Dumbest things you've seen a newbie diver do

[SkimFisher]

This is wrong on so many levels.

Why?

Newbies are much more likely to do something dumb than an experienced diver.

Because newbie divers are often somewhat anxious and task overloaded on their first dives. There's just too much to keep track of...and it's easy to forget something, or do a procedure incorrectly.

Nothing whatsoever to do with the instructor.

Very true

 

[Water Monkey]

It's rare that a "newbie" does anything dumb... assuming they've been properly trained. If a newbie is doing something dumb... it means they had a poor instructor.

Surely your not suggesting that after four open water dives your students are so well trained they would never do anything dumb?

 

[Gunslinger]

I was diving outdoors for the first time in a quarry in Germany. The visibility was great (about 15+m), but the water was cold (4C). I still hadn't bought boots and was diving in neoprene socks with closed heel fins. The quarry was 30m deep, and our (mine and my instructor's) max depth was 18m (10-15m most of the dive though). So, obviously my first mistake was not having bought the boots. About three quarters of the way through the one hour dive plan, my feet were pretty cold and stiff, and swimming became more work than it ought to be. My second mistake was not checking my pressure regularly (in fact, I didn't check it at all) and blindly believed that my instructor's dive plan would be "flawless", leaving me with plenty of reserve air for the dive. Shortly after swimming with cold feet started to become difficult, breathing also started becoming difficult. I signaled my instructor that I had a problem with breathing, tried my octo (which was just as difficult to breathe through), and finally my instructor checked my pressure and showed me that I was almost OOA. He regularly shut off my air during our pool practice sessions, so luckily I was "used to" staying calm and signaling when OOA (i.e. it wasn't my first time OOA, and I could still breathe a little from what was left in my tank). He gave me his octo and we started our ascent slowly and finished the dive (he still had about a half a tank of his air left). Afterward I was little embarrassed, but my instructor and the other guys told me that, yeah, I was stupid/should've been more careful, but at least I had the experience and know what it's like. PROPER EQUIPMENT and CHECK YOUR PRESSURE REGULARLY NEWBIES!!!!!!!!!!

 

[offthewall1]

Surely your not suggesting that after four open water dives your students are so well trained they would never do anything dumb?

This is exactly what I'm suggesting... as would any top notch Instructor.

I have yet to see my students do anything dumb... nor the students of my other Instructors... nor for that matter the students of any of the quality Instructors from other dive shops in our general area.

I have seen plenty of piss poor trained students doing dumb things.. then when we point out that what they're doing is 1. dangerous, 2. illegal or 3.plain incorrect... I hear a very common response... something like "I didn't know," or "my Instructor never told/taught me about that."

In fact, I will unequivocally state on the record I've seen more piss poor Scuba Instructors, Tech Divers and Advanced Divers doing more dumb things than I can count... but have never seen a newbie do anything dumb on their own.

I have seen new divers doing dumb things they were taught by dumb Instructors, dumb dive masters and dumb techie and advanced diver know-it-alls.

Now just remember - I'm not calling everyone dumb. The majority of Instructors, DM's, Techies and advanced divers are damn good divers... but there are exceptions... and it is unfortunate that new divers have no way of knowing the difference.

How many examples would you like me to give regarding what I'm talking about?

How about the newbie diver with his brand new camera on his very first dive losing it in the ocean... Why? because neither his Open Water Instructor nor Photography Instructor ever taught him what a coil lanyard or retractor was... and that these could be used to attach the camera to your BCD... so that even if you dropped it, it would still be attached to you...

How about the newbie diver I saw struggling in the quarry to keep his head above water because he was wearing almost 40lbs of lead. Why you might ask? He told me his Instructor (who was nowhere around and didn't know he was struggling on the surface) told him that was how much weight he needed. I assisted him in removing 14lbs and he was able to descend. I can only envision the poor guy wearing 40lbs of weight on his first ocean dive because his moron Instructor told him that was what he needed.

Shall we continue...

 

[idocsteve]

This is exactly what I'm suggesting... as would any top notch Instructor.

I have yet to see my students do anything dumb... nor the students of my other Instructors...

I have seen plenty of piss poor trained students doing dumb things..

Yeah right, if a diver does something dumb they've got a poor instructor and conversely divers who are trained with top notch instructors never do anything dumb.

That sort of reckless attitude is going to kill one of your students one day.

Hopefully you'll figure it out before that happens.

People do dumb things. In diving, in driving, in life. It's human nature and while good preparation and training can minimize the risk to some degree it will NOT eliminate it.

To think otherwise, to instruct others with that in mind, is foolish and irresponsible.

 

[offthewall1]

Yeah right, if a diver does something dumb they've got a poor instructor and conversely divers who are trained with top notch instructors never do anything dumb.

That sort of reckless attitude is going to kill one of your students one day.

Hopefully you'll figure it out before that happens.

People do dumb things. In diving, in driving, in life. It's human nature and while good preparation and training can minimize the risk to some degree it will NOT eliminate it.

To think otherwise, to instruct others with that in mind, is foolish and irresponsible.

I can only say... It's obvious you're one of the ones I'm talking about... Good luck in life with the crude tude dude...

 

[TSandM]

offthewall1, I completely agree with idocsteve, and the very fact that that's true should stop you in your tracks and give you furiously to think

I work in an ER. The litany of incredibly stupid things I've seen people do, and the incredible degree to which people are capable of misunderstanding what they are carefully told, has virtually no limits. For example, a woman came in to me because she had a toothache. She'd been to the clinic and they had seen her and prescribed pain medication. She had filled her prescription, but here she was in the ER. She hadn't TAKEN any of the pain med. Why? Because the pharmacist told her she could take it every four hours . . . and it hadn't been four hours yet.

You can instruct with loving care; you can ask your students questions and watch them like a hawk to try to be sure they really understood what you told them. But I can guarantee you that some of them are going to leave with imperfect memory or incomplete or erroneous understanding, or they're going to get creative, and they're going to do something "stupid". Hopefully it will be something funny and harmless, but I don't think anybody can count on that.

 

[Jax]

And God Willing, you've imparted the knowledge and confidence to them to keep their presence of mind and fix themselves . . .

Isn't that what it's really all about?

 

[idocsteve]

offthewall1, I completely agree with idocsteve, and the very fact that that's true should stop you in your tracks and give you furiously to think

HEY!

 

[Water Monkey]

This is exactly what I'm suggesting... as would any top notch Instructor...

You are producing super divers that don’t make mistakes in just four open water dives? Wow you must be a really good instructor!

I have yet to see my students do anything dumb...

I have seen plenty of piss poor trained students doing dumb things.. ...

but have never seen a newbie do anything dumb

I have seen new divers doing dumb things ...

But you seem a little confused offthewall1.

Humility is a virtue, and quit frankly I pity the students you have lured into your lair.