OW starts in a week. Maybe I need to stop reading so much.

[fisheater]

I read PADI's Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving before my OW check out dives. Not really any such thing as "too much information" for going underwater in the ocean.

I'm sure that it helped me understand and more deeply appreciate what my instructor was telling during the course.


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[flyin01]

LEARN from the mistakes of others
PREPARE for possible issues
DIVE within your abilities
ENJOY the experience and don't stress.

Plain and simple, diving is safe as long as you do your part. Get cocky and push the limits of your abilities and things will happen. Take your OW and Advanced right away. Get comfortable with what you are doing, enjoy diving, then take the Rescue course. By the time you complete those tasks you will be way more relaxed and know much more about accident mitigation.

This is is the best advice a new diver can get. Enjoy the class and HAVE FUN.

 

[PatW]

As said above, diving is pretty safe as long as you dive within the parameters. you keep track of your depth, your deco limits, your air supply, your location and your buddy and you should be fine. I have over 500 dives. Most of those are boat dives which means about 10 other divers. That yields 5000 dives and I have yet to see any case of DCS.

There re are common injuries in diving. Ear damage is by far the most common. Clearing early and often works for that. The other major source of injury is getting on or off the boat or the entry or exit on shore diving.

 

[TMHeimer]

LEARN from the mistakes of others
PREPARE for possible issues
DIVE within your abilities
ENJOY the experience and don't stress.

Plain and simple, diving is safe as long as you do your part. Get cocky and push the limits of your abilities and things will happen. Take your OW and Advanced right away. Get comfortable with what you are doing, enjoy diving, then take the Rescue course. By the time you complete those tasks you will be way more relaxed and know much more about accident mitigation.

Yeah that's it. Treat every dive like it's your first (especially if it's a site new to you--try to get advice/orientation). Don't get complacent. I've read that the majority of accidents are among new divers and very experienced ones. Stay away from sharks......where's the "popcorn icon"?

 

[scagrotto]

after reading about so many potential dangers and close calls

When you read do you only learn that bad things can, and do, happen, or are you learning how/why they happen and how to prevent them from happening to you? Experience is a very good teacher, and you can often learn more from bad experiences than from good experiences. Luckily, the bad experiences don't have to be yours in order for you to learn from them.

 

[Neilwood]

I would say that it is fine to read up on things in order to respect that scuba diving, like a lot of other recreations, has it's dangers as does crossing the road, driving a car or getting a flight. As someone alluded to earlier, people only tend to post/write about the problem dives not the 1,000s of dives that went exactly to plan

That is one of the reasons why the courses are there - there is a fair amount of information/skills that you need to have on board in order to dive safely (you are getting.

A lot of the incidents you will probably be reading about will come down to a number of issues:
1) Diving beyond your limits - dive what you have been trained for. OW divers doing caves for example probably don't know a fraction of the dangers involved.
2) Pre-existing medical issues - issues that haven't came to light under normal day to day living can sometimes come to light when the body is stressed by depth/ unusual situations.
3) Forgetting or not practising skills - the skills taught on courses are potentially life saving but like any skill they deteriorate with time so need regular practise to stay active.
4) Not planning or not sticking to the plan - dive planning is important (even if it is a very simple plan). Plan the dive and dive the plan. Don't get distracted into changing or forgetting the plan.
5) Panic - even when faced with serious situations underwater such as out of air, you do have time to gather your thoughts, remember your training and carry out the relevant drill (such as sharing air with your buddy).

Stick to recreational dive limits, dive conservatively, remember the basic rules/drills and the sport is pretty safe. Push those limits without the right knowledge. experience and kit and things get more dangerous.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Reading is great processing the information is the key. There are some great sources of information on SB and in books there is also a lot of rubbish. If you read enough you will start being able to sort one from the other.

Yes there are dangers but like in most activities the risks can be greatly reduced with knowledge, practice and good judgement. IMHO the most important thing a diver should learn is when to say NO! The thing about diving is that it requires a physical skill set as well as knowledge. Practice skills till they become muscle memory. Nothing prepares you for diving like diving. Go at the speed you are comfortable, increase the challenge level of the dives with appropriate training and experience. Most of all diving should be fun. It is hard to have fun if you are struggling with conditions or scared.

 

[diver 85]

FTP---------get your book, read it, & shut your computer down right after receiving the book......Things will be OK & if you have any questions, I'd contact your(future) instructor & ask him/her about them......

 

[flots am]

I'm a voracious reader - including regarding my hobbies. I'm very comfortable in the water. But after reading about so many potential dangers and close calls on this and the close calls board, I may need to cut back. To be honest, it's beginning to wig me out a bit. Just sayin'.

If you get a good class (see Jim Lapenta's post) learn what you're taught, stay in practice, dive within your limits and don't do anything really stupid, the odds are tremendously in your favor.

That said, SCUBA is not as safe as, for example, watching television.

There are risks that you can't control and sometimes people get hurt or die. The odds of this happening while following your training and diving within your limits (both in your OW book and personal) are extremely low, but not non-existent.

You could for example have a stroke or heart-attack underwater. You could have one watching TV also, however your chances of survival are better on your couch than 100' below the surface.

These are risks each person needs to consider, and then decide if they're worth the reward.

flots.

 

[abscuba]

Just as every one has said diving is a pretty safe sport. Even the few people who do get hurt diving it is very rare that some one is doing everything right and gets hurt. Most incidents fall into two categories: People were trying to do something they were not trained to do and were way over their head, or divers trying to push the envelope of what can be done on scuba. If you have good training and stay with in your limits then the most dangerous thing you will do is getting in your car to get to the dive boat.