33 replies to this topic

[Walter]

If they are new divers they should be that dive maste's pet project....they died because the dive master left them alone

If they need a DM to keep them alive, they shouldn't be certified.

....my last dive the "master" was so worried about jacking with me and my weights that he left my sister (pool certifiedby his company) alone in the current

It's not clear what you mean, I'm not aware of a pool certification. It sounds like she was on her checkout dives, if so, she should be with an instructor at all times, not a DM.

I had to go get her....swept away by the current...panic was setting in...could this have been a fatal situation..yes...absolutely

Yes and it is inexcusable. Panic kills even more divers than being overweighted, but being overweighted can lead to panic.

[6Gill]

If you can find someone to observe you(the more experianced as a diver the better) and you can get some pool time here are a few things you could try...
1)in mask/snorkel/fins(bathing suit optional) float face down in the pool.Now without moving but breathing normaly,are you a floater or a sinker?If a floater on a weight belt add weight in small(1lbs.) increments till you just become a sinker.
2)repeat the above wearing your exposer protection(if you have more than one suit do it with each one)Start with the weight from before and add to that till you just begin sinking.
3)repeat but this time wearing all your gear...at this point remember a couple things a)the closer the tank is to empty the more bouyant it is,so factor this into your calculations b)make sure your not moving your hands or legs c)make sure the air is all out of the bcd.
To do this take time but being properly weighted will make diving safer,more enjoyable and you'll improve your air consumption.

Before bcds were used more time and effort was givin to proper weighting and teaching people how to do it.On your OW course how much time was spent actually doing a proper weight requirement evaluation or did they just add weight till you'd sink?Discussing what needs to be done is not that much but it does take time which most classes don't take.Just for fun go back to your OW course material and see how much is devoted to explaining proper weighting.Bcds have made folks lazy when it comes to proper weighting

Something else that doesn't get touched upon is were the weight is placed...as a diver you want to be horizontal in the water.Different folks have different center-of gravity(COG).By placing the weight on either side of this point and at different distance from the COG you can now not only be properly weighted but easily maintain a horizontal profile in the water(note that your tank placement will also effect this so you always want to wear it at the same height each time).
Taking a workshop were this is covered would be the best thing in terms of accelerating the learning curve.

By the pool certification did you mean a 'resort' course or a discover scuba course.One allows uncertified divers in the water with conditions(staff ratios,depth ect) the other is just a try it and see what breathing underwater is.
If it was a resort course it would be intresting to know the number of resort divers to instuctor ratio and the depths.Remember the folks at the resort are there to provide entertainment and just as there are good operations there are shoddy ones to.The DM on the boat may not have been givin any information about the divers under his/her care other than they are divers period.The laws and rules governing safety that you have at home don't always apply in different parts of the world.

As to what Walter was saying a diver once certified should be capable of diving in conditions as good or better than they trained in.If as a diver you've been out of the water for a bit or diving in unfimilar conditions let the staff know.Remember it's better to down play your ability and appear a quick learner or a natural than overplay your hand.If your going to be diving where you'd like a bit more personal attention make arangements before hand or talk to someone about your concerns.DMs are capable of many things but mind reading isn't one of them and as in every walk of life there are good/bad and experianced/inexperianced DMs.Also remember some of the most experienced divers are even DMs

Eric

[finley]

very good suggestions..I have had some personal messages that also offered really good suggestions...I will have to wait a while before I am going into the pool aunautrale but will definitely try some stuff with my wetsuit on...thanks to each of you...

[Dive_buddy]

... you have demonstrated a lack of understanding the topic. Overweighted divers die as a result of being overweighted. We are not talking about ounces or even a couple pounds, but many divers are grossly overweighted. Also, too much emphasis is not placed on the topic, if it were, most divers wouldn't be overweighted. Many (most?) instructors don't even bother to properly weight their students.

A new diver often will need a little more lead, but not a great deal. You don't know that 20 lbs is not too much, it's irresponsible to make such a statement.

If you are anxious about something, you will tend to hold more air in your lungs.

Proper weighting is with full lungs.

You are correct, I do have a lack of understanding of the topic. I do not wish to get into an argument over this. I am not a dive instructor and will automatically lose the argument. Maybe if my previous instructors had taken the time to properly teach me about weighting, I would have an understanding of the topic.