Aow=bs

[The_DivePirate]

Garrobo - I just came back from the Keys also and I think you were on my boat (or maybe that was just another superior diver making fun of the new guys). While I was in the Keys, I was hooked up with a new AOW on the Grove. She also had trouble hooking up her gear, getting it on, and her giant stride into the water. She also blew through air. Funny coincedence. It ends there though. After her first dive, I sat her down and talked to her. Come to find out, she was nervous having more experienced divers watching her every move (which caused her to screw up hooking up her gear and putting it on), and she was excited about being on a wreck (hence, blowing through her air). She was extremely apologetic about ending the dive with 600 lbs for her and 1950 for me. During our surface interval, I actually witnessed divers rolling their eyes, making comments, and I was EMBARRASSED for our sport. You know what I did? I actually told her to ignore everyone, stop worrying about what everyone else was thinking and enjoy the dive. If she ended it early, SO WHAT!!! Amazing thing happened, she came up with 300 lbs more air than the first dive...

My question would be how did this diver affect you? Was it your buddy? If not, how did their sucking through air affect you?? Did they tank off your regulator??? Our sport is slowly decreasing from my experience in the Keys, I'm pretty sure I can figure out why. When did we start forgetting that we were ALL new divers at one time or another and we can ALL remember that ONE arrogant diver that made fun of us and made us feel like ****. Do you really want to be that person??? That is just a shame.

This is what I'm talking about, more divers like DOkie is what this sport needs. At least forgetting a few things with only a few dives should be excusable. But there is NO excuse for giving a new diver a complex for being new. You only make yourself look like an @$$!! If you were too give a few tips and words of encouragement the new diver would have been very appreciative and remembered you forever, as that cool dude that helped him out when he was new. Instead, all he remembers is that pompus @$$ that was such a freakin' jerk on probably one of his first cool dive trips. Sometimes, as the experienced diver we need too take into consideration there aprehension and try too set them at ease instead of being the class bully and treating
them like the the class wimp!
Again, KUDOS to you DOkie!!!

Joe

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Garrobo - I just came back from the Keys also and I think you were on my boat (or maybe that was just another superior diver making fun of the new guys). While I was in the Keys, I was hooked up with a new AOW on the Grove. She also had trouble hooking up her gear, getting it on, and her giant stride into the water. She also blew through air. Funny coincedence. It ends there though. After her first dive, I sat her down and talked to her. Come to find out, she was nervous having more experienced divers watching her every move (which caused her to screw up hooking up her gear and putting it on), and she was excited about being on a wreck (hence, blowing through her air). She was extremely apologetic about ending the dive with 600 lbs for her and 1950 for me. During our surface interval, I actually witnessed divers rolling their eyes, making comments, and I was EMBARRASSED for our sport. You know what I did? I actually told her to ignore everyone, stop worrying about what everyone else was thinking and enjoy the dive. If she ended it early, SO WHAT!!! Amazing thing happened, she came up with 300 lbs more air than the first dive...

Good for you ... hopefully you helped her remember that the whole point is to have fun.

My question would be how did this diver affect you? Was it your buddy? If not, how did their sucking through air affect you?? Did they tank off your regulator??? Our sport is slowly decreasing from my experience in the Keys, I'm pretty sure I can figure out why. When did we start forgetting that we were ALL new divers at one time or another and we can ALL remember that ONE arrogant diver that made fun of us and made us feel like ****. Do you really want to be that person??? That is just a shame.

FWIW - the OP is a relatively new diver himself. He doesn't state how many dives he's done, but he does state that he's only been diving for two years.

The OP also has a history of stating his belief that scuba instruction in general offers little to no real value to a diver. I think the whole point of this thread was an attempt to support that position.

Wish I had a 10-spot for every 50-dive wonderchild I've seen come thru ScubaBoard convinced they have all the answers ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Sas]

Yea as a new diver I have been lucky most of the people I have met have been like DOkie! Good on you for helping that woman.

 

[The_DivePirate]

:no Just came back from the Keys and was on the boat with a guy who had an AOW card. He had logged 25 dives up to then, mostly in springs and a couple of cave dives. Wore a 5mm Farmer John and 5mm shorty in Keys water. (You can figure the lead he carried.) Had trouble hooking up his regs correctly, couldn't figure out the giant stride, had a hell of a time getting his BC on and fins off and onto the boat. NO buoyancy control. Puked after both dives. Swam with his arms mostly and used up air like a steam engine. So much for the AOW rating in this particular case.
I'm a .

I'm not sure why I didn't catch this sooner. Maybe he was puking after getting a whif of your vial arrogance! And yes, you are a !

Joe

 

[Tigerman]

Can't think of any circumstances that apply.



How? Why? It's far easier to slip them on your wrists than to hand them up.



Sorry, Blanche Dubois, but "depending on the kindness of strangers" is not a sound strategy for dive safety.

Ever see 2001? Dave Bowman went out in the pod without his helmet, because, hey, HAL9000 would always open the pod bay doors for him, right?

I think i would just put all of that into this;
"How good buisness would it be for the dive op to leave you in the water and drive off"

 

[Potapko]

I think some people sign up for aow right after basic because it gives them a structure to keep learning when they may be unsure of their new skills.

That's exactly what I did. I had only my four OW dives behind me and didn't want to go into the water without further instruction. The easiest way was to sign up for an AOW class and get some more experience with an instructor at my side.

 

[Garrobo]

Dopie::idn't dive the Grove. Dove with Horizon all week (6th to the 12th). And like I said, I only observed the guy with the AOW. He had a couple dive buddies with him who weren't much better at it than him. They had a DM with them and he was about ready to quit because of them. Now if it had been some luscuious babe in need of some instructions I'd have saddled up and made my presence noticed, helped her with her gear, asked to buddy up with her,etc. Who knows what the outcome would have been. But some hairy-assed guy from NJ? Not a chance.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

Where was the Captain? If these guys were as inept and obnoxious as being implied, shouldn't the Captain have prevented them from diving or ever getting on the boat? The dive operator has a responsibility to all divers to provide an enjoyable and safe dive experience as possible while making a living. If the D.O. chased the dollar without caring for all divers, make a note not to dive with that company again.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That's exactly what I did. I had only my four OW dives behind me and didn't want to go into the water without further instruction. The easiest way was to sign up for an AOW class and get some more experience with an instructor at my side.

Which begs two questions ...

- Why didn't you want to go into the water without further instruction?
- What did you learn from AOW?

If you had that little confidence in your ability to dive without an instructor after OW, then your OW instructor did not meet the objectives of the class ... or he certified you even though you didn't.

In any case, one of the requirements for AOW is a deep dive ... and as an instructor the last thing I want to do with someone who doesn't feel confident enough in their OW skills to dive without an instructor is to take them deep.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[String]

Where was the Captain? If these guys were as inept and obnoxious as being implied, shouldn't the Captain have prevented them from diving or ever getting on the boat?

Why should it be any concern or in fact business of the taxi driver to control this?