My standards for diving !

These are just some thoughts not meant to be applicable to everyone, but only to myself!
- Feel free to add your thoughts -

Skills of a good diver
-Orientation underwater
-Be able to be in any position
-Air consumption
-Communication
-Good criteria (move fast when necessary)
-Buoyancy
-Anticipation
-Training
-Gear

Experience
-Do not dive with people that brag too much about how good they are
-Accidents seem to happen to people that are not ‘afraid’ of having one
-If you are the best diver in the world and have not dive for the last two weeks. Trust me you are not the best anymore!
-You should ask about certification and other training when diving with new buddies. Do a little interview check their equipment!

Solo dives
-Long time ago I questioned myself if it was worth to die Scuba Diving. In other words is this really my greatest passion. The answer is yes. I’m willing to go Solo in shallow dives and with the proper gear training and state of mind.
-Tell someone what you are planning to do and for how long. If they do not hear from you ask them to call 911

About people
-You cannot push people to dive with you. Provide your phone no. And wait for them to call you. Call if you promised to do so.
-Your friends might never understand your diving activities. Get them involve by showing your records, pics, videos etc. Again not ask them to hard to become certified


Selling you gear
-Always tell buyers what you are selling needs to be inspected by a Scuba technician and they must be certified.

Buying Gear
-Unless you are very familiar with the piece of equipment and can determine is in good working condition- use it. Otherwise send in for service/check

Goals
-One of the reasons I dive is because is very dynamic. You will not easily get bored. There is always new things to try…. spear fishing, photography, different places etc.
-Plan a major goal once a year and start preparing yourself (U-853)

Charter Boats
-Tip them only if they really offer good service
-Have Oatmeal before a long ride
-Stay away of diesel smoky boats, especially if doing a deep dive
-Plan what to do if the boat sinks or breaks!!

Your Local Shop
-Support your local shop…. mmmm! Have to think twice about it !
-Full disclosure of the entire cost for when taking a class. If after starting the class they “forget” to add something do not be afraid to quit and ask for a refund

velasced:

Skills of a good diver
-Orientation underwater
-Be able to be in any position
-Air consumption
-Communication
-Good criteria (move fast when necessary)
-Buoyancy
-Anticipation
-Training
-Gear

Click to expand...

To this I would add that a diver can perform, mid water, with no visual references, basic skills such as mask removal/replacement, S-drills, valve drills, etc all while remaining horizontal and without changing depth by more than a few feet. Additionally, one should be able to maintain orientation and position relative to their buddy and the surrounding environment without needing to use their hands, so skill with a variety of fin kicks is a sign of a skilled diver.

Selling you gear
-Always tell buyers what you are selling needs to be inspected by a Scuba technician and they must be certified.

Click to expand...

Another thing to keep in mind is not to hijack other people's sales and say "you can get a better deal over here" or "this is not a good price." PM them if you think it will help, but otherwise, let the buyers determine what is a good deal.

Your Local Shop
-Support your local shop…. mmmm! Have to think twice about it !
-Full disclosure of the entire cost for when taking a class. If after starting the class they “forget” to add something do not be afraid to quit and ask for a refund

Click to expand...

Support them when you can, but don't be afraid to go online when you can't get a good price at the shop. Diving is an expensive sport and there is no reason to pay more than you need to. Keep in mind that some things have hidden costs, like regulators, and the warranty may or may not be important to you.

As for checking out new buddies, a brief interview is a good idea, as you said, but more importantly, one should go out and do a skills dive. Do a few OOG drills, try to get their attention a few times while they are off doing something else and see how responsive they are. A good buddy is someone who can balance the environment with awareness of the team.

Hi Soggy,

Thanks for you reply. I do believe people operate under their own rules. I was just trying to disclose mine.

Ed

velasced:

-Good criteria (move fast when necessary)

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I'm confused. What is "good criteria"? Thanks. Good list BTW

Really glad that I checked this thread out. I agree for the most part. There are a few things that I would bend a bit under some conditions.
I really like the skills section. Most of them I am working on but I have only been diving for just under a year, 20 dives.

One of the many reasons why I like this site is that you get to talk and sometimes dive with people of different experience and skill levels. One of the things that I am learning quick is that I am a new kid on the block, especially with onlyh a year and a half 29 dives of diving.

It is good to dive with people of different skill levels, but it is also important to learn a little patience with others. Just because everything is going just ducky for you today, doesn't mean that everything will go 100% the next dive. And yes listening to others and how they may do things is good . What works for one person may not always work for another, but it is good to get different opinions anyways.

Soggy:

To this I would add that a diver can perform, mid water, with no visual references, basic skills such as mask removal/replacement, S-drills, valve drills, etc all while remaining horizontal and without changing depth by more than a few feet. Additionally, one should be able to maintain orientation and position relative to their buddy and the surrounding environment without needing to use their hands, so skill with a variety of fin kicks is a sign of a skilled diver.

Another thing to keep in mind is not to hijack other people's sales and say "you can get a better deal over here" or "this is not a good price." PM them if you think it will help, but otherwise, let the buyers determine what is a good deal.

Support them when you can, but don't be afraid to go online when you can't get a good price at the shop. Diving is an expensive sport and there is no reason to pay more than you need to. Keep in mind that some things have hidden costs, like regulators, and the warranty may or may not be important to you.

As for checking out new buddies, a brief interview is a good idea, as you said, but more importantly, one should go out and do a skills dive. Do a few OOG drills, try to get their attention a few times while they are off doing something else and see how responsive they are. A good buddy is someone who can balance the environment with awareness of the team.

Click to expand...

I agree the list is a good one. Basic is a relative thing of course. Some of the skills you described are not basic recreational skills. They are of course fundamental tech skills.

What do you mean by sales hijack? If someone posts a deal to buy a "$700 O'Neill Neoprene drysuit" I would definitely chime in to say that cost is outrageous and to suggest another shop. I think it's part of the community benefit of SB. I hope you would tell me if you knew I was getting racked over the coals dude! There is nothing wrong with keeping vendors honest.

Yeah nothing beats a shakedown dive. Choose an easy, relatively shallow site and keep an eye out.

--Matt

That is why I like my first dives of the year to be places like back beach or ogb. They maybe rather shallow dives, but there is plenty to see at 25 feet or less. If there is a problem with equipment, it is rather easy to get out of harms way in a hurry if you have to. Also the entries are fairly easy to deal with as well.

And may I add when diving with people from this site ou are always taking a small risk in diving with someone that you may not have dove with before. In that they may not be as competent as you are. Or you may not be as competent as the other person or persons are. But I think that is a risk that is worth taking if you want to get in more dives then you may not be able to get into, if you are extremely picky on what type of diver that you are diving with.

I will dive with just about anyone, weather they are more experienced that I or less. Because being relatively new I may actually learn something from that person. And if that person is less experienced then I am I still may pick up on something by helping out that person.

Great list!
Continuing to learn also would be on my list. Through classes or by reading on SB

opps just noticed training. See? I need to learn to read better lol.