Dangerous mistake? Starting to dive because of peer pressure or doing dives because of peer pressure. Don’t worry about the training being tough, it has changed a lot throughout the years.
Gary D.
Gary D.
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I would say that the single newbie mistake is failure to manage their own dive. Lacking both confidence & experience newbies often play "follow the leader". They descend too quickly despite equalization problems beacuse everyone else has, they enter swim throughs even they feel very uncomfortable beacuse nobody said they could swim over or around them, they don't manage their air because no one else seems to. The list goes on, & when newbies find they're in over their head (figuratively) they panic & get injured.
Whenever a friend takes up diving or asks, I give the same advice: Listen to instructors, learn all you can on the surface, develope your skills in the pool sessions, do whatever you can to be ready to dive, but once you're in the water use the internal computer stored between your ears, listen to your body, remember your training, stay within your limits, & manage your own dive.
Diving is safe, it's divers who aren't. df
Greetings,
I was certified approx. 25 years ago - back when I was bullet-proof. During my last check-out dive I had a block and perfed an eardrum. Between the ear probs and the fact that I didn't have any diving friends or family, I never dove again.
Since my nephew is newly certified, I would love to give it another go if cleared by an ENT.
Now that I'm no longer bullet-proof (48yo), I'm more that a little anxious about the safety of the sport especially since my wife may give it a go also! We are both starting to have some memory problems which is scary! Is seems OOA, uncontrolled ascent/decents are big issues. But I'm also worried about panic. Do people actually rip their reg out and bolt for the surface?
What do you all feel are the most dangerous newbie mistakes, and how can one mitigate the chance of same happening? Does anyone have any info on the panic cycle? All comments welcome...
Thanks,
Ben
Greetings,
I was certified approx. 25 years ago - back when I was bullet-proof. During my last check-out dive I had a block and perfed an eardrum. Between the ear probs and the fact that I didn't have any diving friends or family, I never dove again.
Since my nephew is newly certified, I would love to give it another go if cleared by an ENT.
Now that I'm no longer bullet-proof (48yo), I'm more that a little anxious about the safety of the sport especially since my wife may give it a go also! We are both starting to have some memory problems which is scary! Is seems OOA, uncontrolled ascent/decents are big issues. But I'm also worried about panic. Do people actually rip their reg out and bolt for the surface?
What do you all feel are the most dangerous newbie mistakes, and how can one mitigate the chance of same happening? Does anyone have any info on the panic cycle? All comments welcome...
Thanks,
Ben
I would say that the single newbie mistake is failure to manage their own dive.
Appreciate the excellent feedback! I know "a thing or two" will eventually go wrong (Mr.Murphy is alive and well), I just hope I'm trained for it, and don't panic. I'm usually a calm person during emergencies (old ICU nurse) topside, but that's my comfort zone.
Bainbridge Quarry will be the place for our check out dives. How deep is the lagoon? My potential instructor says the visibility is around 45ft. - I bet it's cold in May.
Off to do a Walter search on panic!
Thanks again,
Ben