What does "Experience" really mean?

[Rick Inman]

The thing about buddy diving is that it leads a diver to believe that no thought about risks and contingencies is necessary because their buddy will always be there to save them.

It shouldn't. In fact, a good buddy team will help each other to better assess risks and contingencies. And two competent brains working on a problem underwater can be far superior to a single, stressed one.

A better plan is to be prepared to take care of yourself.

Maybe not better, but sometimes necessary. Two competent divers who are able to take care of themselves but are working together is wonderful. But a lot of divers share your mentality because they are primarily exposed to buddies who are either the babysitter or being babysat themselves, and have never enjoyed the vastly superior unified team.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Experience and skill / ability are two very different animals - often they go hand in hand, but there are alot times when they dont.

Too many people link number of dives (i.e. experience) with skill - its almost a general consensus that sub 50 or 100 divers are not as good as those above this number. This is extremely wrong. I have seen divers with a handful of dives dive rings around those with higher numbers. Ive also seen high number divers who have no bouyancy control at all and are a risk to themselves and others.

For me, ability and skill are much more important that how many dives someone has done. Yes, alot of skill is obtained by experiencing different environments etc but some people are just naturally skilled and these are the people I choose to dive with, regardless of number of dives.

I'll disagree somewhat ... skilled divers will know how to get themselves out of a bad situation ... experienced divers will know how to avoid putting themselves in that situation in the first place.

I've known a few skilled divers who did incredibly stupid things. Skill doesn't necessarily imply good judgment ... and it often induces what can sometimes become a fatal dose of overconfidence.

Experience, on the other hand, will inevitably induce a few "ah HAH" moments that suddenly give a whole new meaning to something you learned ... and change the way you think about applying that knowledge to how you dive.

They're both important ... but neither will necessarily make you a safe diver or a good dive buddy ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[rstofer]

Two competent divers who are able to take care of themselves but are working together is wonderful. But a lot of divers share your mentality because they are primarily exposed to buddies who are either the babysitter or being babysat themselves, and have never enjoyed the vastly superior unified team.

I agree! My first 100+ dives were with essentially the same person. There was never a question about how we would dive together. Diving was fantastic!

My issues have come with dives with insta-buddies. I have never had a satisfactory experience with this type of diving. Never! You would think the law of averages would result in at least one good dive but it never happened.

Things are looking up! We are starting to dive as a 3 generation family with my grandson leading the way (figuratively). He's going to be a great diver! We went to the pool last weekend (bad weather) and I loaned him my Royal AquaMaster (double hose). I never got it back. He likes the part where he doesn't need a BC, weights or dangling gadgets. Mask, fins, tank and regulator, that's it. His buoyancy control was perfect.

How about a 10 year old vintage diver? This is going to be fun! Can you imagine the discussions?

Richard

 

[Cave Diver]

My issues have come with dives with insta-buddies. I have never had a satisfactory experience with this type of diving. Never! You would think the law of averages would result in at least one good dive but it never happened.

Not trying to pick on you, just throwing an idea out there. Could this have something to do with your diving style?

i.e. When paired up with an insta-buddy, do you go over a dive brief, compare hand signals to make sure you understand each other underwater, talk about the dive plan, how to handle a buddy seperation issue, etc?

I mostly dive with a few trusted buddies, but we've had some insta buddies tag along from time to time. Our pre-dive briefs include all of those, plus we usually designate who will be the "leader." Generally, in our pairings, the instabuddy tends to be the less experienced, so we put them in the lead so we can keep an eye on them and let them set the pace that's comfortable for them.

 

[rstofer]

Not trying to pick on you, just throwing an idea out there. Could this have something to do with your diving style?

i.e. When paired up with an insta-buddy, do you go over a dive brief, compare hand signals to make sure you understand each other underwater, talk about the dive plan, how to handle a buddy seperation issue, etc?

I mostly dive with a few trusted buddies, but we've had some insta buddies tag along from time to time. Our pre-dive briefs include all of those, plus we usually designate who will be the "leader." Generally, in our pairings, the instabuddy tends to be the less experienced, so we put them in the lead so we can keep an eye on them and let them set the pace that's comfortable for them.

I suspect it has a lot to do with my style and my personality. I'm very shy and I don't like talking to strangers. I don't faun over their gear; if I have seen something like it before, I won't make a comment one way or the other. How many ways are there to ditch weights? I would never tell somebody else how to dive or remind them they don't have air in their BC. Maybe they like it that way, what do I know? I don't check their tank valve and I don't want them to touch mine.

Hand signals? These are always worth a review but I'll admit to not doing it. I kind of expect other divers to know enough of these signals that we'll be ok. When you get in a car with someone, do you ask if they are color blind? Know how to use the turn signals? Probably not... Once they get a driver license, you have certain expectations. If they have had the license for a while, you would have even higher expectations.

I find it hard to discuss a dive site I have never seen and, until very recently, I almost never dove the same spot twice. Even if I am the team leader, I still don't know anything about the dive. I'll just have to work it out when I get there. Only on two liveaboard trips have I ever been on DM guided dives. They were ok but not nearly as exciting as the unguided dives.

All of my early dives went the same way. We were on a boat with a bunch of long time club members; we were 'The Newbies'. Maybe they would tell us something about the site, more likely, not. So, we jumped in and figured it out as we went. I'm not sure I remember hearing a dive briefing outside of a class environment. Ever... Now, I am not saying that the members wouldn't have answered questions. I am saying that, as a male, I would never ask for directions. Just jump in and figure it out.

So, I expect every other diver to be just like my buddy from the old days. Let's just jump in and figure it out. I'm beginning to suspect that my attitudes and expectations are not realistic.

I attribute most, if not all, of my issues with buddy diving to my own attitudes. Self doubt is not something I suffer. To paraphrase Captain Ron, if something is going to happen, it's going to happen down there. Figure it out!

Richard