27 replies to this topic

[Canuck in Texas]

So the way to help yourself is to keep diving, but more importantly, to work hard to improve your skills, and your knowledge about diving. Coming up with 500-700 pounds will put you in good stead with people who don't plan their dives. But it will get your excluded from dives with the "dive Gods" who know that doing that would likely not leave enough air to breathe to get you and your buddy to the surface on many dives. So learn WHY that's not the best idea, and begin to plan your dives a bit better.

I'm still new myself. Everything that I have been taught says that 500-700 pounds is a good dive. What am I missing here??
If 700 lbs is not enough then what is considered enough.

Maurice

[Canuck in Texas]

Wow! There is a lot of information here. This is one post I will have to return to several times until I get it all through my thick skull. All of my dives so far have been with instructors or DM as Buddy’s. I have let them plan the dive. Everything they had planned made sense and never questioned them any further.

Looking back at all my dives the plans stayed within a safe limit with the exception of 1. Using the information you listed that dive would have ended with less then 100 psi of air remaining. I give credit to one of the instructors that was also (Not my Buddy) on that dive for checking on me.(Unknown to me he had checked my SPG shortly before beginning to surface) After that dive he told me that he was surprised that I was still at depth with the air that I had remaining and suggested that I keep a larger safety factor when planning my dives. Thinking I had done nothing wrong, I still headed his advise and have not been in the same situation since. Now I understand why he made the suggestions that he did.

for the information. It’s amazing how understanding and practicing one more piece of information will change how I plan future dives.

Maurice

[Capn Jack]

Maurice - you're right. I hope more new divers (and some more experienced ones) would get that realization.

Now that I think we have a thorough (for this thread - maybe we need another) explanation of why you should ask about your buddy's SAC - and know your own. Let's get back to the original thread - what questions do you ask? -

Having been stung by this several times - I'd also ask

"What is our plan if we get separated?" We teach in my OW classes to wait 1 minute while looking around and then surface. Can't tell you how many times I've seen buddy pairs get separated, and then I'm asking the unbuddied diver WTF? (and yes, I have a hand signal for that!!)

The one question I've never asked, but have been tempted - "Pocahontas, have you heard about the health benefits of nude diving?"

[Diverbrian]

Note: The gas management questions were deemed important enough for their own thread and have been split off there . There is a lot of good information in the couple of posts that are there so far.

Hopefully our members enjoy both topics and double their learning !

[PerroneFord]

Would you mind putting a link to it the new thread in your post please?

[Diverbrian]

Would you mind putting a link to it the new thread in your post please?

I added that while you were posting.

Thanks for asking.

[Cold_H2O]

OK, you guys are worrying me!! I'm a novice diver - only 38 dives and I still feel really nervous when pairing up with someone new. My air consumption is to the point where I can come up with everyone else and have 500-700 left. I did the rent-a-buddy thing with Wrench Wench in St. Croix and learned a lot. I probably can't throw the lingo around as if I had been diving for a long time. I have 3 more trips planned for this year, so I'm hoping time and experience will take care of my apprehension. So, my question is basically, does anyone really, honestly, want to dive with a new diver???? (other than our sainted WW)

I LOVE diving with new divers... When I lived and dove in Seattle.. we did a mentor/newbie dive on a regular basis.
Any new or newer diver was paired with a more experienced diver who wanted to mentor.
No one was STUCK with the newbie..

I don't always volunteer to take the new diver... to be honest sometimes I only want to dive with my tight group of buds...
Don't want the stress of being the senior diver... knowing that if something did go wrong that I was the one who would have more skills and experience in dealing with the issue.

Some of us divers like mentoring.. like seeing new divers fall more in love with the sport.

I have refused to dive a second dive with some divers.. Most of them were "experienced" divers... yeah RIGHT !!! They just forgot to check their egos at the waters edge.
Give me a newbie with a willingness to learn.. who is smart enough to realize they don't know it all....
Heck... 10 years and 100's of dives later.. I am still learning..
Every dive is a New dive.. I just go in with a more honed set of skills then the diver with the freshly minted C-card.

[divzac]

So, my question is basically, does anyone really, honestly, want to dive with a new diver???? (other than our sainted WW)

Meee!! Pick meee!! I enjoy diving and no one has ever done anything that compromised my FUN FACTOR on a dive. Long,short, deep, shallow, etc. It's all good

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I'm with many of the others.....I enjoy mentoring those with less dive experience than me, just as I enjoy diving with & learning from those with more dive experience than me. Not that I know everything there is to know about diving - far from it!! However, I feel confident that I can get both of us to the surface - in relative safety - should the need arise. (NOTE: I do not do overhead environments!)

As far as questioning new dive buddies, the questions would vary based upon the type of diving being planned. How you ask the questions (and answer them) can either give you a connection with the new buddy, or show that you are not compatible buddies. No one should take offense at questions from a new buddy, as long as they're relevant to the type of diving, and they're asked respectfully.

Most of us are recreational divers, typically diving as a group and usually with a DM present. I think rec divers tend to feel a relative safety in numbers, and do not question their new dive buddies as they ought to. I'm sure most feel secure that if anything goes wrong, somebody in the group will be able to deal with the situation. Generally speaking, with the SD rec diving I would agree that there will be more than one person in each group who could do so. HOWEVER, this should not relieve any of us of the responsibility to a) plan the dive and dive the plan, b) communicate with our new buddy before diving with them regarding the dive, the equipment, and whatever questions are appropriate, c) be responsible for our own safety and for our assigned buddy's as well, and d) complete the dive safely with the buddy.

Even with the excellent job the Trip Coordinators do in teaming us up with compatible dive buddies on the SD Trips, we should still do more than just introduce ourselves to each other on the boat!

[Bubbles]

So, my question is basically, does anyone really, honestly, want to dive with a new diver???? (other than our sainted WW)

Meee!! Pick meee!! I enjoy diving and no one has ever done anything that compromised my FUN FACTOR on a dive. Long,short, deep, shallow, etc. It's all good

Unless I am misremembering, I recall seeing you work with a relatively new diver on an SD trip and thought that you did very well mentoring them.

PPM

PPM - If you are talking about the Grenada trip, then I am the new diver that you are referencing....and yes Zach was a GREAT mentor!!! That was about 130 dives ago for me, and I still feel that I have so much to learn. Every dive continues to be a learning opportunity, and I love diving with anybody who is willing to teach me.

[pmarie]

OK, you guys are worrying me!! I'm a novice diver - only 38 dives and I still feel really nervous when pairing up with someone new. My air consumption is to the point where I can come up with everyone else and have 500-700 left. I did the rent-a-buddy thing with Wrench Wench in St. Croix and learned a lot. I probably can't throw the lingo around as if I had been diving for a long time. I have 3 more trips planned for this year, so I'm hoping time and experience will take care of my apprehension. So, my question is basically, does anyone really, honestly, want to dive with a new diver???? (other than our sainted WW)

It is not the number of dives, but how you handle yourself, have a willingness to learn, and like some said, check the ego, I say at the dock. I have been diving a very short 3 years and until this past year I never had a regular dive buddy. I have done 270 dives and out of those maybe 40 with the same dive buddy. There have been a couple times when I got on the boat the Capt has asked me to stay with a diver; newer, hadn't been in the water in a while, last deep dive was not recent but not a year...I considered it a privelege that the Capt was comfortable with pairing me up with that diver. It was almost like I "crossed" into another category from being the "watched" to doing the "watching." We are all new once, it is a filtering process at times and many have great and wonderful suggestions. I remember being really fresh and new and I am thankful for all of the divers that have helped and continue to help in my educational process.

[VADiver]

remember the number 1 rule -- Never dive with an unsafe diver!