Checklist for Referral Divers for their dive destination. What you need to know when you're completing your dives internationally. #scuba #scubadiving #scubareferral #divedestination

PAPERWORK

• standard agency or company only

While each company can create their own documents to run their business, every agency provides all dive shops and instructors a free to download standardized medical history questionnaire and liability release. Most agencies have student record folders that a shop or instructor can purchase but they are not required. The agencies you've probably have heard of and will interact with include: BSAC, CMAS, GUE, IANTD, IDEA, NASE, NASDS, NAUI, NSS-CDS, PADI, PDIC, RAID, SDI, SSI, TDI, UTD, and YMCA. These agencies require use of a RSTC, WRSTC, or their own forms for the Medical History Questionnaire and Liability Release.

MEDICAL HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE: https://jcaelitescuba.com/new-2017-medical-release-form.pdf

LIABILITY RELEASE: https://jcaelitescuba.com/new-2017-liability-release-form.pdf

LIABILITY INSURANCE
•  Required by the agency, required for the instructor, required by the government, or not required

While the United States is a litigious society, there are countries that do not require Professional Liability Insurance, Business Licenses, or ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

Please contact these agency headquarters to confirm whether your dive shop and/or instructor in the country you are traveling to are required to have Professional Liability Insurance and the minimum policy coverage and limits. If the dive shop holds a group insurance policy, is that valid for independent instructors and are they signed with them? If your instructor is independent of a dive shop, do they own their own Professional Liability Insurance? If that agency does not require shops or instructors to have insurance, does the government of that country require it. Please keep in mind that US Citizens might not have the rights and privileges of that country's citizens. Consider buying traveling and diving insurance through DAN (Divers Alert Network). It is very inexpensive.

NAUI: https://www.naui.org/contact; 800-553-6284

PADI: https://www.padi.com/contact; 800-729-7234

TDI/SDI: https://www.tdisdi.com/contact; 888-778-9073

SSI: https://www.divessi.com/en/myssi/contact/;  800-821-4319

DAN: https://www.diversalertnetwork.org; +1-919-684-2948

RENTAL EQUIPMENT
• complete or mismatched
• proper fit 

• inspection and assembly prior to departing the dive shop
• tanks: hydro and visuals

Each certification agency might vary slightly in the required equipment to complete certification, but here are some that are likely to be required across all agencies: mask; snorkel; boots; fins; BCD; regulator system (1st stage, primary 2nd stage, an octo or alternate air source, pressure gauge, depth gauge, timing device, dive computer); compass; cylinder; weights; weight belt; signal marker buoy; finger spool and line; cutting tool; exposure/thermal protection; and dive light. While not all dive shops will offer dive computers, a dive computer can take sometimes take the place of a depth gauge, timing device, pressure gauge, and compass. You should find out what brand and model of dive computer you will be renting if you don't own your own so that you can download the instruction manual ahead of time to read it. Remember, the scuba diving gear you are diving with is life support equipment. While mechanical failure is rare, if you don't inspect it prior to leaving the dive shop, you could be accepting responsibility for defective or failing equipment.

A cylinder is due to be inspected and tested at the first time it is to be filled after the expiration of the interval as specified by the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, or as specified by national or international standards applicable in the region of use. 

United States: hydrostatic test every 5 years; visual inspection is not required by the USA DOT. The visual inspection requirement is a diving industry standard based on observations made during a review by the National Underwater Accident Data Center.

• European Union: hydrostatic test every 5 years; visual inspection is required every 2.5 years
• Norway: hydrostatic test (including a visual inspection) 3 years after production date, then every 2 years
• Australia: hydrostatic test every 12 months
• South Africa: hydrostatic test every 4 years; visual inspection every 1 year
• Mexico: hydrostatic test every 3 years

AIR COMPRESSOR AND AIR FILLS

• air quality inspection certificate

Each country has it's own standards and limits for contaminates regarding the testing of breathing gas (air) that goes into a scuba cylinder. 

Here is some information from the United States: https://archive.epa.gov/region10/diving/web/pdf/dt_divers_how_clean_is_your_air_dec09-2.pdf

NOAA defines acceptable air to be that which meets the compressed gas association (CGA) grade E standard or better. The following table is taken from the NOAA Scientific Diving Standards and Safety Manual, section 3.6, August, 2008.

Oxygen: 20-22%/v

Carbon Monoxide: 10 ppm/v

Carbon Dioxide: 1000 ppm/v

Condensed Hydrocarbons: 5 mg/m3

Total Hydrocarbons as Methane: 25 ppm/v

Water Vapor: (ppm) 2

Objectionable Odors: None 

United States: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration); https://www.osha.gov

ISO standards: (International Organization for Standardization); https://www.iso.org/

DIVE BRIEFINGS ("SEABAG")

Did you remember to bring your logbook? Are you going to log each dive after each dive? Will the instructor sign your logbook after each dive or at the end of the certification weekend? 

The dive briefing and planning stage before the dive is often more critical than the dive itself. Dive briefings that are 5-10 minutes are inadequate. If you've never been on this dive site, in that gear, with 30-70lbs of gear on your back, and lack the experience to deal with unforeseen issues that might occur while underwater, and 5-10 minutes will do it, that's assuming a lot!

Any student that is relying on the instructor to save them if the shit hits the fan, don't forget that this instructor may have six other students and only two hands! Let's say a student bolts to the surface. Does that instructor go after them and leave the group or let that person go and stay with the group? Your perspective changes when you are in both positions.

• Site

Where are you diving? The name of the dive site and the city, state. What is the history of this dive site? How often do people dive here? Is this an intermediate, advanced, or technical dive location? 

• Environment

Environment may be different than site. What does the topography of the floor in that body of water look like? Does it change when the tide changes? Is there a current? Are there any hazards? What kind of animal life lives there? What are some of the permanent fixtures you'll see there? Is there a general area that one should avoid and for what reasons? Is the bottom rocky, silty, sandy, etc. What is the visibility like? What is the temperature of the water? 

•  Emergency 

Emergencies happen. Being prepared is the key to all situations. Do you know where you are and can you explain directions to EMS if needed? If you are in a foreign country, what is their emergency management system protocols? If there is an emergency, does someone need to go to the road to escort them to the site of the accident? Where is the emergency oxygen? Is the cylinder full, is the regulator connected, and is it ready to be used instantly? Is there an AED and can everyone use it? Where is the nearest decompression chamber?

• Activity (see skills below)
What is our goal of diving at this site and doing this dive? When will you go? How long will the dive be? Will there be any skills required to be demonstrated? Are there any skills that are required to dive on this site? What do you do if divers get lost or separated? What are the communication hand signals that will be used? Who is your dive buddy? Will there be a dive debriefing? Who is leading the dive?

• Buoyancy
As addressed in "Environment", there may be special considerations about this dive site that particular attention to buoyancy are required. While good buoyancy is always a good idea, if the topography has to be always in mind (silty bottom, no bottom, dangerous objects or animal life), how does one modify their diving to adapt to it? Are special kicking techniques required? Will buoyancy be controlled only through one's BCD, drysuit, or both?

• Air

Gas consumption is always a consideration, however there are several factors that can effect how much gas you breath; one's diving experience, the work load you'll be undertaking, task loading and the amount of equipment you will be operating during the dive, depth of the dive, time at depth, time in the dive, emergency air sharing, and possible decompression requirements. How does one communicate how much air they have and do they know their SAC rate or RMV? Does the size of the cylinder matter and what about tank volume baseline? Will one be required to end the dive with a certain amount of gas in reserve?

• Gear
New divers might not own any of their own gear yet and the gear they use at their dive destination may be different than what they used at home. Gear that is likely to be used is listed above. Was an inspection of the equipment done at the dive shop or is the first time you are looking at it? Is everyone diving with the same kind of gear or are some divers equipped with different styles, brands, manufacturers and does one's dive buddy (chosen or assigned) know how to manage it? If you are going to do a buddy check, have you tried ditching that persons weight, releasing weight pockets, buckles, and clasps or were you just told how they work? Is everyone diving with an octopus or does anyone have an air-source, integrated-air, or RBS (redundant breathing system) and have they explained to others how they will share air in the event of an OOA (out of air) situation? Does everyone have a dive computer? Is anyone diving tables? Does anyone have a "Save-a-Dive" kit?

SKILLS

Conditions can vary from dive site to dive site and even effect the ability to complete a skill, but there are some minimum skills that every diver should be asked to do. Some of these skills are done prior to entering the water, upon entering the water, only in confined water (pool), and open water. Each agency has it's own version of how these skills should be performed as well as the professional opinion of the instructor that is demonstrating them or the evaluation of skill presented to the instructor. 

Swimming

• Demonstrate swim stroke proficiency of at least 15 continuous stroke cycles
• 10 minute survival swim
• 50 feet underwater swim, 1 breath

Skin Diving

• 450 yards snorkel swim, non-stop
• Recover diver from about 10 feet

Skin Diving Techniques

• Water entries and exits
• Surface dives
• Surface swimming
• Clearing the snorkel
• Ditching the weight belt
• Buoyancy control
• Underwater swimming and surfacing

Diving

• Pre and Post Dive Skills
• Select, check, assemble, and don equipment
• Pre-dive gear check for self and buddy
• Defog masks
• Doff, rinse, and care for gear

Surface

• Entries and exits
• Perform surface buoyancy/weighting check
• Surface communications for divers
• Orally inflate/deflate own and buddy's BC
• At surface remove (in turn) equipment
• Face submerged, breathe through snorkel, rest/swim
• Face submerged, breathe through water in snorkel
• Release simulated cramp for self and buddy
• Entry/exit, use of float/flag (if applicable)
• Deploy a signal marker buoy 

Ascent/Descent

• Control pressure in air spaces
• Control feet first descent with breath or BC
• Controlled ascent with precautionary stop

Underwater

• Give, recognize, and respond to U/W signals
• Mask clearing, including remove and replace
• Remove, replace, and clear primary regulator
• Primary regulator recovery
• Hover without support
• Use of buddy system
• Monitor air supply -- communicate amount
• Environmental and compass navigation
• Compass navigation, bearings, and reciprocal

Planning

• Surface air consumption calculation
• Plan then make no-deco dive between 40-60 feet
• Calculate repetitive no-deco dive using tables

Environmental

• Diving with minimal impact on environment
• Marine life identification

Emergency

• Transport 50 yards simulated exhausted buddy
• Share air both as donor and receiver
• Perform controlled emergency swimming ascent
• Alternate air share both as donor/receiver
• Retrieve unconscious diver from 10 feet

SAFE DIVING PRACTICES

No one expects to have a dive accident. Dive accidents don't just happen under the water. You're also carrying around 35-70 pounds of equipment depending on where you do your dive and how much weight you'll be wearing. Some of these items below are good old-fashioned common sense. Just because you know what you're suppose to do, or not do, accidents can still happen if you let it. Remember, the video of the two divers? Don't forget, "Who's the barber, here?"

• Be trained and certified by a professional underwater instructor.
• Maintenance good physical and mental conditions for diving. Be at ease in the water. Only dive when feeling well. Do not use any intoxicating liquor or dangerous drugs before diving. 
• Have a regular medical exam for diving.
• Use correct, complete, well-maintained diving equipment, which is checked before each dive. Equipment must not be loaned to non-certified divers. Use a buoyancy compensator, plus a submersible pressure guage and alternate air source.
• Know the limitations of yourself, your buddy and your equipment. Use the best possible judgment and common sense in planning each dive. Allow a margin of safety in order to be prepared for emergencies. Set moderate limits for depth and time in the water.
• Know your diving location. Avoid dangerous places and poor conditions.
• Control your buoyancy to make diving as easy as possible. Strive for neutral buoyancy. Be prepared to ditch your weights. Make an emergency ascent, clear your mask or take other emergency action if needed. In an emergency: Stop, Breathe, Think, Act.
• Never dive alone. Always buddy dive -- know each other's equipment. Know hand signals and stay in contact.
• Use a boat or float as a surface support station whenever this will increase the safety and enjoyment of the dive. Fly the "diver down" flag to warn boaters that divers are underwater. 
• Slowly surface close to the float and flag, watching and listening for possible hazards. (See "Safe Boat Diving Practices")
• Beware of breath holding. Breathe continuously throughout all scuba diving activities. Emphasize exhalation any ascents. Without scuba: avoid excessive "over breathing" before a skin dive; do not overexert. Know your limits and allow for a margin of safety. Be sure to equalize pressure early and often both during ascent and descent.
• If your are cold, tired, injured, out of air or not feeling well, get out of the water. Diving is no longer fun or safe. If any abnormality persists, get medical attention.
• Know decompression procedures, tables and emergency procedures. Make all dives as "no decompression" dives. Avoid stage decompression particularly on repetitive dives, at altitude or when flying after diving. Wait a minimum of 24 hours before flying or driving to altitude.
• Ascend no faster than 30 feet per minute -- ascend 10 feet and wait for 20 seconds -- one foot every two seconds, etc...
• Make a "recommended safety stop" at the end of dives. That means you should pause at about 15-18 feet for a minimum of three minutes before your final ascent to the surface. For dives deeper than 60 feet, do a "recommended deep stop." Ascend half of the deepest part of that dive and pause for 90 seconds. Ascend half that distance again and pause for another 90 seconds. Safety stops and deep stops may be combined.
• Continue your scuba training by diving regularly, taking additional training, specialty courses, refresher courses, and continuing education. Log all dives and make at least 24 dives each year (like 2 dives on one day each month).

SAFE BOATING PRACTICES

Diving from a boat is fun. Sometimes you can't learn it all before getting certified, but here are some things to remember. If you aren't sure, ask someone on the boat. The Divemaster or Instructor will be more than happy to answer any questions you have. If you're not going to dive or you're not on a dive boat, ask the First Mate or Captain. While some countries don't have a Coast Guard, most have a Navy. 

• Select a Coast Guard licensed boat that is fully equipped with the required safety equipment and has diver support and safety equipment.
• Ask to receive boat diving techniques training as a part of your basic, sport or advanced diving courses.
• Rely on the Captain's knowledge of the most suitable dive sites. Plan your dive using the specific site information provided by the crew or Divemaster.
• Only sign up for trip destinations that are consistent with your ability and dive plan.
• Arrive at the boat 15 minutes before departure. Stow your well marked gear in the assigned locations. Respect the boat facilities: no wet suits in the bunk room or dropping tanks or weight belts on the deck.
• Between dives keep dive gear in your bag to avoid lost or broken equipment. Assist your buddy with his/her tank. Do not sit on the deck to put your tank on or you may get hit on the head by another diver's tank.
• Use your equipment to dive easily and safely. Do not over weight yourself. Only use your BC to fine tune your buoyancy during the dive or to compensate for a heavy game bag at the end of the dive.
• No loaded spear guns are EVER allowed on the boat or boarding ramp. Bring a container for your game. Help keep the boat deck clean and clear.
• Use the boat exit points recommended by the crew. Move away from the boat exit once you are in the water. Either snorkel clearly on the surface or begin your descent down the anchor line. Do not use scuba to skim just under the surface. If you just skim the surface you cannot be seen by passing boats or other divers.
• Fins should be put on last while you are waiting near the exit. Do not walk around the deck wearing fins.
• Be sure to use a compass and submersible pressure gauge. Plan your dive so you end the dive with a reserve of air and are able to return to the boat while still under water.
• Be aware of changes in current conditions during the dive. Use natural clues such as seaweed. Look for current lines trailed behind the boat on the surface. Do not hesitate to pull yourself hand-over-hand back to the boat using this line.
• Use common sense, training, and experience and ask questions if you are unsure. Allow for a "margin of reserve" and do not push your endurance limits. Watch for other divers waving one arm while on the surface. They are signaling a diver in distress. Divers who maintain personal control and are comfortable in the water have safe, enjoyable experience under water.

                                                             --carlos

"Every dive is a dream come true."

       

Video clips from scuba dives on Isla Mujeres, Mexico and MUSA (Museo Sub...

#islamujeres #musamexico #underwatermuseum #scubadivingmexico #reefdiving #corals

Snapshots from the video "Scuba dives on Isla Mujeres, Mexico and MUSA"

#scuba #scubadiving #islamujeres #divemexico #musamexico

An evaluation of diving off Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Not the act of diving, but the logistics of diving and what you need to know

If you are traveling to an international location, please read my blog, "Checklist for Referral Divers for their dive destination. What you need to know when you're completing your dives internationally."

UPDATE: 3/26/2018 @ 7:55pm

I've decided to add a program called Open Water Traveler PRO to my available courses. It will include: the Educational Component, Pool Sessions, and One Day of Diving all locally. For the diver that's planning to travel to tropical locales and want to complete their certification dives at their dive destination, but will only need one day and two dives at their destination. It's faster, better than any traditional referral, and the student will also get to experience diving in the Pacific Northwest! 

I came up with this idea in order to add the extra level of education the student needs as well as give the student a clear and concise understanding of what they should be getting. If they don't get what they are expecting, they'll still be prepared above and beyond those that arrive at their dive destination without any open water experience.

Additionally, if the diver had already planned to do two days of diving, this will bring them up to 6 logged open water dives. More dives is always a good idea.




Isla Mujeres is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, about 8 miles off the Yucatán Peninsula and coast of Cancún, Mexico. The island is almost 4 1/2 miles long and a little over 2,000 feet wide. While it's not my intention to sell the island to travelers thinking of their next Mexican vacation, the island is not terribly overcrowded, the diving is pretty good, and the people are friendly. Click HERE to download several maps of the island that include:

• Getting to know Isla Mujeres
• Hotels and rental properties
• Downtown attractions
• Downtown restaurants
• Restaurants around the island
• Attractions around the island
• and a "Golf Cart Tour"

My girlfriend and I stayed in Cancún and took the bus to the ferry terminal and rode over. It only takes 15-20 minutes and several of the boats are catamarans making the trip relatively smooth. We decided to do several days of diving. The dive shop offered a three day package of six dives which took us to several shallow reefs, MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte), and a couple of wreck dives.

The first two days of diving were pretty good. I don't have the stomach I used to as a kid so I always recommend taking a seasickness pill or two for the boat rides to the dive sites. The horizon is often in view and if the wind isn't blowing too forcefully, the ride won't be that rough. 

I was quite surprised at the size and details of the statues but the amount of sea life on the shallow reefs was the most impressive part of the dives. With relatively shallow dives in the 30 feet range it was easy for me to do 50+ minute dives and even finish with a sizable amount of gas left in my cylinders. These dives weren't particularly difficult however as I'll talk about a little later, I would have preferred a little more structure and organization around the dives.

There are lots of dive shops on the island so I did a little work to research what I wanted from them, the price I felt was adequate for what we got, and where we got to dive. As expected, the owner of the dive shop was friendly and helpful and the Divemasters were eager to please.

I planned this dive trip a little differently as we had other plans on the mainland and since our entire trip wasn't going to revolve around diving, I felt that this would be a great opportunity to take as little equipment as possible, see what rental equipment would be provided/offered, and have a perspective on the experiences that many of my students would have when off to their dive destinations as "referral divers."

We took our own regulators, dive computers, dive masks/snorkels, weight belts, dive lights, octo/console keepers, wetsuits, an SMB, a finger spool with line, and an underwater video camera. We rented BCD's, tanks, weights, and fins. While I expected that the equipment would be exceptionally older, they weren't as old as I thought they would be. 

So, let's talk about my experience, what I expected to happen, and what I really wish would have happened. 

Paperwork. We started our trip with a very limited amount of paperwork. We were not asked to show our cert cards or logbooks. The trip before this in July of 2017 to the Channel Islands was similar. The dive boat told us that it was our responsibility to have the appropriate training for the dives we were going to do. While this would have made sense if the introductions to the dives sites were a little more detailed, since the dive sites of the day were often decided at the last minute, divers wouldn't have had the opportunity to choose different days, dive sites, or opt out if conditions were not within their comfort zone. As a note, the paperwork was not certification agency paperwork.

Ironically, while I am pretty comfortable and capable of extraordinary diving conditions, as I get older I prefer to go a little slower and expect the quality of the dives (and conditions) to supersede the number of dives. When students tell me where they are going to complete cert dives (referrals), I feel that a more thorough plan is going to be part of their educational process. While I wasn't caught off guard, so much of the day on the water went faster than I wanted it to and have to admit that I took way too much for granted that I never do when I organize dive trips, excursions, and certification dives!

Rental equipment. While tanks and weights aren't traditionally taken when traveling, some of the things I teach my students (and that I will be modifying for my lessons) were off or incomplete. The tanks did not have current hydrostatic inspections (hydros) after the manufacture dates and there was no visual inspection stickers. I don't know what Mexico's laws on hydros are of what the shop's position on visual inspections are... While I was able to see the compressor that was used for air fills, I didn't inspect it or make it obvious that I was giving it a once over. While I didn't think about asking to see a certificate of inspection testing the air for contaminants from an outside agency, it will be on my list.

The BCD's were somewhat modern, non weight-integrated, jacket styles with standard inflators. I didn't do the BCD inspection I teach my students as they assembled our gear for us. I did move the BCD's lower as they were too high for my liking but that did get their attention. In one instance, the tank strap was not fed through the last slot on the plastic buckle. The octos hoses were bent over and fed through one of the d-rings on shoulder straps. 

The weights weren't standard uncoated lead weights but I think they were originally in kilograms but were not legible. They assembled the weights on our weight belts. The reason I brought our own belts was to make sure of an appropriate length I insist on. Belts that are too long present the risk of being tucked in and belts that are too short are difficult to ditch in a hurry.

While my girlfriend got full-foot fins on all three days, I got heel-strap fins but they did not have boots for me. They gave me neoprene socks. As expected, the fins did not fit well and rubbed off skin on my heels and the top of my toes. Suffice it to say I will never travel without my own boots and fins ever again! I never did in the past and perhaps I thought things would be different. I had the same experience in the past so to expect that anything was different was short-sighted. The last day and last dive my girlfriend thinks that the full-foot fins she got were the wrong size.

The boat. The boat was an open body fiberglass boat with an outboard motor and a standing station for the driver. The driver stayed with the boat during all the dives but I don't think he was a boat captain or had any experience outside of personal or on the job training. I did not ask. The boats do have to follow the harbors and beaches recommendations on departures. I believe the owner of the shop told me that a harbor master used to be in charge of this but it is now the responsibility of the the Mexican Navy. There were not life jackets on board; no emergency oxygen; no AED; the assembled BCD's and regs laid on the bottom of the boat and each other every time we hit a wave; there was a radio on-board. I did feel that we were going too fast for the trip out to the wreck on the third day. I got sick on the boat after the first dive. My girlfriend and I did not do the second wreck dive later that day.

Dive briefings. While I'm not sure that the Divemasters had an emergency action plan, I would lean on the side of "NO" as it was not part of briefing. The briefing talked about where we were going to dive but was lacking a formal "BWARF," "SEABAG," or "START" (PADI, NAUI, and SDI's dive briefing acronyms). We did get the hand signals for all of the sea life we were going to see and it seemed that the Divemasters were ringing their noise makers continually as they pointed out the fish. I'm proud to say I think we saw everything on the cards below!

If I was briefing the dives we did they would have started at the dive shop with an introduction of everyone to each other and then: 

• Site
• Environment/Emergency
• Activity
• Buoyancy
• Air
• Gear 

I'm proud that my briefings for open water divers are easily a couple of hours long. My perspective is that my students have never been in all that cold-water gear, wearing 70lbs of equipment, in 50 degree water, have ever dove in the Puget Sound, and there are special considerations about the dives we are about to undertake. While none of the divers on our Isla dives were completing certification dives as students, I knew nothing about them, their experiences, training, number of logged dives, and I never asked to see their logbooks! 

When I look back at everything that happened during the three days with our dive shop (not disclosed on purpose), I have to be honest and say that I blew it! With that said, if I was this complacent, even though I know I could have take care of myself and my girlfriend in the event of an emergency, I was never inconspicuous about being an instructor. I always like to think that I'm "on duty" but the reality of this experience is that I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. If I didn't want to and I'm the barber, I can guarantee that my students would not either!

Evaluation. I have an open water weekend in three days and while I will cover everything needed, it makes me really wonder what my referral students are experiencing on their open water weekends. I think it's fair to ask if everything needed is done, and while those are my general expectations, I can't control what other instructors and dive shops do. I feel comfortable sending my students that meet my standards to their dive destinations, however if my recent experience is any indication of what is out there, I might need to do more. I think a checklist for them to follow has potential however there is the possibility for an adversarial response from those that receive them. 

Here is a video of complete equipment assembly and testing that I teach at the pool and expected that I would do at the dive shop in Mexico...

If you are traveling to an international location, please read my blog, "Checklist for Referral Divers for their dive destination. What you need to know when you're completing your dives internationally."

I got a compliment from a student. It's on the NAUI website.

#scuba #scubadiving #nauiInstructor #whosyourdaddy #lookwhaticando

#naui #nauiworldwide

Holy shit! Look what I can do...!!! No one ever told me I got a compliment...

Who did it?

Response to Cave Diver Harry Article: Proper weighting

http://cavediverharry.com/least-weight-possible

There is so much more about proper weighting. This is a great topic! Here is a list of things that are not talked about enough when it comes to proper weighting and that all new divers should be trained on! Oh, wait. I do... Does Patty? Who is this Patty everyone keeps talking about?

-- Aluminum cylinder or Steel cylinder: do you know the buoyancy characteristics of the cylinder you're diving on and when will a change of buoyancy be problematic. At the beginning of the dive, having too weight for how much air you'll be using out of your aluminum cylinder and at the end of the dive and not having enough if you take your tank down to 500psi. Starting the dive over-weighted only with the understanding that you must be cautious entering the water. There might be as much as a 5lb shift! If you are in steel, just because the tank stays negative you should still do a weight check. Consider the tanks ballast! If you switch from a LP steel 72 to LP steel 120, you will NOT need the same amount of weight on a belt/harness.

-- Did you learn to ditch your weight, a weight belt, in the pool only to have a weight harness in open water and NOT practice ditching the weight? Ditching weight from harnesses like the DUI is not easy for everyone. Similarly, integrated BCD's that are too tight might not release the pockets easily. You must practice ditching your weight in open water and your dive buddy must try to ditch your weight, too. Doing a BARFW and/or telling someone how you ditch your weights is NOT a proper buddy check.

-- Doing skills on your knees and negative is not a realistic for emergency skills. In the pool, meh... In open water? You MUST be neutral and in diver position so you can immediately decide if you're going to do a swimming ascent or buoyant ascent. If you are negative and run out of air, you are likely to start climbing the invisible ladder. See video on the YouTube "Diver Panic."

--CESA is done kneeling or standing are not representative of being out of air. Do the skill where you are neutral, at depth, then arch your back and get in a kick or two to be in the correct orientation (in a position to make an ascent). If you are going to continue swimming to the surface, your inflator MUST be in your left hand so you can orally inflate your BCD when you surface. In a real OOA situation, by the time you get to the surface from starting neutral there won't be much of a struggle to stay on the surface even without ditching weight (if properly weighted). If you are negative, you MUST ditch your weights and follow EBA procedures. Break the CESA into two parts: getting into proper position THEN a swimming ascent -- but separately.

-- Practice orally inflating the BCD underwater when air sharing with a buddy. Don't just say you're okay to go to the surface if you're negative. If you are negative, you need to add air to your BCD before trying to swim to the surface. If you are in a 2-piece farmer john wetsuit at 100ft and sitting on the ground and run out of air, you will NOT be able to swim to the surface until you get neutral. If you ditch your weight at 100ft, hold onto something because you'll be in orbit as soon as you breach the surface.

-- If you go to a warmer climate and a change of weight is necessary, don't let the Divemaster tell you to put 20lbs on! DO A NEW WEIGHT CHECK. Geeez, really?

;)

Sunrise Motel, Hoodsport, WA. 101ft descent and swim to shore. Blog: Ave...

#scuba #scubadiving #divecalculator #deepdiving #pugetsound #hoodsportwa

Average Depth Calculator (spreadsheet) Download and why your dive computer is just an expensive calculator. Decompression theory...

DOWNLOAD CALCULATOR CLICK HERE

For those that haven't used tables in a while, you can watch my two videos on Dive Tables by clicking on the two links below if you want to re-familiarize with them. Even if you don't, the tables basically tell us how long we can spend at particular depth for any given first dive. This assumes that the diver is making a direct descent from the surface, reaching their planned depth (but not going past it), spending an amount of time there, and then making their way back to the surface. The dive times that one uses in the tables above accounts for the total time in the water (including descents and the ascent). A safety stop is recommended but not part of this number. The diver can consider the end of the dive at 15ft and do their safety stop for 3 minutes after which they would exit the water.

How to use NAUI Scuba Diving Tables: Intro and Question 53/63

How to use NAUI Dive Tables: Questions 54 to 63

The beauty of the dive computer is that it will calculate how deep you are at any depth and at a particular interval (the intervals below are one minute in duration however there are computers that you can change this value to as little as every 5 seconds but it will use more battery power), then add the next depth to that interval and divide all of that by how long one has been in the water. You could do this manually but your entire dive would be doing math, not exploring the amazing dive site you're on! Once you get to your 2nd, 3rd, 4th dive, all but a few could do the math quick enough and it's more likely you'll start making mistakes. One depth and one time is easy to plan for.

This first example below is a typical dive to boat #1, approximately 45ft max depth starting from the shore, looking around, and then making one's way back to the shore. The ocean floor at Sunrise Motel makes a gradual slope to the boat and when one averages the time one spends at any particular depth and then averages it among all the others, you can see that even a 45ft max depth dive, is really a 25ft dive!

If you go back up to NAUI Dive Tables on the top of the page, you can see that a 45ft dive has a maximum dive time of 80 minutes. I don't know about you but 30-45 minutes is a pretty good dive in 50°F water. So if we are taking on have of the amount of nitrogen that is allowed, our risk of DCS is low. If we then go to the table and look for 25ft, we have to drop to 40ft which gives us 130 minutes. Again, a very conservative profile.

These values are from the entire dive starting at the surface, descending to the ocean floor (101ft), then making my way back to the shore. At one minute intervals, one could do the math, but why?

Here is the entire video: https://youtu.be/ZdgE_2emtPQ

Now, if we look at the dive I dive from the surface above the deep boat, as I average my depths together, even this 101ft dive averaged over a 30 minute total dive time to all those varied depths only gives me an average depth of 44ft. Wow! Not only is my 44ft dive for 30 minutes rather conservative, if I was to use the dive tables for this dive, I would only get a total of 15 minutes in the water. But wait! 3 minutes to descend, 3 minutes to ascend, and only 9 minutes of bottom time. That sucks! Who wants to do a 9 minute dive?

What does it look like on my dive computer when I finally got close to my max depth? Not too far off from dive tables. At 94ft, that would give me 22 minutes according to the dives tables, and when I finally got to 101ft, only 15 minutes.

So, when someone says that dive tables are SOOOO conservative, well... NOT really. We have to be conservative due to the limitation for most divers' (technical decompression divers using tables on a wreck, excluded) inability to calculate a bunch of math in their heads.

Now, here is the crux of my point about dive computers being expensive calculators. Is there any real difference between a $2,000 computer and a $50 used computer you bought on Craigslist? Not as much as you might think...

Don't get me wrong, the dive computer has other features that are great to have. They log your dives, they tell you how fast you are ascending, they tell you how long you have to wait to fly (without waiting the default 24-hours), they do all the math for you, etc. 

When you have some time, download the calculator and play with it. Everything except the column should be locked so you don't change the calculations performed in each cell. The idea behind understanding what is happening to the nitrogen dissolving into your body is important! Tables or computers, it's up to you. 

WARNING: This also doesn't mean you can blow your bottom time because you'll make it up in the shallows, either. You require specialized training in order to do decompression dives and there are considerations you have to prepare for, but if you want to learn how, I can teach you how to do it safely. This overview is part of the understanding you need to know about.

DOWNLOAD CALCULATOR CLICK HERE

Descending to 101ft to deep boat #3 at Sunrise Motel Hoodsport Washingto...