Club Med Columbus Isle

I will be in CI during the last week of Feb. 2009.
I booked an "accompanied 12 dives over 6 days" dive package. I am a new PADI OWD with only 15 dives in my log book and never went below 45' yet (just did not have opportunity to go deeper).

I would like to know:
1) how deep I should expect to dive with groups at CI?
2) and how long (in mins) are dives?
3) what is the water temperature during that period of the year? Will my 3mm be OK? Need a hood?

Thx for your help






Charles

i might be off on questions 1 & 2 due to the fact it's been awhile since i was a scuba GO. figure 60 ft. for 45 mins. unless you wind up with a group leader like myself who suffers from memory loss at depths greater than 20 ft. now for question 3, oh yeah take the hood. feb in the bahamas is like august at the new jersey shore, 68-74 degrees F. it'll feel warm at first but 30 minutes into the dive you'll start to feel the chill. they should have 5mm shorties for rent at the club. you might start considering the idea of wearing one over your 3mm...

Padre...www.clubmedxgo.com
Scuba GO's, we go deeper, stay down longer and
keep you wet for hours...Dive deep, live shallow

Vinny could probably give you a better reply but I'll see if I can get you started.

Being an Open Water Diver, your experience dictates that you should be comfortable to dive to a 60 foot, (18 meter), range. Accompanied groups are taken to that depth. I might suggest that while you are at Columbus, that you take an Advanced Open Water course with Vinny. You'll go through a series of five dives and get more experience doing different types of dives, while under the supervision of a great Instructor. You will do a deep dive, (to about 100 feet,[32M]), a navigation dive where you will learn more about your compass use than the "out-and-back" you did during your Open Water training and three other dives which would give you knowledge and experience that you would not have otherwise. The nice part about an Advanced Course is that you are mostly diving, (which is what you came to do).

From your Open Water course you know that dive duration takes into account a number of factors which cannot be determined here in this forum. Breathing rate varies from individual to individual so you can't precisely determine time. To give you a ballpark figure though, dives can run from 20 minutes to 40 minutes in length on average. Other factors that can factor time are depth, current, experience, stress, etc. Also, if you are diving in a group, the first person low on air will end the dive for all. Taking a course will lower the number of people you are diving with and the time factor would more likely be determined by you alone, (I'll go out on a limb here and predict that Vinny will outlast you airwise).

I can't recall the water temp in February; however I do recall that I was more comfortable in a 5mm suit than a 3mm. Comfort differs for everyone though, so I would suggest that you bring your 3mm and try it. If you get too cold, you can rent a 5mm suit there. For a lot of folks, the 3mm would work fine. I never really ever felt the need for a hood or gloves but if you get cold easily, you might want to bring the hood or better yet, a hooded vest.

You will have a great time as Columbus offer some great diving and lots to see. Your cheeks will hurt from smiling too much. Have fun and dive safe.

Dad

great answer from both of you guys,ever consider learning to dive?hahahahaha.Right nowIm wearing a 5 mil wetsuit ,but then I am a bit of a wuss

Hold My Beer and Watch This!

Thx to all of you for your (almost immediate!) answers.

I think I will consider investing in a full 5mm. I assume I’ll have to fine-tune buoyancy during the first dives with a new wetsuit.

The first things I learned during my OW training is “safety first” and “Dive within your limits”. This is why I asked questions regarding depths of dives because looking on the CM website for CI, I saw some dive site descriptions saying, for example: “Doctor John's, Depth of 12 m to 40 m, a huge garden of coral on the reef, with tunnels…”.
On the other hand, I know that CM is a very responsible dive operator because I did dive at Turks during February 2008 (There is a typo in my original posting. I will dive at CI in February 2009, not 2008). There, I did a CM Discovery program (2 pool sessions plus 2 dives on the third day, at Pinnacles and Black Forest). However, before going there, I had a full day PADI DISCOVERY from my local dive shop (prescribed by my wife!). Once at Turks, I was impressed by the professionalism of the scuba team (C.Lee and my instructor Adrienne). I had a one on one pool and a from-shore training with Adrienne. Then, I was very comfortable diving with her on the third day. I think she also was comfortable diving with me as our training sessions went smoothly. We did 2 wonderful 45mins shallow dives at 35’. It was a dream that came true! During the first few minutes of my very first dive, I saw a huge shark, a sea turtle, zillions of fishes, visibility was almost unlimited and it was sunny at 35’! What to say of the amazing ballet, while hanging at the safety stop trapeze, more than 30 divers were converging, all of them smiling… Adrienne was right when, at the end of the day she said: “I am pretty sure you’ll be a certified diver when you’ll come back”. That is exactly what I did. Back in Montreal I did the PADI OW certification. I realized that diving is fun everywhere: I discovered that the St-Laurence River is full of wrecks and marine life and that visibility can be as low as 6’!
Now, I can’t wait to be at CI.

With respect to the suggestion regarding the AOW certification, I will consider it seriously. I realized that many dive sites in North America and Caribbean are in the 75-90’ range. Also, my goal is twofold: I want to dive, and I want to be a better diver. Is an OW diver with 15 dives in the log book experienced enough to take the AOW course?
Typically, what is the daily schedule for the AOW training at CI (am and/or pm)? My wife is not diving and I would like to spend a little time with her…

Thanks again to all for your wisdom.

Happy New Year. For the next few hours, let’s trade scuba bubbles for champagne bubbles…



Charles

Hi Charles,

Your questions were very appropriate and shows the good training that you received, both at Club Med and at your local PADI Dive Center. You may need a bit more weight for the 5mm suit. As far as your question as to if you are experienced enough to take the Advanced OW Course.....absolutely!! Quite a few people take the Advanced Course immediately after completing the OW Course. You will get some great experience while with an Instructor. Your Navigation dive will certainly help you in the 6' vis' of the seaway. You will do a little reading and simple knowledge reviews, not too much of a time commitment. Your dives would be done on the normal morning two-tank boat. You'll have all afternoon, evening and night, [wink], to spend with the missus. You can sign up for the course and find out more particulars when you arrive at the Club. Unless they've changed the meeting place, you can check in with the SCUBA Team and see about the course at 7pm in the lounge next to the main bar on the day you arrive. Ask for Vinny. Tell him Dad sent you.

Dad

Charles,

I can well imagine you had a good training in Turks. A friend of mine did his rescue course with Adrienne and said she was excellent!

A bit more info for the AOW course: you are required to do five dives, two of which must be the deep diver course and the navigation course. However the other three are electives and no- you are not required to do a night dive as one of them. (I found this out when I did my AOW course at CI in 2004 with Jeff Vargas: I had had a horrible night dive experience years before and simply did NOT want to do it again.) So Jeff checked the rules and confirmed that the night dive is not obligatory for the AOW certification. Apparently, it used to be required but the PADI folks in the Nordic countries complained: they do their training in summer months and it just never gets dark enough there to really do a "night dive"!

As it turned out, I did the "Boat Diver" course instead (learning the parts of the boat, boat safety, etc.). At the time, it seemed a little silly, but I have been amazed over the years at the number of divers I've seen who don't know port from starboard or anything about boat safety. The course turned out to be very useful.

Then, when I was at Turks in Dec 2007, I screwed up the courage to do the night dive. And did I like it? Hell no! I'm a little claustrophobic and it was too creepy. Plus, I take photos and you really need special equipment to get good pics at night.

Enjoy CI and give Vinny a hug for me!

Trish

Dive now; work later!

Charles as you can see we have some wonderfully knowlegeable divers here.Years ago I did my AOW as soon as I finished my OW.If your gonna do 5 dives here you might as well invest the extra $50 and get the training and cert.Trish is right the only 2 required dives are deep and nav.Most usually we also recomend,night,drift,computer/multi level diving,however feel free to pick any of the others such as boat,fish ID,bouyancy,photography,ect.Hope this helps. Oh and nothing personal,but Id rather have the hug from Trish,lol!

Hold My Beer and Watch This!

OK, I surrender. I will try to fit into an AOW group while at CI. I have nothing against the night dive: I already did a very cool one. I’ll see what is on the program when arriving. Buoyancy is also appealing…

Vinny, for the hug, I am happy to see you would not insist and accept the virtual one.

Best to all of you.


Charles

Countdown started: I am flying to CI Friday (20 Feb.) morning! Gear is packed, cab is reserved, passport is ready, all other things are unimportant…
How are diving conditions looking like these days? Temp? waves? Visibility?
Vinny, what is my probability of entering a AOW training group?

Cheers


Charles

Charles
the wind and waves were high today cancelling diving but should be good by the time you get here,temps are running around 25 degrees celcius according to my dive computer and the vis is good.Your probibility is good considering Im the asst chef du scuba and my boss is off island,hahahaha. Catch me at scuba sign up in the theater right after the info meeting,its my day off but Ill be there!

Hold My Beer and Watch This!

Thx for your answer.
This is warmer than what I expected. I'll bring my 5mm anyways.
I'll see you there Friday.
Best
Charles

the bar will be open

Hold My Beer and Watch This!

What about "MADD" (Mothers Against Drunk Diving) ?


Charles

More than 2 weeks since I was in CI. Weather was not that good: cold and windy. The best place to be was below the surface…where it was great.
I want to say thanks (and hello) to all my new friends there. Every members of the scuba team were absolutely friendly and showed great professionalism. CI is a great place to dive, not only because of the diving sites but also because of all what goes around it.
Vinny: thank you for making possible my "personnalized" AOW training. For those who will visit CI in the future, please offer a beer to Vinny and a Cosmo to Megan in my name
Robin: merci d'avoir été mon instructeur. After witnessing your scuba cake, I decided to avoid the Sea Center for my next birthday...
Larissa, we saw hamerheads, turtles, rays... Good luck for your projects.
Éric, Dominic, Martin, Jérôme: you are all very friendly people and I can understand why GMs like Benoît dived more than 500 times with CM.

I am looking forward to dive with you again, either at CI or in another part of the world.





Charles

Charles,

Congratulations on your becoming an Advanced Open Water Diver!

Dad