When does a new diver become ‘advanced’!?

[Hughr]

Hello everyone out there.
I am loving my new found passion for diving but would like your comments on my recent experience as I am a bit puzzled.........
Aged nearly 60 I learnt to dive on a live aboard trip on the Great Barrier Reef in December 2018.
Completed 8 dives and did SSI OWD.
All good but felt I had just had a glimpse of what diving is all about and that I had taken one step towards being considered a ‘diver’.

Second diving trip last week in the Maldives ( ok so I really don’t like cold water, I’ll admit it).
Signed up for SSI Advanced Adventurer and EANx courses.
Turned up first morning and my instructor briefed me at the dive centre in a 1:1 session, and then we walked over to the dock/jetty to get in the water. What about a buddy check I said ? feeling like a refresher on proper procedure after 6 months since my first dives ever.......
‘I don’t usually bother with those when I have an advanced student as they can do their own’ !!! he replied and proceeded to get ready to enter the water, while I ran through my own checks!
I was at a loss to really understand why this would be considered good practice?
Anyway once in the water I had air , no leaks, positive buoyancy and didn’t drop my weights to the bottom of the ocean so all’s good right? !
I had the choice on the second day to go on a safari trip with him and a group but elected to go with another instructor and different dive sites for my deep dives and Nitrox.
What do you all make of this?
Thanks for your comments,
H

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

No, I don't think that this is good practice at all. This isn't good buddy behavior, let alone for an instructor who [presumably] is being paid to safely supervise a learning process.

I would certainly mention it to the shop manager.

 

[Miyaru]

You're an advanced diver once that question about when doesn't need to be answered anymore.

There's no measurable answer in logged dives (or minutes spent under water). You can advance in experience by taking courses or by doing lots of fundives. As for a buddy check: do it. Always. You want to make sure your buddy has air for you in case something happens to your supply.

 

[Steve_C]

I agree that buddies should check each other out. However, if you instabuddy much you will find out many do not or do not know how to do it well. So it is important to know how to run your own personal check and check out your buddy. Perhaps the instructor was sloppy Perhaps the instructor wanted to see if you could set up and check your own gear.

 

[divinh]

I get annoyed when insta-buddies rush through buddy checks, as if they're showing competence by doing it fast. One quick breath on the primary? No secondary check? Tap, tap on releases and done?

 

[Hughr]

He was certainly being sloppy. To call a student with only 8 dives ,which had been done 6 month since previously, ‘advanced’ is a joke- only not funny.
He was a nice guy but a poor instructor and not much use to me in my learning process so I chose another instructor.
So in a way I did learn a valuable lesson and agree with all your positive points above
Thanks!

 

[TMHeimer]

Fact is that very few divers do "official"--ie. "BWRAF" buddy checks. Only time I've even seen one like that was when I took the Rescue Course and our instructor pointed out two divers doing that by the shore. He told us it's good to keep an eye on them because if they're doing that so precisely they're probably brand new divers, as very few "advanced" divers do this (our instructor was a Course Director).
But, there's been a lot said on that in the past on SB.
As well as when one becomes "advanced". My simple answer to that is it depends on how many dives you done under the same conditions. For example, maybe 85% of my 700+ dives have been shallow shore dives in cold ocean water. I consider myself very advanced with that. I've done a few deep boat dives, so not advanced, but not a newbie. I've dived a bit in rivers and nasty tidal currents, but that doesn't make me advanced at drift diving. It's all relative.
Courses help too, of course, to a lesser extent. But if you take a course you're probably at least starting off doing things right.

 

[wedivebc]

You are truly an advanced diver once you come to the realization that most (but not all) advanced diver courses are a waste of you time and money. The advanced diver class is one where the instructor can make a big impact on a diver's future path but so many instructors treat it like a throw-away course just to make some extra beer money. A good advanced course has a lot of value as the diver is now at the point where they can hone their skills and really move forward, but any class that the instructor can't even be bothered to instill the most basic of scuba discipline likely is not in that category. I wish agencies and stores hiring instructors held them more accountable.

 

[wedivebc]

Fact is that very few divers do "official"--ie. "BWRAF" buddy checks. .

Notwithstanding BWRAF (which is a dumb mnemonic anyway) buddy checks can, and do save lives. I insist all my student at every level make a deliberate buddy check and I am pleased to say that this is a habit that many of my students continue to do after they have completed training (at least when I am around anyway)

 

[uncfnp]

Buddy checks have nothing to do with beginner or advanced. I was taught buddy checks with OW, AOW, tech courses, Cavern and Intro To Cave. It is a philosophy of diving, not a level.