Mentor?

Ok so I am a new diver, and I am looking for a mentor to help bring me up right in the world of diving. I would like to hear from people on what they look for in a mentor. I would like to hear yalls experience good or bad in the growing process of diving.

Interesting question...because I'm not sure that new divers actually know what they need before they get the chance to learn.

From the other side of it, here is what my diver for this year learned:

1. Got certified in March, thru a very quick course. My first dive with him, he had terrible buoyancy skill (but did not know that).. so we worked on getting him comfortable on the bottom first.

2. Then he needed good gear, but was on a very tight budget, so first got him a great deal on a BC (Hollis HD100 for $225.. try getting that price by yourself). I loaned him a Mk25/250V to use and tanks.

3. Then showed him how to see things... things most divers don't see. He got a light... and we went diving...

4. He learned how to catch lobsters... learned how to shoot fish (not so keen on the cleaning part...)

5. Then he decided that he needed his own regulator...did that one by himself (fast learner). As one of the things one needs to learn is how to get the most diving for the least amount of money.

6. Did shore diving.. boat diving. Learned how to tell good from bad divers.

7. He decided to take his Advanced class...

8. Gradually, got all the things a divers needs... and lastly, I got him a huge deal on some new larger steel tanks (a favor I still owe to the seller).

As the year ends, he has over 60 dives...loves the sport and was able to do so at about half the cost a regular person would spend.

I believe he is a safe, thoughtful diver...and there is not much more I can assist him with..and I hope he continues diving (which was the goal at the start).

In the end, what I would hope one learns is to have fun, be safe and enjoy the wonder world of diving.

ems_is_4_me:

Ok so I am a new diver, and I am looking for a mentor to help bring me up right in the world of diving. I would like to hear from people on what they look for in a mentor. I would like to hear yalls experience good or bad in the growing process of diving.

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Look for someone who enjoys passing on knowledge, loves to dive, is conveniently located for you and willing to dive a lot, who has both skills and experience, and has sound judgement and won't swim you "over your head" before you're ready. This person will have great buoyancy and is likely to be pretty quiet. Having a mentor, a more experienced buddy, is the best way to learn a lot fast. He will have already bought the wrong equipment, made the mistakes, taught himself, corrected the problems, etc. Most of the basic certification courses teach you enough to stay alive to buy equipment. A good dive buddy, mentor, can add a lot to this process.

I was incredibly lucky in finding a mentor. At that time, NW Grateful Diver was organizing "Big Buddy" dives in Seattle, dives to match up new divers with experienced folks for a dive and maybe some technique tips. I attended one, and he was my buddy. He saw how badly I wanted to be a better diver, and took me under his wing. Had it not been for Bob, I'm not at all sure I'd be diving today. I'm quite sure I wouldn't have as many dives as I have, and I wouldn't be diving in caves.

I think the best mentors are people with a fair amount of varied diving experience, and a desire to help. I know that the many classes I've taken have given me a lot of ideas for helping people. And having been taught how to "see" the wildlife in Puget Sound helps me make the dives more interesting and inspiring for folks, too. Like Puffer Fish, I have a lot of gear to lend (although borrowing gear from me can be one of the most expensive things you can do in diving ) to make it easier to get someone in the water.

What I look for the most is the quality Bob saw in me . . . a real desire to dive, and to be a better diver. I don't care where anybody starts out -- NOBODY starts out worse than I was!

TSandM:

I was incredibly lucky in finding a mentor. At that time, NW Grateful Diver was organizing "Big Buddy" dives in Seattle, dives to match up new divers with experienced folks for a dive and maybe some technique tips. I attended one, and he was my buddy. He saw how badly I wanted to be a better diver, and took me under his wing. Had it not been for Bob, I'm not at all sure I'd be diving today. I'm quite sure I wouldn't have as many dives as I have, and I wouldn't be diving in caves.

I think the best mentors are people with a fair amount of varied diving experience, and a desire to help. I know that the many classes I've taken have given me a lot of ideas for helping people. And having been taught how to "see" the wildlife in Puget Sound helps me make the dives more interesting and inspiring for folks, too. Like Puffer Fish, I have a lot of gear to lend (although borrowing gear from me can be one of the most expensive things you can do in diving ) to make it easier to get someone in the water.

What I look for the most is the quality Bob saw in me . . . a real desire to dive, and to be a better diver. I don't care where anybody starts out -- NOBODY starts out worse than I was!

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I've seen the worse there is, and doubt you were it.

But you raise a very interesting point.. there has to be a reason for both side to help each other.

There are lots of new divers that will do just fine all by themselves..and there are lots of experienced divers that don't like to dive with new divers.

I've had around a dozen mentors of one kind or another over the years... some I asked if they would help me.. some asked me... some just sort of happened. but in each case, they had something they were nice enough to pass on to me and I was really happy they did...

It made diving more fun, made it more human and in the end, made the experience better than it would have been without their guidance.

When I was certified, I did not know any divers. Tried a few insta buddies, that did not work out . . . I joined a club, found another newbie buddy and we went diving monthly. I relocated to PA, hooked up with a local, more experienced buddy here on SB, who was my unofficial mentor for the next year or so, probably 150 dives together. Now, through my local LDS, club and here on SB, I offer to take other new divers out, because I remember what it was like to be new and not have anyone "safe" to dive with, whatever that meant in my mind at the time.

There is another kind of mentoring that I have had the good fortune to receive. Probably more correctly described as a local tour guide in new conditions. The reason I tried and now love diving in all the different environments/conditions that I do is because my LDS does a lot of local (up and down the east coast) diving reasonably priced and I have a popular dive quarry about an hour away. Also, through SB I have connected with total strangers who took me under their wing in their regular dive spots when I traveled. Where to get air, transportation, easy entry/exit and many other tidbits of advice made those trips AWESOME.

Donna

The day that I recieved my OW cert, though completely hooked, I immediately realized that I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. Beanazz there aren't any dive clubs or even dive shops within 50 miles of me tht I know of (North Central Ohio) I hooked up with a lady instructor down in Ft. Lauderdale and spent a few days diving with her so as to get an idea of what I was up against. After that I only dove with an operator who furnished a DM on every dive for a couple months. I explained to the DM that I needed extra support, gave him or her a fat tip ahead of time and got some diving in. "After about 30 dives I started diving with whatever 'buddy' the captain paired me with. In over 200 dives I've only had a problem with one 'buddy', a know-it-all (DIR) diver. (This guy looked like a Woods Hole submersible in the water. All the patches, split fins, double tanks, retractors and d-rings all over the place plus a 20cf pony, light, and all the other stuff on a couple 30'-50' reef dives.) Other than that afternoon it's been a lot of fun.

My mentor was the school of hard knocks. He was a good instructor. N

Garrobo:

The day that I recieved my OW cert, though completely hooked, I immediately realized that I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. Beanazz there aren't any dive clubs or even dive shops within 50 miles of me tht I know of (North Central Ohio) I hooked up with a lady instructor down in Ft. Lauderdale and spent a few days diving with her so as to get an idea of what I was up against. After that I only dove with an operator who furnished a DM on every dive for a couple months. I explained to the DM that I needed extra support, gave him or her a fat tip ahead of time and got some diving in. "After about 30 dives I started diving with whatever 'buddy' the captain paired me with. In over 200 dives I've only had a problem with one 'buddy', a know-it-all (DIR) diver. (This guy looked like a Woods Hole submersible in the water. All the patches, split fins, double tanks, retractors and d-rings all over the place plus a 20cf pony, light, and all the other stuff on a couple 30'-50' reef dives.) Other than that afternoon it's been a lot of fun.

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That was not a DIR diver. That was a butthead diver. Patches, split fins, retractors? Nah he was an idiot or had way too much money and a shop that saw how gullible he was.

Good stuff has already been mentioned. One thing that I'm not sure has been mentioned is that your mentor needs to have a compatible personality to your own. We all know that, sometimes, people click. It's awesome to have a mentor you just click with.