*DIVERS* got a dumb question

[windmill]

Decompress for 40 minutes?
Holy crap, I knew decompression took a while, but that's friggin ridiculous. I'd fall asleep hovering in water for 40 minutes.
Dang, that just kinda made me not want to scuba.
Yeah, I'll stick my snorkel. With exercises and the proper mindframe, I've held myself under in 20 ft, cross legged and relaxed on the bottom for atleast 2 minutes. Something about doing an activity with only the tools you were born with is really therapeutic to me.

 

[ophiura]

It works for you...but not for most people. As mentioned, many of the professional free divers end their career by dying unexpectedly while diving. It is IMO quite a bit more dangerous than SCUBA....especially if you have not trained to do it. This is not something people can naturally do.
There is nothing like putting on a tank, getting to about 30 feet, and just hanging out there for 30 minutes while the reef works around you.

Few decompression stops take 40 minutes though.

 

[reefreak29]

just curiuose ive never dove before and know nothing about it but ive snorkled a few times . i was just wondering generally when i snorkle i hold my breathe when i want to go down 5 ft or so .i was just wondering how u could die from that for future

 

[wattsupdoc]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
just curiuose ive never dove before and know nothing about it but ive snorkled a few times . i was just wondering generally when i snorkle i hold my breathe when i want to go down 5 ft or so .i was just wondering how u could die from that for future
Taking a breath at the surface, diving down while holding your breath poses no danger. The danger is when you take a breath at depth( really any depth) and begin to surface, holding it. The air expands in your lungs and bammo!
You can die in the bathtub! They do the discover dives all the time and I dont personally believe that "thousands die every year". My son is ten and is a certified diver and he does great. Listen to what they tell you, dont hold your breath while scuba diving and be sure to clear your ears often. The more you try to clear them the easier they clear. I never heard of an open water diver certification costing only 100 bucks. I shelled out 300 a piece for my son and foster daughter to get their c-card. Plus fins mask snorkels etc.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
Taking a breath at the surface, diving down while holding your breath poses no danger. The danger is when you take a breath at depth( really any depth) and begin to surface, holding it. The air expands in your lungs and bammo!
You can die in the bathtub! They do the discover dives all the time and I dont personally believe that "thousands die every year". My son is ten and is a certified diver and he does great. Listen to what they tell you, dont hold your breath while scuba diving and be sure to clear your ears often. The more you try to clear them the easier they clear. I never heard of an open water diver certification costing only 100 bucks. I shelled out 300 a piece for my son and foster daughter to get their c-card. Plus fins mask snorkels etc.
oh i see ty for the explanation , why would someone hold there btreath and then come up :notsure:

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
oh i see ty for the explanation , why would someone hold there btreath and then come up :notsure:
Panic mainly... or out of air instances. They teach you to slowly exhale if you have to make an emergency ascent.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by windmill
Decompress for 40 minutes?
Holy crap, I knew decompression took a while, but that's friggin ridiculous. I'd fall asleep hovering in water for 40 minutes.
Dang, that just kinda made me not want to scuba.
Yeah, I'll stick my snorkel. With exercises and the proper mindframe, I've held myself under in 20 ft, cross legged and relaxed on the bottom for atleast 2 minutes. Something about doing an activity with only the tools you were born with is really therapeutic to me.
Hehe, it was definitely a freak incident. Like I said my dive computer is conservative to begin with, and I have it programmed to be conservative. My buddies computer never showed an issue. We'd dove 7 dives in 48 hours, several at +100ft, and all of them had been long dives. We were using big tanks. Apparently the computer calculated my nitrogen saturation and didn't like it.
That said, I could spend a lifetime at 20 feet. The light intensity is good at that depth and so you see a lot of life.
Don't misunderstand "decompression". As long as you stay above 130ft you really don't do decompression stops (normally). A 5 minute safety stop at 15 feet is usually the norm. When you start doing "tech" dives beyond 130ft, that's when deco stops become neccessary.

 

[sharkbait9]

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH :scared: I have to side with the mods

they are right, ophiura and journeyman are right never take scuba as just a fun excursion. To many variables can go wrong out with out the right training it could prove fatal.
They don't have open water, advance open water, dry suite and water rescue (some of my certs) for no reason (well leave the padi jokes out for now) and each class had lessons to learn that can take place.
Be smart and spend the money on a class.
I was on the Norwegian dawn and they had a crash course and had to carry a person out of the water beating on this chest.
Also look to make sure they are PADI OR NAUI recognized course.
I personal hate these crash tourist killer classes.

 

[quads4_lif]

I guess I will just cancel the dive and stick to snorkeling I have snorkeled for years and have all of my own gear but never really dived. The scuba trip is a spur of the moment thing that we decided to dive on. Also I live in North TX just a couple hundred miles from colorado so there are not a whole lot of dive clases around (none that I have seen) and Also I dont ever mix alchol with anything dangerous. driveing, hunting, etc so. But thank you for every ones input and concern.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by quads4_lif
I guess I will just cancel the dive and stick to snorkeling I have snorkeled for years and have all of my own gear but never really dived. The scuba trip is a spur of the moment thing that we decided to dive on. Also I live in North TX just a couple hundred miles from colorado so there are not a whole lot of dive clases around (none that I have seen) and Also I dont ever mix alchol with anything dangerous. driveing, hunting, etc so. But thank you for every ones input and concern.
How far are you from Lubbock? I know they have clsses there.
It really wouldn't take you that long to get certified. Like I said, a couple of weeks. You'll do two pool times, 5 class times (I think) and a weekend for your open water certification.
Either way, good luck and enjoy the cruise!

 

[quads4_lif]

It will have to be after the cruise because I leave for the cruise on Friday I did not know they had a dive class in Lubbock. They only problem is it is 3 hours away

 

[thereefkeeper]

Originally Posted by ophiura
This is an excellent way to kill yourself.
I would STRONGLY discourage taking this sort of "not a serious dive"
ALL DIVES ARE SERIOUS, ALL DIVES CAN BE FATAL. And it is lack of training that will do that. INSTINCTIVE things, such as holding your breathe, is FATAL in diving.
Do you want to risk your life for a 20 minutes dive? Because it is a real possibility.
It is a wonderful sport, and safe, with proper equipment and training.

Invest in a real training course (and that is not a few hours...), and good equipment. Then you will know the answers to this and thensome...and be involved in a fantastic sport.

GOOD GOD!!!!
I agree!!! DO not go diving without a certified SCUBA class. Without is asking to DIE. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask any diver ... you have to know what you are doing, ruptured eardrums alone would probable be a blessing. Worst would be the Nitrogen asfixia without a decompression chamber close. Don't do it!

 

[scubaguy]

I see you live in Texas see about ScubaToys.com they are online and they have a store in Texas. They do classes and are highly recommended on Scubaboard.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by ScubaGuy
I see you live in Texas see about ScubaToys.com they are online and they have a store in Texas. They do classes and are highly recommended on Scubaboard.
Better shop online than in person.... I've been there a few times.
The original poster is a long way away from them...

 

[anmldr]

Hey Journey - ever been to the flower gardens off of texas? I have mostly only dove outside of the US and have just recently been looking at places around here to go..

 

[sharkbait9]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Better shop online than in person.... I've been there a few times.
The original poster is a long way away from them...

Hey journey whats up with scuba toys? I have bought a few things on line from larry (shhhh we don't buy on line in Jersey)
Never been to Tx but i hear TX does have a few great places to dive.
Kind of like jersey from what i hear.
SCUBA BOARD GREAT PLACE TO CHAT

 

[1journeyman]

Haven't been to Flower Gardens yet. Buddy has a sail boat he's working on... hoping to take it down there in August.
Scubatoys does a huge amount of business online. So there customer service in house is lacking at best.
Texas has a lot of lakes to dive in, but frankly I'm spoiled. My first dive trip (immediately after finishing my open water certification) was to the Great Barrier Reef. Suffice to say it's kind of hard to talk myself into lake diving after that

There is an abandoned Nuclear Missile Silo that's open for diving west of here a couple of hours. We're looking into diving it, but it stays cold year long.

 

[scubaguy]

Hey Journeyman,
I think you had a bad experience. I know for a fact that Scuba Toys if you bought the wrong size and before the customer sends it back to them, they send them the size they want. They also when I have called been very helpful and if they make a mistake they fix it immediately.

 

[quads4_lif]

Are there any dive shops in galveston TX that I can go and look at for grins

 

[ophiura]

There are certainly loads in the Houston area and I would presume Galveston or nearby. Is your cruise leaving from Galveston?