How many dives does it take for one to be competent?

[Cdncoldwater]

Thanks, all, for the votes.
I guess some of you may've over-estimated the complexity of my question

Really, I wanted to know at what stage you'd be able to start every dive feeling excited, as opposed to nervous ("am I gonna make it back safely?" "am I gonna mess something up today?", etc )

I was always excited and the nervousness lessened around the 30-40 dive mark. The Rescue course opened my eyes a bit and Solo really aided in planning. I'm still excited and mainly diving solo now; I find I plan in way more detail so I have less apprehension while knowing I still have tons to learn or improve on. For the diving I currently do, I consider myself competent however I still have a lot of growth ahead of me.

 

[Ayisha]

Yes, we all have bungee strap fins. My problem is I always flip on my back like an overturned turtle.

I wonder if you're trying to put your fins on while standing in too shallow water? That can float you around and make you unstable.

Try going into deeper water, put some gas in your BCD, and relax. You'll be nicely supported by the water instead of fighting it, and it will be much easier to control your body and get your fins on.

 

[TMHeimer]

I wonder if you're trying to put your fins on in too shallow water? That can float you around and make you unstable.

Try going into deeper water, put some gas in your BCD, and relax. You'll be nicely supported by the water instead of fighting it, and it will be much easier to control your body and get your fins on.

Yes, stomach to chest high water. If you have trouble use your opposite knee to assist in pushing fin on. Watch that you don't spin too far and get water sloshing into your ears.

 

[DiveProKoko]

Depends on the diver and what they're getting out of each dive. Do they have 100 dives......or one dive, 100 times?

 

[TMHeimer]

Depends on the diver and what they're getting out of each dive. Do they have 100 dives......or one dive, 100 times?

Must define competent. If you do 100 dives in the same spot you're VERY competent THERE.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Buoyancy, trim, etc can be learnt also in a pool. Of course it's not the same environment as the sea but generally those who are well trained and do good in the pool are the same that do well in the sea/lakes. Competence is also a concept that depends on your objectives. Do you want to have good buoyancy even in just 18 meters of water? Do you want to do wrecks, drift dives with strong currents, night/lake/low viz dives? Etc etc

 

[Sbiriguda]

Depends on the diver and what they're getting out of each dive. Do they have 100 dives......or one dive, 100 times?

I am not sure of this but i suspect a diver with 1000 dives repeated in the same place can be better than a diver with 100 dives in different places

 

[DiveProKoko]

I am not sure of this but i suspect a diver with 1000 dives repeated in the same place can be better than a diver with 100 dives in different places

The saying implies that the person has the experience of one dive, 100 times over and never gets better....not dives in one location. It mostly is applied to life experience.

 

[DiveProKoko]

Must define competent. If you do 100 dives in the same spot you're VERY competent THERE.

Yes....for example, do you have 18 years of experience at your job, or the experience/competency level of a person with one year, but you've been there 18 years?

 

[Jaan]

Still learning about how little I know .. haha.

Saw an interesting article that made us press reset on some of our own prep and made us think about how easy it is to get complacent with dive checks. Just as you think you know what you're doing, and don't need to do that beginner stuff ....

The Normalization of Deviance (aka “Short Cut Mentality”) - DiveNewswire