Things I learned in first 20 dives

[Boingo]

So spend a bit more and get a camera that is water proof from the beginning like the Olympus 8010 (good to 33fsw) and then put it in a housing. It's double protection. I did, and I am glad I did.

Thanks, did not know there was a thing. I killed the Sealife. I will have to look into this, as I am scary with technology. I use and go with the advancements, but that does not say much. I wonder if they make waterproof cell phones?

Actually...

Liquipel | Make Your Cell Phone Watersafe, No Case Required!

 

[lilnik10]

A couple of things I learned on my first 4 ocean dives:
- It's trickier to put your gear together on a boat than solid ground.
- Beware of getting too close to holes on the side of a wreck, you might get sucked in.
- Make sure you have a good hold on your mask and regulator before you hit the water.
- Check your quick-release clips on you weight pockets periodically, losing a 7 lb pocket is not the best way to do a weight check.
- Quarry diving = fun; Ocean diving = AWESOME!

 

[hydrostatic]

Somethings I learned last week in Hawaii getting my OW certification:

Donning and Doffing my newly purchased SMS-100 with crotch strap (set up for back mount) at surface with 4-6 ft surf sucks. Especially with a 20# weight belt and the weight belt buckle lets go with my BC 1/2 way on. (I caught the weights before they plunged to the sea floor).

The ocean is a completely different beast than the pool.

It's apparent that patience is a must have characteristic for all dive instructors (3/3)

(Echoing) Turtles are much larger than I originally thought

My first instructor professed: "Beginner divers often see rare or not often seen things." It's true. My first day, second dive (ever), saw a Monk Seal (it's estimated that only 1300 are still alive in the wild), and a massive eagle ray. In addition to this, the OW Instructor and I were the only ones from the boat that were still on bottom at the time of the sightings.

I need to work on boyancy and trim. 20#'s was way too much weight. Took me 10 shots of air @ 40ft deep to establish NB/Fin Tip.

I need to spend time in the pool sorting out my BCD and getting it to fit properly and putting my gear where I can get to it instictively, by feel, with my eyes closed.

In the pool, I need to learn how to don and doff my BCD with a weight belt and using the crotch strap of the SMS-100.

Swimming into the current is far more difficult than I had aticipated.

I used way more air during 40mins of BT than I had anticipated.

I need to pay attention to my heading/direction/distance/route and where I left the boat. It was definetely not where I left it! (or so I thought!)

40 minutes on bottom feels more like 5 minutes.

I'm addicted!

 

[Vicksburg Diver]

Excellent! Nothing else needs to be said

 

[Mr. Willoughby]

Somethings I learned last week in Hawaii getting my OW certification:

Donning and Doffing my newly purchased SMS-100 with crotch strap (set up for back mount) at surface with 4-6 ft surf sucks. Especially with a 20# weight belt and the weight belt buckle lets go with my BC 1/2 way on. (I caught the weights before they plunged to the sea floor).

The ocean is a completely different beast than the pool.

It's apparent that patience is a must have characteristic for all dive instructors (3/3)

(Echoing) Turtles are much larger than I originally thought

My first instructor professed: "Beginner divers often see rare or not often seen things." It's true. My first day, second dive (ever), saw a Monk Seal (it's estimated that only 1300 are still alive in the wild), and a massive eagle ray. In addition to this, the OW Instructor and I were the only ones from the boat that were still on bottom at the time of the sightings.

I need to work on boyancy and trim. 20#'s was way too much weight. Took me 10 shots of air @ 40ft deep to establish NB/Fin Tip.

I need to spend time in the pool sorting out my BCD and getting it to fit properly and putting my gear where I can get to it instictively, by feel, with my eyes closed.

In the pool, I need to learn how to don and doff my BCD with a weight belt and using the crotch strap of the SMS-100.

Swimming into the current is far more difficult than I had aticipated.

I used way more air during 40mins of BT than I had anticipated.

I need to pay attention to my heading/direction/distance/route and where I left the boat. It was definetely not where I left it! (or so I thought!)

40 minutes on bottom feels more like 5 minutes.

I'm addicted!

Looks like you learned a lot on your OW dives, good for you! Most folks don't. It sounds like you'll be a very good diver in the future.

 

[Storker]

Things I learned during my first 20 dives:

• If you forget putting the weights into the BCD pockets, you won't get below the surface (d'oh!)
• You getting a nosebleed while underwater can really freak out your buddy (especially when he sees that your mask is half-filled with blood and you think it's just water from a small leak)
• You can pick too many scallops for just one meal
• Buoyancy control is tricky, especially from the safety stop and up
• Hanging still midwater, then just exhaling and floating down to the bottom is a fantastic feeling
• Nordic waters are green, not blue
• There's less light down there than you thought it would be, especially in the crevices and under the rocks where the critters hide, so bring a torch even during daytime
• Sinus squeeze hurts
• You having mask squeeze makes great fun for your dive buddies
• Diving dry is awesome, especially during the surface intervals
• A leaky neck seal is uncomfortable and cold, even in the summer
• You can actually see the thermocline while passing through it
• Fumbling to get out of the gear while your bladder is close to bursting is not a good idea
• (corollary: Don't drink a liter of coffee while waiting for your turn in the water)
• The body can produce unlimited amounts of snot
• (corollary: snot isn't as yucky as I thought it was)
• You don't look much better in a diving suit than you do in bicycle pants
• Coastal waters are a lot clearer than the fjords
• Night diving is fantastic
• Visibility is a lot better in the winter than in the summer
• Winter diving isn't as scary, nor as cold, as I thought
• It takes a lot more than 20 dives to find the perfect gear configuration

 

[Jsour01]

I would like to add to not let the hotshot aka "mister know it all" that you got buddied up with ruin your dive.

Went to Cabo and was doing my first ocean dive, since my wife does not dive they paired me up with another single diver. As we visited and he found out that I was a new diver and it would be my first ocean dive, he let out a rather long and dramatic sigh and got up and walked off. I spent the entire dive focussing so much on making sure I didn't do anything to effect his dive, I missed everything. Needless to say after a pep talk from my wife and telling myself that I didn't care what he thought, the rest of my dives were wonderful !

 

[GCullen94]

Hit #26 yesterday, trying not to repeat whats been said but...

- Frog kick instead of flutter
- (FOR ME) 7 foot hose is more comfortable and having a backup on a bungied 22 inch hose
- BP/W instead of traditional BCD (again for me)
- 3 feet high and 1 foot back is a bad spot for a buddy
- DRIS make great backup lights
- Snorkel can be left behind
- you can do a lot with a basic open water cert/certs don't mean everything. I've had to rescue a "rescue diver" who lost his composure
- Spring straps = one of the best inventions
- 6 packs are great boats
- If on a drift dive and you know you're a hoover compared to everyone else, hang a few feet higher with the group. Save some air.
- If there is a line to come up and water calm, during the safety stop try hanging without it, you never know when you're going to have to hang with out a line.
- Steel tanks, if mounted too high can actually cause your feet to drop. My first dive with a 119 the other day and had trouble getting trimmed out and apparently my tank was 2 inches too high. Moved it down for the 2nd dive, trim was no problem and I could still reach the valves. Awesome tank wound up buying it.

 

[LizSpinks]

Even if you don't dive with a snorkel, take one on the boat with you. On my 18th dive, we saw a spotted eagle ray as we were coming back to shore. On 19th dive, saw dolphins around the boat both to and from dive site. Both were firsts for me, and I jumped in, but it would have been much better with a snorkel. Think I'm getting a folding snorkel!