Dumbest things you've seen a newbie diver do

[buddhasummer]

While on a night dive I was taking out some newly certified divers on their first night dive. After the dive was finished and we were swimimg back to shore one of them turned their light out, I explained it is better to keep your light on until back on land as if you drop it you may lose it but if the light is still on you may, depending on depth, be able to see it and retrieve it. A few moments later I get tangled in someones very long dive flag rope, I proceed to untangle myself and the in the process the lanyard on my light become loose and the light slipped of my wrist. The bottom, it was a lake, has very very thick vegetaion and a deep layer of mud/silt. I was unable to see my light as I HAD TURNED IT OFF having just prior told the others never to do so. I was unable to locate my light. This was great for my group, theory followed by application, but a very expensive mistake for me.

Went back the next day during daylight myself and a buddy spent over two hours looking but could not locate. It was an Mb-Sub light so not cheap. I was bummed.

I am not a "newbie", we all make mistakes, especially when we get complacent.

 

[drbill]

Going to repeat a post I made ages ago in this thread. I don't think the dumbest things I've seen underwater are by newbies. I expect them to be on a learning curve and to make mistakes. We all did.

To me the dumbest things I've ever seen underwater were by DMs and instructors who didn't have a clue. Those things are often inexcusable, especially if they endanger students or other divers. Of course I'm not referring to the majority of dive professionals who are very competent, just the ones who make stupid mistakes... some of them with some frequency.

 

[DevsDiverNz]

Ok I will fess up, would of been about my 42 dive, doing the 5 point descent and as I started descending no air was coming, instead got a mouthful of seawater, stupid me put snorkel in mouth instead of reg.

 

[Crowley]

Going to repeat a post I made ages ago in this thread. I don't think the dumbest things I've seen underwater are by newbies. I expect them to be on a learning curve and to make mistakes. We all did.

To me the dumbest things I've ever seen underwater were by DMs and instructors who didn't have a clue. Those things are often inexcusable, especially if they endanger students or other divers. Of course I'm not referring to the majority of dive professionals who are very competent, just the ones who make stupid mistakes... some of them with some frequency.

I agree with Dr. Bill - I don't think I have posted in this thread before because I see newbie divers do all sorts of dumb things - but I don't think they are always stupid mistakes. Poor training, lack of confidence or preparation for the dive and a myriad other things contribute to what experienced divers think of as mistakes.

Yes - in my profession we laugh about it in the pub afterwards - but only because we have assisted this diver to the point that they don't make the same mistake again.

Newbies in all activities make mistakes - did you ever click the lever for the turn signal when you were driving and you put the windscreen wipers on instead? I did this a number of times after buying a Hyundai Coupe which had the levers on the opposing side of the steering wheel from my prior Ford Mondeo - or in fact, any car I'd ever driven before - and I made that mistake occasionally for the whole two years I was driving that car. And then I got back into a car with the levers in the "correct" position and I screwed that up also! And - I'm an experienced driver!

However well trained they are, pretty much every diver who ever dived has made a mistake somewhere, and it's not limited to newbies. I know of incidents involving experienced divers who have died because they ignored a medical condition and attempted some deep technical diving without disclosing the condition, knowing that it could be fatal. That sort of thing, in my opinion, is the dumbest thing any diver can do.

Newbies are new - and it's okay to laugh if you look back on your own dive career and can laugh at the mistakes you made yourself - but if you just laughed and didn't help, knowing that you could have done... shame on you. We were all newbies once.

Cheers,

C.

 

[drbill]

I'll elaborate on one "instructor" who was going to replace me on an eco cruise ship traveling between Belize and Honduras (Utila) after my contract expired. I was asked to train her for the week we overlapped.

I spent most of an afternoon trying to teach her the basics of how to use the ship's UW video system. She never seemed to get the basics... like turning it on, pressing record, etc., despite my repeated instructions.

Before our first dive, she asked if I would put the strap on her mask. I asked if it was her personal mask and she said yes. I asked why she didn't put it on herself and she said she thought it would be much easier to let me do it. I did.

Then I watched as she put her BCD on 90 degrees off. I looked over at the ship's captain, also a diver, and we both indicated our surprise... and concern. I asked her why she put it on like that and her response was that she always did it that way. The captain stepped in and suggested she try doing it the right way.

We descended on our first dive. She had the $7,000 ship's UW video rig (I had my own) which she was supposed to try to use since video would be part of her job. When we reached the wall at a very steep drop off to thousands of feet, instead of a controlled descent down, she plummeted falling into a large table coral (and breaking off at least 1/3rd of it) and dropping the camera over the precipice. I went for the camera while the ship's DM rescued her.

On our next dive she couldn't descend at all (despite wearing the same amount of weight). She told us not to worry... she'd just drift along at the surface, following us as we dove below her.

Needless to say, the captain and I both communicated to corporate headquarters that this instructor was a real threat to the safety of our passengers. How she got certified as an instructor is way beyond me. Unfortunately the corporate heads decided not to report her to the certifying agency.

 

[bj139]

While on a night dive I was taking out some newly certified divers on their first night dive. After the dive was finished and we were swimimg back to shore one of them turned their light out, I explained it is better to keep your light on until back on land as if you drop it you may lose it but if the light is still on you may, depending on depth, be able to see it and retrieve it. A few moments later I get tangled in someones very long dive flag rope, I proceed to untangle myself and the in the process the lanyard on my light become loose and the light slipped of my wrist. The bottom, it was a lake, has very very thick vegetaion and a deep layer of mud/silt. I was unable to see my light as I HAD TURNED IT OFF having just prior told the others never to do so. I was unable to locate my light. This was great for my group, theory followed by application, but a very expensive mistake for me.

Went back the next day during daylight myself and a buddy spent over two hours looking but could not locate. It was an Mb-Sub light so not cheap. I was bummed.

I am not a "newbie", we all make mistakes, especially when we get complacent.

I posted this unaware I was on the hogarthian (HOG) thread, only to later regret it. I didn't know HOGs could be so ill tempered.

"I hang my light from my ring shoulder D-ring with a trigger snap. I tie about a 1 ft piece of bungee to the trigger snap base and the same D-ring. If I drop it the bungee will stop it from disappearing. My instructor recommended this and it works very well."

Here is the thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hogarthian-diving/386721-securing-backup-light.html

Be careful commenting there.

Bill

 

[p1p]

Newbies are new - and it's okay to laugh if you look back on your own dive career and can laugh at the mistakes you made yourself - but if you just laughed and didn't help, knowing that you could have done... shame on you. We were all newbies once.

Its the old either your are part of the problem, or part of the solution. Just laughing, you are part of the problem. If you help out, part of the solution.