Newbie's - Are we Prepared?

[nagel]

Not sure I have a question here, but rather maybe an observation. Last year I got my open water certification. During my course one of the common questions I got from instructors as well as others in the class was, "so, where are you going". It appears that everybody in the class had some sort of major vacation scheduled and was getting certified so they could dive (primarily because others on their vacation would be diving). In fact, the class I was in was kinda an "emergency class" so to get these people certified so they could go on their trip. One was going to Australia, a couple to Mexico, and another to Florida. These people had never dove before in their life. As I watched these people in the course, did they pass the certification - yes. Where they expert divers - by no means. They like me, had the certification, but at least I felt that I had (have) a lot of learning to do. Basically, I felt, and still do, that I have to gain some experience points. I remember during my first dives after certification, I still struggled with some of the basic skills and over time I work on these with every dive.

I often think about these people that I shared the certification class with. How did they do. Especially, the "kid" going to Australia where the 10 deadliest sea creatures live. Were they prepared? I don't think I would want to jump into a "major dive" right out of certification.

Following certification, I was blessed with having two experienced dive buddies (my brother and sister in-law) to help me (and still do) show me the ropes and help me gain experience. I still feel I have a long way to go. I mainly dive is quarrys and lakes in southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas. Last November I traveled to Mexico and dove the Rivera Maya. I guess my point is, although diving in Mexico was an absolute awesome experience, I would not have been prepared for this right out of the certification class. I by no means am an expert diver and have only logged about 25 dives, but before Mexico I had logged some dives and gained much needed experience you don't get with a short certification class. I wasn't going from open water certification into the deep sea.

I'm sorry for rambling on and now not really sure what my point is; other than, I read about people on this forum getting certified while on vacation or flying through a certification course and taking what I consider some risky dives, with very limited experience. I guess you have to get experience somehow. But, my first 20 dives was to about 30 maybe 40 feet, not 100 that is typically something you see in Mexico. (Atleast for me, I was down to 100 feet and never realized until I looked at my gauge - no thermocline to tell me)

S. Nagel

 

[Wolfie2012]

Good post. As with anything, the individual will determine the risk he or she is willing to take based upon their comfort-level and skill. Some will only be comfortable at 30 feet for dozens of dives, others will be fine with moving deeper after only a couple. Generally speaking, neither way is wrong or right - just dive what you (and your buddy) feel comfortable with. If that means only going to 30, maybe 40 feet for your first 20 dives - cool, lots of stuff to see there. If somebody else is comfortable going to 70fsw on their 2nd dive after their checkouts, that's their call (and their buddies). Experience will come in time. Plan your dive, dive your plan and all that.

 

[Guba]

An idea that some instructors stress (and others do not) is that a OW cert card is a "license to learn". The wise instructor will, without trying to frighten or terrify his students, impress upon them that they have enough training to BEGIN their dive experience, not plunge into all dive venues. In other words, the mantra "dive within your limits" should be reiterated enough to make an impression. Experience is something that is acquired in pieces over time, and is sometimes bought and paid for (such as in additional courses and classes). Of course, "experience is the best teacher" will be quoted by many, but there are instances in which flunking the test means there will be no re-take. The consequences of failure can sometimes be simply too great.
Have fun as you go about acquiring more dive experience.

 

[ianw2]

I understand where you are going with this, and, to some extent, I agree.

Diving IS a sport. It is NOT a mysterious brotherhood. There ARE risks and diving is a potentially dangerous sport. Those risks can be mitigated in many ways. Education, training, repetition and planning are the obvious ways.

When Laura and I got certified last year, it was not to GO on a dive vacation, but because snorkeling while on vacation finally convinced Laura that it was OK to get certified. During our class , we met two other couples with whom have become fast friends. We all went through OE and then AOW together. John (one of the husbands) and I went through Rescue and EFR. We weren’t blessed with friends who dive. The continuation in training was our way of getting in dives under watchful, tutoring eyes.
We all went on a dive vacation to Loreto, BCS, Mexico last October.We dived with Dolphin Dive Center. Raphael was our BM and Salvador was our boat Captain. On our first dive, the bottom was only about 40FSW. We couldn&#8217;t get deeper. On the second dive, we got to a drop off that took us down to about 90FSW. Poor Raphael was in a state of absolute panic. Here, he had six gringo divers all the way down at 90FSW and no idea of what their capabilities were. Once back on the surface, he let us know he wasn&#8217;t happy. However, after we explained our training level and our comfort levels, the very <first dive> the next <day> was to about 120fsw.

I don&#8217;t bring this up to point out how bad a DM Raphael was; on the contrary, in my opinion, he is one of the best. Although there are some who would chastise Raphael for not getting to know our skill level better up front, I won&#8217;t.

The point of this example is that there are different situations for everyone who dives. There are different levels of comfort and different levels of expectation form self, gear, dives, LDS, dive operations, etc. Don&#8217;t impose your own frame of reference on others.

I will probably never be a DIR diver. On the other hand, I have learned a heck of a lot from reading the DIR threads. I will NEVER dive in a cave (I get claustrophobic in elevators), but I understand those who do and love to look at the photos. I have no desire to do deep dives, but I sure have learned a lot about dive planning, gas management and dive logistics from those who do.

We all dive for different reasons. Thank G-d we do! I can learn from you and, perhaps, you can learn from me. Then, we&#8217;ll BOTH be better divers.

 

[fast5frog]

Right on. Stay in your comfort level. If someone is confident enough in thier skills and gear, whether it is a 20' dive or 60', whatever, just be sure to know yourself and what you can handle. Don't just go do something 'cause the crowd is...

 

[cruisegirl]

I agree with the posters on most of the posts. .... for me I feel as though getting your OW cert. is enough learning to make you dangerous... lol.. They teach just enough to dive and feel somewhat comfortable but for those that are cocky or risk takers, can be very dangerous. I was lucky also in that I had 2 dive buddies that have been diving for 18 + 20 years. We went out numerous times here in California. And I also took my AOW class for the same reason as an above poster. To get more dives under teaching eyes. I still feel though that the AOW class should not be given until a diver has at least 20-25 dives under their belt. I took mine with less than 10 dives and then had this cert. that said I was Adv. I by no means was an Adv. diver. It gave me a title that I felt was very misleading.
But it's all about learning and doing what you & your buddy are comfortable with. And diving your plan. Make sure you both are on the same page. I have done dives with people who don't dive the plan and such and it's scary. I don't dive with them anymore. I have my couple of regular buddies and we're very good together.


Ianw2,
I want to ask a question as a newer diver wanting to learn but not judging or questioning. We're always taught, "do your deepest dives first and then keep to shallow"... You did a shallow dive and then on the 2nd went to 90 feet and then on the 3rd dive went to 120 feet?? I wonder why? That could lead to DCS right?

 

[deepblueme]

The whole point of any OW course to for you to "start learning" how to be a well rounded diver.
Whether you take more classes on trips or your LDS or read the books and dive with more experienced divers is up to you.

I know several VERY experienced 1000+ logged dive divers that hve yet to learn everything there is to know about diving. IE what do you do when in a down welling?

 

[chipwd]

My instructor also told us we were certified to start learning more about diving when we passed the OW course. He warned us that the best way to learn was through more diving and diving with more experienced divers. He stressed we were only beginners and that we should keep within our comfort and experience zones when diving.

I am also lucky in that my buddies are all DMs or SIs with years of experience and they are willing to teach me as I continue to learn.

I also strongly agree with cruisegirl that 20 to 25 dives should be required before AOW. I think new divers need to learn their basic skills and get comforatble with their equipment before going on to learn more. I took my AOW after 40 plus dives and I know I got way more out of it then the 2 people in my class that took it right after getting OW and had less than 10 dives. They spent too much time trying to control buoyancy and really basic things than learning new things.

I guess the thing that turned me on to diving was that most of the divers I have met are willing to share and teach me from their experiences. None have been judgemental or critical, at least in a mean way. Advice and tips are freely offered. It has been a fun learning experience so far and I hope it continues to be that way.

 

[wreckchick]

I stress to students that they are undertaking training that should make them capable of conducting a dive in similar conditions WITHOUT an instructor watching over them. They should be able to formulate a dive plan and carry it out.

I think that the idea that newly minted OW divers CAN'T do this highlights the state of training today. For every diver that takes extra training or seeks out buddies that can mentor them as they continue to grow and learn there are 50 that think the 100' dives in Cozumel are "well within their comfort level" because they don't even know enough to respect a dive to that depth.

120' dive IS a deep dive. With 600ish dives from 130' to 20' I respect a dive to that depth and don't take it lightly. I'm comfortable there but the error chain starts getting very, very short. There are plenty of people on this board that will tell you that 120' on a single al80 is reckless.

There's no way to know what you should know until you realize you don't know something and wish you did.

Rachel

 

[spectrum]

Ianw2,
I want to ask a question as a newer diver wanting to learn but not judging or questioning. We're always taught, "do your deepest dives first and then keep to shallow"... You did a shallow dive and then on the 2nd went to 90 feet and then on the 3rd dive went to 120 feet?? I wonder why? That could lead to DCS right?

The depth order came up the other night in our nitrox class and our instructor said that it really did not matter. It was a convention written in some old manuals and nobody knows what but the convention persists. I have read the same elsewhere.

Do not confusse this with making the deep part of your dive first to allow for offgassing in the shallows before surfacing.

If it really mattered tables would somehow reflect the relationship.

Pete