Dumbest things you've seen a newbie diver do

[Wantonmien]

The video-taker is also here on SB, but he will not post it because I will kill his first-born if he does

--

Hammerhead,

... what price for the video .. can feel an auction coming on here !!

As you'll probably know the Gods of Scubaboard currently have a lawsuit being thrown at them -

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...right-post-scubaboard-legal-defense-fund.html

Now if users wanting to see your video bid and the highest bidder pays the money to the Scubaboard legal defence fund, how high would a bid have to go .. until you'll release the video ?

I'll start the bidding -- show your video, and I'll donate another $25 to the Scubaboard Fund !! ... Anyone want to bid ?

 

[DwayneJ]

Two stories in one dive and no names to protect the innocent...

I have a great dive buddy - we both own boats and we dive very well together all year round. 75% of our diving is night diving so....

A recently certified diver wants to come diving with us and we agree. He meets us at the boat in the morning and all of his gear is rental gear except for the brand new spear gun he has purchased. In discussions with him he's talking about wanting to spear fish - we talk more about the spear gun and he casually mentions a spear gun can be used for shark protection! Light bulb goes off for us... Its only about shark protection... Our new diver proceeds to load the spear gun while standing on the transom of the boat at which point, my dive buddy intervenes and takes the gun from him explaining he does not know how to use it and could could hurt one of us...

During discussions about the spear gun our new diver is talking about local diving and thermoclines here, there, and everywhere. I'm thinking - Whats the big deal - yes the water is cold and colder... situation normal.

We all suit up and our new diver does not have a hood - We say its pretty cold and again we hear a short story on "Thermoclines" in the local area. We jump in and meet 40' down on the bottom holding on to the rear anchor line. Our new dive buddy has a look of sheer terror on his face. My buddy signs cold and up? and our new diver says no. Again my buddy signs cold and up and our new diver shakes his head yes, yes, yes!! My buddy escorts him back to the surface and ensues he gets safely back on board while I wait on the bottom. My buddy joins me again in a few minutes and we enjoy a great dive minus with our new diver who is now safe in the boat on the surface.

So my dive buddy and I have a bit of a laugh and I arrive home and tell my wife what happened and she asks "How do you sign cold?" At the same time she is asking this question in all seriousness she has her hands squeezing her face thinking this must be the sign - Of course I am laughing as I show her holding my arms together across my chest as if I'm shivering. Its now a joke between us when I ask her if she is cold and I squeeze my face with my hands.

Dwayne

ps. The "new" diver is now an instructor. Good on him!

 

[Troutmaster]

--

Hammerhead,

... what price for the video .. can feel an auction coming on here !!

As you'll probably know the Gods of Scubaboard currently have a lawsuit being thrown at them -

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...right-post-scubaboard-legal-defense-fund.html

Now if users wanting to see your video bid and the highest bidder pays the money to the Scubaboard legal defence fund, how high would a bid have to go .. until you'll release the video ?

I'll start the bidding -- show your video, and I'll donate another $25 to the Scubaboard Fund !! ... Anyone want to bid ?

This is a FANTASTIC idea, I think this needs a brand new thread, probably a sticky.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I love my students and some of the things they come up with. I like to let them experiment with bad ideas if it's not something that will get them hurt. One diver in our group didn't like to wear a hood and asked if I minded if he went without one because his didn't fit right. "Go for it" was my answer, the water was 40 degrees and I knew he would be back in about 2 minutes so I dug my husbands old hood out of the bag. He quickly realized the value of a hood in water that cold and was willing to try on the hood I offered. It fit better than his did and he dove all weekend with it.

Another diver wanted to try diving without a mask in 40 degree water. It was something he had done in Florida in the springs and he thought it would be fun to try at the home quarry. I had him leave his mask at the car He made a valiant effort but had to abort the dive after attempts to descend were met with unpleasant sensations. He had never aborted a dive in his life and said he learned that it really is ok to abort a dive if things aren't going the way you want them to.

We were doing an advanced class and their mission was to search for and recover some concrete blocks. I have a "toy box" full of ropes, slates, you name it for students to use when planning their dives. One student took charge of the group of 5 and decided to string all the rope together and they would all use it as a giant buddy line to sweep the shallow quarry. It's something that was going to be difficult with divers who had good buoyancy control. Four of the divers were mine and could probably pull it off. One student had come from somewhere else and had almost zero buoyancy control, the diver was either on the bottom or on the surface. She was going to make their lives miserable in this plan. They had a thoroughly thought out plan otherwise. Staff gathered at the entry point to watch, this is never a good sign if you're a student in a class because it indicates they are going to be entertained at your expense

They were underwater all of 60 seconds when the self appointed leader realized this wasn't going to work. I think 3 staff members peed their pants watching the process that resulted in them figuring out a giant buddy line isn't a good idea. The students did a nice job of replanning the dive on the surface and were able to complete the search and recovery. When we did the debriefing they all agreed they had learned more from making mistakes in a controlled environment than they would have if all the dives had been successful.

I've made my share of mistakes, not only as a new diver but as an experienced one trying out new things. "Dumb things" are only dumb if you don't learn from them.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[dlndavid]

Newbies aren't the only ones who make dumb mistakes, I almost injurred my fellow diver quite bad by doing a back in off the boat in the PI and hitting him in the head with my tank. Luckily he only got a small cut/bump. Could have been much worse. So to use an old proverb...look before you leap!

 

[TeriLeonard]

I think the biggest mistake some new divers do is to inflate their bcds to ascend. This can be extremely dangerous. Lung overexpansion injuries happen very quickly, so it is important to be aware of your breathing as you ascend slowly by kicking.
I realize that sometimes, especially in cold water diving situations with a lot of weight and compressed wetsuits, the diver must add some air to the bcd to get started upward. Just be sure to be ready to dump some of that air as you ascend.
Remember SAFE! Safely Ascend From Every dive...

 

[oldschool]

Out dive his or her experience and/or comfort level.

 

[BarrelRoll]

Two stories in one dive and no names to protect the innocent...

I have a great dive buddy - we both own boats and we dive very well together all year round. 75% of our diving is night diving so....

A recently certified diver wants to come diving with us and we agree. He meets us at the boat in the morning and all of his gear is rental gear except for the brand new spear gun he has purchased. In discussions with him he's talking about wanting to spear fish - we talk more about the spear gun and he casually mentions a spear gun can be used for shark protection! Light bulb goes off for us... Its only about shark protection... Our new diver proceeds to load the spear gun while standing on the transom of the boat at which point, my dive buddy intervenes and takes the gun from him explaining he does not know how to use it and could could hurt one of us...

During discussions about the spear gun our new diver is talking about local diving and thermoclines here, there, and everywhere. I'm thinking - Whats the big deal - yes the water is cold and colder... situation normal.

We all suit up and our new diver does not have a hood - We say its pretty cold and again we hear a short story on "Thermoclines" in the local area. We jump in and meet 40' down on the bottom holding on to the rear anchor line. Our new dive buddy has a look of sheer terror on his face. My buddy signs cold and up? and our new diver says no. Again my buddy signs cold and up and our new diver shakes his head yes, yes, yes!! My buddy escorts him back to the surface and ensues he gets safely back on board while I wait on the bottom. My buddy joins me again in a few minutes and we enjoy a great dive minus with our new diver who is now safe in the boat on the surface.

So my dive buddy and I have a bit of a laugh and I arrive home and tell my wife what happened and she asks "How do you sign cold?" At the same time she is asking this question in all seriousness she has her hands squeezing her face thinking this must be the sign - Of course I am laughing as I show her holding my arms together across my chest as if I'm shivering. Its now a joke between us when I ask her if she is cold and I squeeze my face with my hands.

Dwayne

ps. The "new" diver is now an instructor. Good on him!

New PADI specialty!

Spear Gun Shark Protection

I don't know if it's stupid as much as funny looking, but I was descending a line in a kelp forest last week and a big leafy piece got on my shoulder while the surge pushed me back and I got flipped, legs spread and floundering like a rag doll in a wind tunnel. The DM and my wife laughed their asses off as they flipped me back.

I redeemed myself later in the dive when a US Marine tough guy type got his ankle wrapped in a kelp strand and freaked out, I happened to be in range to help him out. (The surge was pretty crazy so he was having a rough time coming back to untangle it)

Pretty eventful for our first West Coast dive.

P.S. I bid $30 on Larry's video!

 

[awall54308]

I saw a guy put defog solution on the outside of his mask!!! He really though it would keep the outside of the mask from fogging up!!!! This is no joke!!!!

 

[Wantonmien]

--

Hammerhead,

... what price for the video .. can feel an auction coming on here !!

As you'll probably know the Gods of Scubaboard currently have a lawsuit being thrown at them -

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...right-post-scubaboard-legal-defense-fund.html

Now if users wanting to see your video bid and the highest bidder pays the money to the Scubaboard legal defence fund, how high would a bid have to go .. until you'll release the video ?

I'll start the bidding -- show your video, and I'll donate another $25 to the Scubaboard Fund !! ... Anyone want to bid ?

---
Hammerhead -- so are you game to auction the 'Larry video' with highest bidder proceeds going to the SB lawsuit fund ?

Barrelroll has upped the bid to $30, Troutmaster and I are ready to top that ...

This could be your big moment to become a star !