This topic is locked
I would LOVE to be included in this trip! I'm still just OW, but I'm doing well on air consumption and also at depth. Is this something I could still do?
Maybe one of the instructors would teach the AOW and Nitrox on this trip. If not one of the SD instructors then possibly the dive shop would have an instructor on staff. It would be a great place for the deep course and the wreck course as well.
Deep yes...wreck no. The most suitable dives for wreck 'training' are NOT the wrecks we want to spend enough time on for her to do the course work.
This can initially be a teaser dive...you know do it and see what all the fuss is about doing a wreck cert or several of them (as the initial wreck cert ONLY covers basics and does NOT I repeat does NOT train you to do penetration diving) and then do the class and THEN graduate to the real deal!
Cass you could do this trip given your comfort, air consumption and where with all in the water however you should have a RAB for the trip and here's why.
This is NOT A DIVEMASTER LED DIVE. You will ONLY rely on your dive buddy...not groups of divers and not a dive master. The dive master will jump in the water with the anchor and tie it off the wreck. Most divers will never see this DM in the water. If you do it will be passing you on the line as he is going up and you are going down. The other DM on the boat will untie the anchor at the end of our dives and most will not see him in the water either. Once at the bottom you will be on either an intact wreck which is easier to navigate or a scattered wreck which is not as easy to navigate. While in principal each diver should be able to navigate on their own, use a reel for low vis or scattered terrain dives, the truth is that if you have not done a lot of wreck diving you won't know these things but can easily adjust with a proper dive briefing AND STILL ENJOY THESE DIVES. (This is one of the few destinations that you can dive over and over again and each time take your diving to a new level because you are able to do more and more things.)
Therefore we will give you some of our tried and true tricks and tips for enjoying these dives before we do each of the wrecks. I will ask the crew to tie a reel for you to follow if we have low vis or are diving one of the really scattered wrecks that get confusing. Compasses don't work...the metal in the ship throws your headings off. You must use natural navigation or a reel. A reel will get tangled in all but the most scattered wrecks so is not the solution to diving most of the wrecks. We usually have a nice mix of divers who have dove NC and who are new to NC so that will help as well. We screen divers so that divers who will literally be in OVER THEIR HEADS are not on this trip. If they want to dive they can go with one of the other operators who don't screen and take 'anybody' on the boat. In those instances the dives are as good as the weakest diver. We will be many hours offshore with no land in sight. An emergency is a big ordeal and will abort the dives for everyone. There are no refunds for aborted dives due to diver incidents. It is important that everyone be capable of doing two deep dives using a static line to the bottom and returning up that line despite the possibility of current, thermoclines, sea sickness, surge, oh yeah and BIG ANIMALS! (No the big animals are not dangerous but they will cause you to suck your air down much faster than you may have previously done and this will radically change your dive profile. As a result most people will dive a 100cf tank or in some cases a bigger tank which is why those driving wanted to know if they could bring their own tanks.)
This is by far big boy diving and if ain't ready to hang with the big boys then you need to stay on the porch. There is no shame in staying on the porch until your skills are better, your natural navigation is better, your ability to be on a boat for most of the day without getting off is honed, you can get up early and be ready to leave by 6:30am which means at the boat loading at 6am, you can bring ONLY the essentials that you need and it will ALL fit under your seat the space of two 80cf tanks, you can be mature enough to go to bed early and not try to dive tired or hung over and you are ready for the biggest adventure you've ever been on...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! Contact me if you have any questions on your ability to make these dives. Some of our new divers are naturals and with guidance can make these dives. I've seen people who have hundreds of dives in places like Cozumel freak out when they found out there was NO DM to follow on the dive and they could not just 'dive with the group' but they had to rely on their dive buddies and their own navigation skills to get back to the boat. THERE ARE NO FREE ASCENTS AWAY FROM THE BOAT...YOU MUST COME UP THE ANCHOR LINE. These dives are about having the 'basics' be comfortable to you...about your ability to add add'l task loading to your diving routine and still be able to enjoy yourself.
I have made hundreds of dives in NC and I love it. It has made me a better diver and it will make you a better diver. Just don't rush to take the lesson unless you are really comfortable with all the basics.
And so you know...on a good day diving NC is as easy as falling off the boat in any Caribbean Island...however there are many factors that can take a good day and make it head south. THAT is why this is considered intermediate or higher diving.
Oh yeah....
1. ONLY booties and fins. (NO FULL FOOT FINS nor extra long freediving fins)
2. You will NOT be able to hand your gear up. You will climb up the ladder WITH FINS ON and you can either kneel like I do and the dm's will take your fins off for you or you can take them off yourself. You will then be escorted back to your seat WITH YOUR TANK ON to take a seat. (YOU MUST GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT ONLY.)
3. You will not put your fins on the boat. You will be geared up, fins in hand and you will walk to the exit area of the boat and the dm's will put your fins on for you. (You lift one leg at a time and they will put your fins on for you.)
4. You will leave your reg in your mouth and fins on until you are SAFELY up the ladder. If you are blown off the ladder you will be able to approach the ladder safely with all your gear on.
5. You will need to ascend with LOTS of air just to get back on the boat if we have waves as you will need to time the waves until they die down and you can safely ascend the ladder. This means it will take LOTS of time to get all the divers on the boat. You will not hang on a tie line on the back of the boat waiting your turn. You will be waiting it at 20 feet on the hangline which means you NEED AIR. You will watch each diver ascend and then do the same when its your turn. PLAN YOUR AIR ACCORDINGLY SO YOU CAN DO THIS. (Most people will need to ascend with a minimum of 1000 psi for these dives.)
6. You will pay EXTREME ATTENTION TO ALL DIVE BRIEFINGS as they will be RADICALLY DIFFERENT from those of most of the diving you have done before. I can do some of it for you in advance so when you hear it on the boat it is more of a reminder for you. If you do not the captain or myself has the abilitiy to sit you from diving. If you are made to sit out a dive or more...you will not be reimbursed for those lost dives.
Ok hopefully I have not scared you off...I just want people to be aware that this dive is not suited for everyone...but for those who are up for the adventure...it will be dives of a lifetime! kamala
