This one is going to hurt: advice to new divers

[edasque]

Hi all,

thanks a lot for your feedback. It's all very welcomed. I won't answer every question specifically as some have already been answered by other people.

I will try to pay more attention to my grammar & spelling (I am not a native english speaker but that's no excuse). Yes, some of the advice is very debatable and you've provided good counterpoints both here and in the comments. I was trying to put together a set of the advice I would give to a new diver. None of it is absolute truth and some of it is up for debate. I didn't mean to single out PADI, it's the one recreational agency that I know. As for the photo, it's me on my first dive ever, I could have put a photo of an experienced diver with great trim & buoyancy, I went for the opposite. (And Colliam7, you're dead on!)

Make sure you check the other articles in there, we're trying to write about many aspects of the sport. Feel free to send me articles for contribution as well.

In the realm of the loggerhead turtles | Thinking Diver

Fins: what I wish I’d known | Thinking Diver

Feeling Fizzy on the Holmes | Thinking Diver

 

[MAC431]

One of the biggest things that I do not agree with in your article is telling new divers not to take other classes right away. I disagree since most divers that get certified do not do alot of diving out the gate to gain experience quickly with being around experienced divers or do not know any experienced divers to learn further diving skills. By getting new divers to take more classes gives them additional experience under professional supervision to obtain good habits / skills / confidence while diving, with this being said there are the few new divers that know expereince divers to mentor them. It is all about keeping them diving to gain that experience and if they do not know many divers this is also another way for them to meet other divers.

 

[edasque]

Hmmm, I feel that would be true if most of the recreational instructors out there would pay attention to their student buoyancy (outside of when it endangers the student), fining, dangling SPG, trim, ...

I don't think an advanced OW gives you that. Now don't get me wrong, I like the experience it gives you (deep, navigation, possibly nitrox, ...) but I feel that after OW many divers are rushed into the next certification (and the next, and the next) where I think they'd benefit more by diving a bit before tacking another course. Again, just my opinion, my experience.

There are different agencies out there and many good instructors, this is in no way a reflection on them

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

One of the biggest things that I do not agree with in your article is telling new divers not to take other classes right away. I disagree since most divers that get certified do not do alot of diving out the gate to gain experience quickly with being around experienced divers or do not know any experienced divers to learn further diving skills. By getting new divers to take more classes gives them additional experience under professional supervision to obtain good habits / skills / confidence while diving, with this being said there are the few new divers that know expereince divers to mentor them. It is all about keeping them diving to gain that experience and if they do not know many divers this is also another way for them to meet other divers.

I'll disagree.

I counsel my students to not take a follow-on class until they are comfortable with the skills they learned in their last one. Most recreational-level classes won't get you proficient with the skills ... they'll introduce you to those skills and show you how you're supposed to do them. It then takes practice to gain proficiency. And you won't be able to focus on the objectives of the next class if you're still struggling with the things you were supposed to have learned in the last one. This is the major reason why so many people come out of AOW stating that they didn't learn anything ... because they were rushed into it and spent almost their entire effort concentrating on the same things they went over in OW.

Go diving ... find a mentor .. join a dive club ... schedule a dive trip ... whatever it takes to get out diving. Get comfortable with the level that you're at ... THEN you'll get more out of a class that's intended to take you to the next level.

I have to agree with the OP on this issue ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[edasque]

What he said. I'll illustrate it with a personal experience. I have been in a DM class where the candidate DMs weren't able to absolutely do the mask off, swimming, air sharing, mask clearing exercises. Most of them didn't have 60 dives yet, had rushed from OW to AOW to Rescue to DM without a few dives in between.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

Seems to me there are a lot of contradicting statements. First he says "dump your local dive shop" then says "forge a relationship with your local dive shop". First he says (paraphrasing...) "the only specialty worth taking is Dry Suit" then says (again paraphrasing...) "don't do overhead environment diving without training". He says to take your Advanced Diver after you have done the Rescue Diver (something I actually agree with). However, my understanding is that PADI requires you to take the Advanced first.

I agree that it is good to listen to the old timers. However, one should remember that just because someone is an old timer, doesn't mean they know everything.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

Go diving ... find a mentor .. join a dive club ... schedule a dive trip ... whatever it takes to get out diving. Get comfortable with the level that you're at ... THEN you'll get more out of a class that's intended to take you to the next level.

"find a mentor" is the best piece of advice (besides "go diving"). The rest is good, too. But I really believe you can't beat having a seasoned, rational dive buddy to help through your first diving.

 

[mikerault]

I would like to add that there are two specialties that every beginning diver should take:

Buoyancy - It will help with trim and reduce swiming effort to make diving more fun
Navigation - Nothing is scarier underwater (well, perhaps running out of air) than not having a clue where you are or how to get back to where you started.

Most of the others can be learned, even Dry Suit diving. The only reason to take drysuit si to be able to rent them. I agree that wreck penetration and caves should also be only tried after the proper training.

Mike

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The only reason to take drysuit si to be able to rent them.

Good point ... I have close to 2,000 dives in a drysuit, and currently own three of them. But if I were to need to rent one, I wouldn't be able to ... never got the c-card.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mattleycrue76]

Good point ... I have close to 2,000 dives in a drysuit, and currently own three of them. But if I were to need to rent one, I wouldn't be able to ... never got the c-card.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob something tells me that after about 2 mins of conversation with any diveshop owner you'd be able to covince them to rent you one