Do you dive deeper than qualified ?

[Andy Phillips]

Just a little note about training, and side reason for it - Insurance.

If you read the small print of your diving insurance, you will find a line which basically says, if your not qualified, your not insured.

Whilst I entirely agree that qualifications without experiance are pointless the issue of insurance is important.

Andrew

[tom]

Got to say, the kind of things James is saying really influence me.

My early experiences were similar to what IDH recounts. I did my PADI OW in Stoney, max depth I logged in training was about 8m. That apparently qualified me to dive to 18m.

Three weeks later, in the Caribbean, my first ever proper dive (check-out dive with the outfit we were diving with) - 19.5M. One week after that, my 12th dive ever, we're on a 30m wreck, because the dive guides thought we were competent enough to do it. Was I ready for it? Was I hell. Even though it was warm clear water, and the dive guides seemed to know what they were doing. I didn't have the skills, experience, or equipment for that kind of dive. My only excuse is that at that point in time I didn't know how little I knew. As it turned out, I surfaced from that 30m dive with about 5bar left in my cylinder, having spent my safety stop staring at the spare cylinder attached to the shotline and wondering if my air was going to last.

That's one of the reasons I'm really conservative about depths at the moment. By the end of the season I should have a ticket that apparently lets me go to 50m. No way in hell am I going anywhere near that depth - because I won't (in my opinion) have the skills, equipment, training or experience to do it, whatever the card says.

Going back to the original question in the thread - as others have pointed out, there's wads and wads of really important stuff that isn't in the basic qualifications. Like rescue skills. Even the much maligned PADI AOW taught me some new, important stuff about how to plan dives. I think it's a mistake to think qualifications are just about depth.

Tom
PS will be interesting to look back on this in a year or so and see whether what I'm saying now matches up to what's in my logbook by then

[Spike Jackson]

I've done a lot of courses. Not for the bit of plastic but because it is the easiest and fastest way to gain experience and learn from someone who has been out there and done it. Yes this can be done through a dive club but I've lived a very nomadic life for the past 5 years and only joined a club last year.(I have not renewed my subscription cause I've moved again since!)

The only way to learn is to push your limits - in a controlled and step wise fashion. I'm always prepared to call a dive if I'm not happy but I'm always trying to improve myself as a diver.

[DIVE BUDDHA]

i agree with all the points that people make some points more than others but when i take a course say for deep diver or enriched air nitrox i do so,primarily to teach me correct procedures at depth, and planning and to be able to execute contingency planing if there is a problem. i find that when people dive to depths that are way beyond there qualification level they are just asking for trouble and as for when the sh*t does hit the fan,i know that planning and all those hours practising different scenarios hopefully will get me and my buddy out of it, and save me a trip to the pot one thing i will say is that all the courses ive done with padi have been to the highest of standards and ive walked away with much more confidence in my ability to dive safer not deeper!!!!!!as always dive safe best wishes leigh

[Martyn Ward]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Andy the Commie 2 @ Mar. 21 2004,10:41)]I'm NOT saying that people shouldn't better themselves by not doing courses/extra training...... BUT at the end of the day, diving is all about experience not how many tickets are sat with ya logbook.

Andy, not trying to start an argument but here's my thoughts:

As an apprentice I was told repeatedly that habits are habit forming,(bit like rabbits really ).

25 years on and I still believe that to be true, and that means good AND bad habits alike, (and Lord knows I've got enough of both kinds!)

It's all well and good doing something for a long time, but if no-one showed you how to do it right in the first place.....

I work for (possibly?) the biggest touring caravan park in Scotland and during the season,  not a day goes by when I don't have to endure watching some a******e  bugger about trying to position a caravan.

There's a lot of people who come here who, in my opinion, shouldn't even be driving solo, let alone towing a 'van!!
(an opinion formed over well in excess of 1,000,000 documented miles in HGV's on "abnormally wide loads" and general haulage carrying just about everything to just about anywhere.)

Surely experience that builds upon a foundation of good training is what makes a safe diver?

[Helen F H]

<font color='#000080'>All of this begs the question - what is experienced?

100 dives?
500 dives?
1000 dives?

Or X number of dives relating to what you are about to do, plus how many others?

Now obviously 1000 dives in stoney aint gonna be much use for doing, say, the Falls of Lora, but it is good if you want (for some unknown reason, possibly madness) to go and do Capernwray.

So, what equates to &quot;an experienced diver&quot; in most peoples mind?

[peter k]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Porg @ Mar. 21 2004,15:00)]So, what equates to &quot;an experienced diver&quot; in most peoples mind?

I'd reckon it's if you're able to deal(competently) with the conditions that you're going to face. I would be quite happy in the Falls, but would never go anywhere near the Corry.

Peter
PS-Helen if you think the Falls are &quot;a bit lively&quot; you should try the Cuan Sound next time you're up.

[torbaydiver]

wow what a response !
Obviously a controversy topic !

The deep diving I have done has been out of the jurisdiction of my diving club , most of it was done in the red Sea and I did a couple in the UK before setting off to give me some experience at diving deeper as I didn't want to miss out in Egypt particularly the Thistlegorm which I knew was at 32 m to the seabed !
Apart from the Thistlegorm my best diving was done at shallow depths, much more colour and life to see.

On my last day of diving in Egypt I was buddied up with an padi advanced open water diver, when we got in the water she couldn't descend as she kept pushing the wrong button on the BCD, when I helped her and she started to descend she couldn't stop which was quite scary, I stopped at 36 m (trying to help her)and she carried on probably for about another 10 m, then she started ascending and couldn't stop that either and surfaced. &nbsp;Needless to say I called the boat and refused to dive with her again . &nbsp;She was higher qualified than myself being advanced but was completely incompetent !

But yes I think I will do the BSAC sports diver as I'm sure I will learn a lot !

Thanks for the replies/Steve

Deep dives? Don't bother, I've been there and there aint much to see nor much time to look for it.

All you guys banging on about insurance - it isn't going to prevent something bad happening to you, it's to provide beer money for your widows new boyfriend or a home help to lift you out of your wheelchair and wipe your arse.

If this was a pub and you started on about going deep you'd find yourself sitting on your own pretty quick.

Be safe.

[Dr Stevil]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Porg @ Mar. 20 2004,21:17)]A club i dive with as a guest have found a wreck.  Now to quote them &quot;she is big&quot;, they know what she isnt, but have no idea what she is.  The top is in 52m, she is intact with all the shiney still there,

Hmmm... just as an aside, Graeme Bruce show pix at divewise of intact (ie all the &quot;shiney&quot; still there) wrecks in depth up to 30m, so depth isn't necessarily the issue.

Anyway, sound words from j.w., Wack and others, there is a point in expanding your depth progressively and to gain broader experience, but diving deep regulalry for it's own sake seems &nbsp;pointless to me if there's nothing of interest to see.