Times between dives

[Slimmer]

Hey guys and gals, I'm cruising on the Carnival Miracle on the 17th and wanted to go on one of the diving excursions. My question is, by the time this excursion rolls around, I will be at 6 months in between dives. I do have my open water certification, so I'm thinking that 6 months isn't long enough to require a refresher? Anyone have any experience with this?

[TrqoisWtrs]

Sorry, can't really help you since I haven't dove in years, but from what I remember, you would be fine with just 6 months since your last dive. Unless of course, you feel you need a bit of refreshing? :p

 

You might want to post this on the scuba and snorkel board also. :)

[Laurie S.]

Six months is fine, although I would hate to go that long between dives! :)

[bbwex]

Six months is fine. I have, unfortunately, gone years between dives. It is up to you to know if you feel proficient or need some refresher. My guess is that the OP has not done a whole lot of diving, and that goes back to whether you feel comfortable at this point.

 

In my 45+ years of diving (yikes!), I think I have seen it all. I have been on cruise boats with people who have all kinds of advanced certifications and when asked to put their regulators on their tanks, don't know which side goes where! That is, by the way, why a lot of dive operators ask you to do that yourself -- so they can see who knows how to even do that!

 

If you have not done much diving, and it has been six months, I don't know that I would take a refresher course, but I might suggest looking at your books, and going over the whole course. Again, it is up to you and what will make you feel confident that you are OK.

[KirkNC]

Yes six months is not too long, just take your time, make sure everything is in place and have fun. I am a Divemaster (not active at this time) and have seen people go decades between dives, thats scary :eek:.

[gerryl12]

Six months should be fine but you should maybe check with the dive company. Their rules may be different.

How comfortable do you feel? Do you feel you will be safe? Questions to ask yourself.

[Colorado Kat]

At first, I thought you were asking about how many hours between for a 2-tank boat dive. Yikes!

 

6 months should be fine. I learned to dive in cold, murky, upstate New York. Once I started diving in the Caribbean, I really didn't want to dive with a full wetsuit, & hood, where I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Picky, aren't I?

[Slimmer]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I am fairly new to diving, just did my first 4 dives back in September. I do feel fairly comfortable and being in the Army for the past 15 years, I won't go unprepared :). I will definitely go through all of my course info and one of the guys that I'll be with is a frequent diver.

 

Not too many winter diving options here in Jersey for a new diver with none of his own gear, lol. Hopefully this all changes this spring.