How deep can I go with OW and how soon?

[TennisCoach]

Hey guys, After bailing out on a deep wreck dive this weekend because of comfort level I started to wonder how deep can and should I go with my OW cert. My instructor told me that I should not go deeper than 100' I did my first check out dive at 60' and it was fine. I don't think I have problems with the deepth of the dive but with the responsability that comes with it. If I dive with someone that has more experience than me then I feel like I am putting presure on them to check on me and to be more alert of me than what they would normaly do if they were diving with someone that has more experience. Also put a lot of presure in me because if something happens to my diving budy I do not know that I would have the experience to handle that. So those of you that do dives greater than 60' how long did it take you to get to dive deeper than that and how did you handle that?

Thank you in advanced
CC

[BubblesMcCoy]

I had probably 5-6 dives before I felt comfortable enough to go below 60'. The issues for me dealt with light, temp. and visibility. The better I got at choosing (and affording) exposure suits and other equipment the depth became much more natural. Also had to do with the lousy dive sites I was at.

I wouldn't push too quickly as you risk going beyond your comfort level and its my belief that bad things tend to happen most when you stray beyond your comfort zone. I've done a number of dives in the 80' to 110' range and am pretty comfortable with it, but I've done far more in the 40' to 60' range.

[Rileybri]

Technically you are only certified to dive in the conditions and depths at which you were certified in. IF you went to 60' in 80* water for your cert that is what you are certified to do. Every agency has there won standards for what limits are placed on new OW card holders and that should have been covered in your course. I hold a NAUI card and they certify OW divers to 60'. I my best guess is that 60 is the point at which you can no longer safely do a CEA in the event of an OOA situation.
IN the end there are no scuba police to tell you to do or not do something. Every charter will have there won regs as to who can do what. If it is concerning to you I would recommend looking into an Advanced OW class to build you confidence levels to deeper depths.

[mocepts]

I think for me, it helped that the 1st time I went "deep" was in Bonaire. The crystal clear warm water made it much easier to stay relaxed. After a few days of diving around 70' - 80', it was nothing to drop down below 100'. FYI, I had around 20 dives at the time.

[DMWiz]

Carlos, I wouldn't rush to go deep rather I would take time to work on buoyancy and trim and overall comfort with your gear in comfortable & familiar waters. The decision to go deeper will vary from person to person.

After speaking with you, I think you have the right attitude about your experience and if you continue to trust your instincts you will enjoy diving a lot more by staying within your comfort level. You will know when you're ready for more challenging dives if you progress gradually.

It would also help you to develop regular dive buddies you can learn from who will be honest with you about your skill level.

If it's any consolation you made the right decision, the Capt. Dan dive was horrendous with crappy viz and "rip-the-mask-off-of-your-face" currents.

[Beefcake]

As a fellow newbie, I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to go deeper. My OW cert reccommends a floor of 60', but I went deeper on about my fifth dive after certification. As we were making the shore entry a diver was exiting, and he told us about a giant octopus he saw in a sunken boat at about 60', so we made that our goal. However, after navigating to it, the boat ended up being at 70'; we had to check it out anyway (octo was gone). Then, we noticed some cool stuff to see at about 80', so we figured what the heck. Then, my girlfriend / dive partner saw a fishing rod laying on the bottom in the middle of a bunch of sea-pens at 90', so she went to retrieve it and got tangled in the fishing line. We didn't have any problem cutting her free, but when I looked at my SPG, I realized that we were way past our turn point. I had no idea how fast I would suck air at that depth! To make matters worse, she somehow released one of her ditchable weight pockets while we were freeing her from the fishing line (we later found that the velcro on the other pocket was old and released way too easily). We made our ascent and safety stop, and I hit the surface with enough left in my tank to inflate my BCD - but not much more (well under 200lbs). Anyway, I'm not telling this story to make myself sound like an idiot; my point is that the deeper you go, the faster mistakes add up. What if we couldn't free her from the fishing line quickly? I would have run out of air. Or, what if she had an equipment failure? I wouldn't have had enough air to share. Or, what if I hadn't looked at my SPG for a couple more minutes because I "knew" what my bottom time had been on the past few dives? Oops, out of air. Anyway, my plan is to stick to the 40-70' range until I have more experience, and to get additional training before venturing deeper (AOW and possibly deep specialty). The good news for me is that we have some really cool dives around here that are only 60-70' deep. I suppose you could go deeper if you have a more experienced dive buddy, but your original post sounds like you think like I do: you would rather depend on your own skills than solely depend on your dive buddy.

[Sansho]

As I recall, PADI guidelines are 60' for OW and 100' for AOW or greater training/experience.

[bluering25]

A few thoughts here.

1. New divers are often more distracted by their own equipment and their environment than more experienced divers. Obviously the deeper you go the more air you consume. You don't want to to have an out of air situation at 130' (which by the way is considered the normal maximum limit for recreational dives). The other issue you can run into is decompression obligations if you are not paying attention. Throwing out some numbers on my iDeco - if you spent 25 minutes on air at 120 feet you might need a 17 minute stop at 20 feet for decompression. With a reasonable SAC rate my program is showing a required consumption of 93.8 cubic feet of air. Not a good idea with your standard AL 80 tank.

2. Narcosis is not your friend. I've had an equivalent nitrogen depth of 140 (I was doing a deeper dive with a little helium) and it was unpleasant.

3. Testosterone makes us want to go deep (see the ratio of male to female tech divers), but it cuts your dive time and you have lots more responsibility.

[clararhb]

Dive what you feel comfortable with and what you are certified for.

As an OW diver I have done this. At first I really didn't care if I went past 20'. Then when we hit 40 in class I thought 40' would be my limit. I am comfortable with my skills and I'm not afraid, I just didn't feel comfortable.
Within the first dozen dives I did a 75' dive with a DM. We swam out to above the platform, dropped and swam across the bottom that sloped up.

If you dn't feel comfortable with doing it then don't. If it makes your DB mad then find another buddy.

[TennisCoach]

Thank you guys for all your answers. I really apreciate the help. I will take it slow. DMWiz I wish I could pair up with one of you guys but I do not want to be the third square wheel by being a newbe. I had a friend that did his OW but is not going to be available for a while. Also I am sorry to hear about the night dive. you guys were very excited about the dive specially with the good weather that we had that morning. Well now that i know what that little realease thing is for <--Boy did I felt like an idiot. I will try to use it and work on my buoyancy and trim.
Again thank you all

CC