, I will be rusty, but than again. Once I get the gear on, I just might be ROCKIN AND ROLLIN --. I am always trying to think POSITIVE

[georoc01]

Very interesting post since I am NEW DIVER. I will continue reading. I WILL definately go by what my instructor told me. I will admit I am nervous b/c it was June 08 when I was cert. So, I will be rusty, but than again. Once I get the gear on, I just might be ROCKIN AND ROLLIN --. I am always trying to think POSITIVE

IF its been since Jun08 that you were in the water, I would recommend doing a review or consider the SingleDivers Rent a buddy option. It will allow you to dive with a dive master for the trip which will really help reinforce your skills.

[ScubaDadMiami]

I just returned from 3 days in the keys.

. . . and you didn't even bother to call me about it?

[ScubaDadMiami]

I find it interesting that the most experienced divers are the ones that are always practicing skills and sticking to accepted protocols. For those of you that do not follow this practice, do you think that they might know something that you might not?

[Jerrymxz]

I find it interesting that the most experienced divers are the ones that are always practicing skills and sticking to accepted protocols. For those of you that do not follow this practice, do you think that they might know something that you might not?

AWESOME!!

Edited by Jerrymxz, 17 March 2009 - 08:59 PM.

[PerroneFord]

I just returned from 3 days in the keys.

. . . and you didn't even bother to call me about it?

I talked about you all weekend, but this was an organized group trip with a defined itinerary. We'll talk about more S.Fl diving.

[ScubaDadMiami]

I talked about you all weekend. . . .

I hope that you also told them that everything that you said was a lie. Well, I guess it's good when people remember you at all.

[peterbj7]

I just spent ages writing a reply, then lost it when I hit "send". So I'll just say that I do whatever works for me in the current circumstances, and I'm probably "guilty" of all these bad practices that have been mentioned. But it's not complacency but a deliberate assessment of what I need to do at the time, and I have no intention of changing.

As to maintaining drills up-to-date, I'm pretty thorough on these. On of the main ones is always ensuring I can turn my tank valve(s) on/off at any time. I always go through my gear on the way down to check that everything is working correctly and there aren't any bubbles that I'm not expecting.

I did a series of dives recently with no inflator hose, quite deliberately. My BC tank strap had failed and it would have taken too long to change it, so I swapped BCs for a rental one that had an AIR2, which my inflator hose wouldn't fit. Why on earth did Scubapro design these so badly?! So I did two days of diving with just oral inflation. Really, it was so easy that it wouldn't trouble me doing it all the time.

[gcbryan]

I just realized, though a series of emails, with someone in N.C. (I occasionally think of moving back there) how lucky some of us are to be able to dive as often as we do. Most places aren't like that. Therefore, many divers have a hard time getting enough experience to decide what the best practice is for the current circumstances. In this case following the rules makes sense.

When you have more experience you may apply the logic behind the rules rather than the rules in many cases. That's not to say that some experienced divers couldn't choose to follow all of the rules but in many cases it's the less experienced.

In the PNW, in California, and in certain parts of Florida shore diving is possible and close to population centers. In those conditions a diver can get in a dive most any day even after work. In N.C. for instance there is no shore diving to speak of and although the offshore wreck diving is great it's entirely weather dependent and often gets canceled after a long drive to the coast and the dives are a long way off shore. Two hours into the Atlantic you may be looking at a site that is 130 fsw. In PNW shore diving we get to those depths and much greater in a matter of minutes.

I think NE wreck diving is much the same as N.C. diving. Great Lakes diving is good and (although I don't know much about it) I suspect that some of it is much like N.C. diving as far as how often you can easily do it although some is probably closer and can be done more frequently.

I've just noticed that those speaking most often about training and practicing are usually those who aren't lucky enough to have easily accessible diving. I just recently realized just how much of the country is really in that category. Again, I'm not equating practicing, learning, etc. with not being experienced. Tech divers and obviously dive instructors train and practice etc. I'm just really realizing just how hard it is for much of the country to be able to stay current with their diving just though diving.

I also realize how easy some of our PNW diving is in terms of conditions as well. For the most part even the boat dives are within sight of land and we're not dealing with surf or the kinds of open ocean conditions off of other shores. Every area has it's own challenges and I'm sure what I think is easy in the PNW may not seem so if you've never been here but the conditions are easy to get used to. I'd have an initial learning curve I'm sure if I were to suddenly start doing a lot of N.C. off shore open ocean wreck diving.

[Diverbrian]

As the last post mentioned opportunity...

I got an education in NC diving a few years ago. I would like to go back and will when the money allows. Overtime pay in the rust belt hasn't been very much lately. I can agree with the comments that I have seen that it is slightly different.

The Great Lakes (which I consider truly GREAT ) have a culture where divers serious about staying in "fighting trim" do a lot of quarry diving, go to the caves in Florida during the winter, or dive a lot in the summer.

We have wrecks close to shore at all levels, so we can work our way up. Shore diving basically consists of quarries and a few inland lakes. That tends to be boring, but when one considers that it is for practice so that they have skills sharp for other things it is the most practical options for those of us with more limited funds. I have done the "dive a lot in the summer" option. That one is my favorite, but it weather dependent (listen to Gordon Lightfoot sing about the "Witch of November coming early") and sucks up a lot of money. Our charters tend to be only slightly cheaper than NC or NE.

Still, I consider divers in our area fairly blessed with good training areas.

I don't like fins on a ladder unless the ladder of the "T" variety that supports it. I do NOT hand my fins to crew until I am on the boat and clear of the of the ladder. I need to be able to be a diver/swimmer again if I go back in. My reg stays in my mouth until I am seated for the same reason.

I guess we all have our little rules for a reason. I just know that I have attempted to board too many boats in four to six foot waves to disregard the option that I might wind up back in the pool.

[scubajunkie6]

This is a great topic! I always do the OK sign when entering the water from a boat, and always keep my reg in my mouth and my mask on when climbing the ladder. If the waves are calm, I do hand off my fins to someone on the boat, probably due to instruction from the crew and/or watching others do it. Fins are always the frustrating part to me, but last summer I bought a pair of spring strap fins, so I look forward to trying them out more.

Once I did find myself riding the ladder like a bucking bull and I remember wishing I had my fins, in case I did get bucked off. (Made sure I gave a good 'ole Texas yee hah sound for effects, ), and I had huge bruises to complete the story.

As for a snorkel, I never liked them getting tangled up in my hair, so I don't keep one attached to my mask. I do keep a folded one in my front bcd pocket, though.

As a side question, has anyone tried the "Omega Aquatics Flip Fins"? They are the ones that you can wear while getting in and out of the water without taking off your fins. Sounds like a great design, but I wonder if they unlock easily.

-Margaret