What makes a great diver?

[Monkey_Gland]

What a stunning set of responses. We are getting dangerously close to a manifesto! I love it!

 

[Deefstes]

I'm not a great diver and I'm not even sure how great the divers that I look up to really are. However, what makes a diver great in my eyes is when he/she has the ability to manage any number of tasks while under water because I think that is what will ultimately save my life or someone else's when disaster strikes.

I'm sure, the divers who have this ability will probably also have good buoyancy, trim, mind set and what-have-yous so I guess those are good things to look for but when things go wrong down there, I would love to be with (or one day be) a diver who can sort out a failing regulator, while untangling himself / someone else from an obstacle, while shooting a SMB, being narced, having had his mask kicked off and a burning fire in his bum from a Devil Firefish sting - heaven forbid that I ever find myself in that situation!

OK, maybe not everything simultaneously but I would think that mediocre or good divers might die in such a situation while great divers will prioritize the tasks effectively and sort it all out so as to still make a safe ascent and live to dive another day.

 

[bamamedic]

Whilst we are at it:

9. Good looking.

10. Owns a boat.

How about this?

11. Owns a pair of scooters (so I can play along, too!)

 

[b1gcountry]

I would love to be with (or one day be) a diver who can sort out a failing regulator, while untangling himself / someone else from an obstacle, while shooting a SMB, being narced, having had his mask kicked off and a burning fire in his bum from a Devil Firefish sting

Bob said it before, but a great diver would never get there in the first place...

Tom

 

[Teamcasa]

5. Joy. To me, if someone meets all the other criteria but has lost the joy of doing this, they aren't a role model and they aren't great. A great diver can do his most challenging dives with skill and safety, but is also perfectly happy to jump into shallow water and play with friends.

6. Humility. I think a hallmark of truly great people in any discipline is that they remember that they were once beginners, and that they still put their pants on one leg at a time. Arrogance is a marker of insecurity. Generosity, and a willingness to reach out to others, is a mark of greatness.

A good diver is someone with the skills to get themselves out of just about any bad situation.

A great diver is someone who also has the judgment to not get themselves into that situation in the first place ...

a. Is aware of, and dives within, her limits;
b. Is aware of, and dives with, her strengths;
c. Has fun when she dives.

(I've added the emphasis)

For me, diving is supposed to be safe and fun. Why else would we do it? A good diver makes sure I'm safe and having a good time and I try to do the same for my buddy. A great diver will do do this time and time again.

Sometimes we get caught up in gear configurations, training differences and squalble over stupid things and forget why we started diving in the first place. Floating weightless in the most beautiful enviroment on our planet. A place very few will ever get to see first hand.

My dive buddy, also my wife, may not be the most skilled diver in the world but she loves to dive. Just seeing the joy in her eyes and her huge smile when she finds her first new anything, makes her the best diver I know.

 

[Blackwood]

A great diver is much larger than the average diver.

 

[bigken462]

Hummm, kinda hard to list something that has not been said just yet.............Perhaps I may add a few though.

Someone that doesn't ask if your "OK" every 10 seconds, but appears to be in panic protocol themselves, or someone who is not an engineer with a desire to tell you every 30 minutes that they are an engineer and why their diving is better because they are one, and lastly someone who would occasionally not be on your heals yapping like a pup hunting a bone following your every move. The more I think about it, the more I like solo diving. Lol Other than that, I think Rick and TS & M pretty much summed up what a perfect diver would consist of.

I should add though, that the one I have is:

Patient
Loyal
Understanding
Eager to learn
And occasionally does this 'Happy Dance" thing.............

Two points for the first one who guesses!

Kenny

 

[morgan84]

adding to the list:

Respect for the surroundings. Understanding that the diver is a guest in the ocean, and will behave as such. No littering, no destruction, no disturbing the residents of the reef/ocean/cave.

 

[Thalassamania]

For me there are two aspects to it: Mindset, and ability.

I was going to say situational awareness and the ability to correctly respond to it. Pretty much same/same.

People who aspire to be "great divers," for the most part, should come to terms with the humiliation of not making the high school football team and move on with their lives. Diving is a non-competitive pastime. Get yourself competent enough to safely do the diving that you enjoy and then go ahead and enjoy it.

For a totally recreational standpoint (e.g., look at the sights) that is true, but when you start adding tasks, be they laying line, collecting artifacts, recording data, fixing something, taking pictures, etc., there are then objective measures of a diver's ability and while not necessarily competitive, judgments as to a diver's "quality" become possible and sometimes important.

The only thing people should aspire to is a clear understanding of their own limitations.

There is no "perfect" diver. Divers who know well enough to dive within their own limits have the optimum skill that they need.

Yes.

A good diver is someone with the skills to get themselves out of just about any bad situation.

A great diver is someone who also has the judgment to not get themselves into that situation in the first place ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Emphatically yes.

It's an interesting question, what is a great diver, and who should we look up to. For example, I'm amazed at the WKPP's unbelievable record-setting cave dives (and even more impressed by their safety record doing them) but I don't want to emulate JJ and Casey, because I have no desire to do that kind of diving. There are, however, some qualities of those divers that allow them to do the things they do, and would allow me to do the things I do more safely and with more enjoyment:

1. Knowledge. ...
2. Skill. ...
3. Judgment. ...
4. Diligence. ...
5. Joy. To me, if someone meets all the other criteria but has lost the joy of doing this, they aren't a role model and they aren't great. A great diver can do his most challenging dives with skill and safety, but is also perfectly happy to jump into shallow water and play with friends.

As far as joy is concerned, I'd have to say, "Not really." I've known more than a few "great" divers that did not particularly enjoy diving (at least did not enjoy diving any more). They did it because one way or another it paid the bills, and that was about it.

6. Humility. I think a hallmark of truly great people in any discipline is that they remember that they were once beginners, and that they still put their pants on one leg at a time. Arrogance is a marker of insecurity. Generosity, and a willingness to reach out to others, is a mark of greatness.

Again, I have to disagree. I'd suggest that a touch of arrogance is what keeps the vehicle of exploring the unknown moving, it's not the fuel, it's not the engine, but it is, perhaps, the spark plug.

Many, if not most, of the divers I've known who were (are) out there pushing edge are, at one level or another, arrogant as hell, some just hide it better than others.

I think that most would agree with Frank Lloyd Wright: "Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change." or Sam Donaldson "Call me a braggart, call me arrogant. People at ABC (and elsewhere) have called me worse. But when you need the job done on deadline, you'll call me."

I have to go with the person who identified "Mental Attitude" as the primary characteristic of a "good diver." With the proper attitude, the rest of the stuff generally follows:

Proper Mental Attitude:

a. Is aware of, and dives within, her limits;
b. Is aware of, and dives with, her strengths;

As a result of this, she:

a. Does all she can to stay well within the "zone of safety" for that particular dive;
b. Stays current with knowledge and works on her skills;
c. Has fun when she dives.

That, to me, is a good diver.

That "zone of safety" concept is critical, it is part and parsal of good SA. I am expanding way outside of recreational diving, but once again I really don't see what fun has to do with it (except that in the case you cite that may be the primary end goal).

I like this list. But let me add:

7. Generous. He/she is the first one to offer to pay for gasoline, food, their share of expenses. They will let you handle your own gear, but are the first to pitch in and help if you need it. They will offer to change their dive plan to match yours. With whatever they have, they are willing to share.

Generous? Not a requirement. I've known some great divers who were always the last to pick up a tab, even if they were willing to share the last breath from their tank with a complete stranger.

8. Dependable. If they say they are going to be there at a certain time, they are early. If they say they are going to be prepared, they are. Their word is as good as gold before, during and after the dive.

Dependable needs to be on the list.

A "great" diver may not be your best bud, but would be your best buddy. A "great" diver might not even be someone that you would want to dive with for fun or spend any time with out of the water.

 

[bamamedic]

Hummm, kinda hard to list something that has not been said just yet.............Perhaps I may add a few though.

Someone that doesn't ask if your "OK" every 10 seconds, but appears to be in panic protocol themselves, or someone who is not an engineer with a desire to tell you every 30 minutes that they are an engineer and why their diving is better because they are one, and lastly someone who would occasionally not be on your heals yapping like a pup hunting a bone following your every move. The more I think about it, the more I like solo diving. Lol Other than that, I think Rick and TS & M pretty much summed up what a perfect diver would consist of.

I should add though, that the one I have is:

Patient
Loyal
Understanding
Eager to learn
And occasionally does this 'Happy Dance" thing.............

Two points for the first one who guesses!

Kenny

Yeah....it is possible to overuse the "OK" signal! LOL It was getting to the point where I just wanted to take him aside and gently tell him, "If you look back, and see me just hovering there, odds are I'm OK, no need to constantly confirm it. If I'm not OK, you'll know it!" I haven't yet, but if I dive with him again, I think I will. I just treat every dive with him as a solo dive, and that seems to be working out OK so far. What really annoys me is that he says he's OK with solo diving, yet he will wait until you get into the water, follow you on your dive, and surface with you. For goodness sakes, if you're going to buddy dive, then buddy dive...if you're going to solo dive, then solo dive, but you're only getting a false sense of security by following someone like that.

So, someone who does the "happy dance", huh?

To attempt to add my two cents to the list (and contribute in a meaningful way)

A good dive buddy is one who's goals and aspirations line up with yours, at least to some degree. I was fortunate enough to meet a dive buddy early on in my diving, whose was also very interested in persuing cave certification, and who had enough experience to mentor me as I started my technical ambitions. Because we had the same goals in mind, we knew what to watch for in each other's diving and we took the time to practice drills and such. As a result, we're both much better for it! My more experienced buddy got to practice the basics, and I benefited from him as a mentor and a friend.

A good dive buddy is someone who you can dive with frequently. Over time, one gets to learn the subtle nuances of one's dive partner. You wind up becoming sensitive to their nonveral clues; when they are feeling good, when they are uncomfortable with a dive plan, etc...without them having to say so in so many words. It's hard to develop that kind of a relationship with someone that you don't dive with very often.

A good dive buddy has cool gear and lets you borrow it from time to time
(says the person who doesn't own a scooter...but her dive buddies have SS scooters and all sorts of X-scooters!)