Dumbest things you've seen a newbie diver do

[Dianew2k]

Being a newbie- I make some funny mistakes. I forgot the botties for my fins in the car during a boat dive. First boat dive happened to be a drift dive- I forgot I get sea sick( duh!) chumming overboard after paying $100 for the trip I was sooooooo sick and there were only 2-3 ft seas. Weighted too light and had to swim back to the boat- pain in the rear for 3 lbs. I took a header in the water during rough seas and missed the ladder by the skin of my teeth. But the posts about having my buddy check me and my gear are true- as newbies we still have so many fears.......very nervous about open water diving. I worry that I will make a fool out of myself by falling off the boat or dropping my empty tank on the deck....( yep that happened). But what I will say is that I learned a lot on these dives both from the divemaster onboard and those that had been diving as long as I am old( over 40). Hopefully each dive I learn what I did right and what I need to work on. I spend at least 1 Sunday a month in the training pool. Friends I took the class with dont like to go, but I work on boyancy control ,proper weighting, finning, and donning( sp?) and doffing my gear both at the surface and on the bottom. I have a lot of gear for a rookie- I want to be sure I am prepared for everything....lights(2) and I dont do night dives, save a dive kit, spare hoses, and the tools to change them if I need to, spare mask, knife, wreck reel though not a wreck diver( I hope to be soon) float and flag to tow behind us..... wetsuits for the right temps, skins for ease and protection, several gloves, clips and 2 wrist computers....1 Air only & the other both air and NITROX( no NITROX yet either).Typically I dive with my buddy in a quarry and work on navagation and skills....every dive I remove and replace my mask....this is a tough one for me so repetition is the key. I have less than 20 dives under my belt but I soooo love the experience. I also am a PADI member and have DAN to cover my just in case.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Put on a heavy weight belt then bend over the side in rough seas to scoop water into his mask to flush it. DM very quickly grabbed him and explained that he should NEVER put himself in a position where he could wind up int he ocean with a weigh belt and no other gear on!

 

[fdxman]

Mistake their snorkle for their reg. and do a giant stride entery.

I literally laughed out loud when i read this. Here's why:

As a child, i was an avid swimmer. i could swim before i could talk. When i started diving, if i was in water, i had gear on. One afternoon, i decide to help my parents out by patching a few holes in the liner of their pool. As I'm down working on the first patch, in trunks, without gear mind you, I totally forget I'm not using a regulator. I sucked in at least 3 different mouthfuls of water, each time thinking, c'mon man, you aren't in gear. Dad offered to buy me a pony bottle so i don't drown in their 5 foot pool.

Rookie-move.

 

[Downing]

I'm a warm water wussie, so I dive by going on vacation to someplace warm and tend to do as many dives as I can possibly cram into my schedule.

Usually around day three or four, without thinking about it I start blowing bubbles in the shower every time I stick my face under the shower head.

First time I realized I was doing it, I thought, what the heck? Then I realized my subconscious had switched back into dive mode and I was following the number one dive rule, always keep breathing.

Always makes me laugh when I realize I'm doing it.

 

[fireted]

I witnessed first hand a so-called expert diving instructor strap a steel 120 to his back plate and wing using nothing more than plastic zip ties. 20 minutes later watched the same genius cone out of the water holding the tank under his arm and do the walk of shame to his vehicle and promptly leave the dive site.

 

[coolhandcarter]

The most common rookie mistake I have is when a student or new diver pressurizes their rig. Once they check everything they turn off the air. When they go to dive they and their buddy just look at the gauge or just push the purge on the second stage. Both of these things will still work and unless you do both of them you will think that your air is still on.

The best way to ensure that your air and that of your buddies is to go straight to the source. Check your tank valve and your buddies. It really doesn't matter which way you turn it. If you have turned your tank all the way on and then a quarter turn back (as you are supposed to) then the valve will turn in both directions. If your air is off then it will not turn in one direction and you should turn your buddies air on.

 

[Hammerhead]

I witnessed first hand a so-called expert diving instructor strap a steel 120 to his back plate and wing using nothing more than plastic zip ties. 20 minutes later watched the same genius cone out of the water holding the tank under his arm and do the walk of shame to his vehicle and promptly leave the dive site.

On a boat trip in Hong Kong, we were passing a case of beer between 2 boats in about 10-15m of water (just outside duck-diving depth, anyway), wet cardboard bottom splits, and all beer goes splash in the drink.

All of it. All together now F-U-U-U-U-U-U.....!!!!!!

There was a tank and a reg on board, but not much else.

This was obviously an emergency, and called for all good men and true to stand and be counted.

I for one would not be found wanting in this hour of need.

Result? Yours truly (half cut, admittedly) dons goggles (no mask available), attaches Al80 tank to self with rope and duct tape (no harness or BCD available), shoves single reg (no spg or octo available) in mouth amd proceeds to jump in the water with a mesh bag on a bit of string and a weight in my shorts pocket.

Back up 5 mins later to rapturous applause with 22 of the 24 beers and a pair of ladies Gucci shades which happened to have fallen in the same area.

Definitely my finest moment.



Squealing like a teenage girl a bit later as the duct tape ripped out my manly chest hair by the roots may have spoiled the effect, though :shocked2:

 

[rollerboi]

i have seen more experienced divers tend to make the dumb mistakes like forgetting to take pocket protectors out of new fins

I actually got a pretty good deal on a pair of fins. The fella selling them was getting out of scuba diving.. the only problem with the fins, other than being scuffed up to hell and back (?!?) was that one of the 'pocket protectors' was badly cracked, and I suspect he dove with them on.

 

[=C=]

I witnessed first hand a so-called expert diving instructor strap a steel 120 to his back plate and wing using nothing more than plastic zip ties. 20 minutes later watched the same genius cone out of the water holding the tank under his arm and do the walk of shame to his vehicle and promptly leave the dive site.

Hello duct tape...




err I see someone was faster...

 

[sagibson]

Back up 5 mins later to rapturous applause with 22 of the 24 beers and a pair of ladies Gucci shades which happened to have fallen in the same area.

:

Only 22? Did you drink the other two before you came back up?