100+ Dives And I Still Suck

[sabbath999]

I posted a thread a year or so ago when I had 50+ dives and discussed how, after a year into my diving career, I still sucked.

Well... one year later... I still suck at diving. I am still getting better, but... At least when it comes to diving wet, I don't suck quite as much at buoyancy, I don't suck quite as much at using air, I have been able to drop weight and learned how to not be overweighted...

Dry? I have less than 10 dives in my drysuit (purchased late last year) and... well... I just hope nobody comes around me with a video camera while I am diving in that thing for the next 40 or so dives until I actually figure out what in the heck I am doing in it.

I made this list last year, and I think that after I have modified it a bit it still works.

1) All this training and my experience so far tells me that I am still a rank NOOB in the world of diving... I think that it takes a lot more than 100+ dives to actually get good at doing this...

2) I have more training and experience than about 99 percent of the people I have taken my classes advanced classes with, and am shocked that they consider themselves "advanced" divers.

3) The more I dive, the less I suck.

4) AOW training is nothing more than OW training, Part 2. Being AOW certified doesn't mean squat in determining whether a diver sucks or not.

5) Pools are different than quarries. Quarries are different than the ocean. Cold water is different than warm. Etc. My level of suckage in each situation is directly related to the amount of experience I have at diving in each situation.

6) Time spent in training for emergency situations is NEVER wasted.

7) Most divers I have met who are EXPERIENCED cold water divers are very, very good at what they do.

8) Vacation only warm water divers generally suck a LOT worse than I do... and that's sad.

9) The first time I saw a guy wearing a bare metal plate, what looked like the back half of a BC, a second regulator bungied around his neck and this huge long hose wrapped around his head, I thought "wow, that guy probably needs to upgrade his gear... I mean, he doesn't even have modern styled fins!" Then I watched him flow through the water like smoke in a gentle breeze, while I was there sucking in all of my fancy recently store bought gear. I guess having the fanciest looking gear doesn't really make you a diver.

10) By being the best, most prepared and trained buddy I can be, I can eventually become a diver that most experienced divers would actually want to be in the water with... I am not so far away from that now in a wetsuit (dry, all bets are off... did I mention I REALLY suck at that?).

The reason I am posting this is because I think it is important from time to time to stop and take stock of where a person is in their diving... look at things objectively, see what needs improvement then actually DO something about improving it... whether it is find somebody to mentor you, take a class, do some travel, or whatever.

People who don't regularly take stock of who they are and where they are in their diving careers are people (IMHO) who are doing themselves a disservice.

 

[kanonfodr]

I can actually feel you there, my man. I've just passed the 50 dives mark and while I've gone out and gotten more advanced training than most of the divers here in the islands, I am just now getting to be an "average" diver, and that's on a good day. It's pretty interesting because I came out of OW thinking I was hot stuff, did AOW, thought I was hotter stuff, and then got deployed. In the middle of that experience I had an opportunity to dive in Lake Travis, Tx and soundly got my rear handed to me by those dark, green, murky waters.

I came to the conclusion that you could be a moron and still have a good time in Hawaii so I sought better training, read a bunch on SB, and even though I'm noticing rapid improvement in my diving I know I've still got a long way to go. IMO, it matters that a diver stays humble, is willing to admit they aren't as awesome in the water as they would like to be, and then work to improve upon that with every dive. Oh yes, watching yourself look like a fool on video helps in the motivation department

Peace,
Greg

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Dude, I got over 2500 dives and I still suck ... compared to where I'd like to be at by now.

People who think they suck don't worry me ... all that means is that they have a desire to better themselves.

People who think they know all there is to know worry me ... because it never occurs to them that they're gonna eventually find themselves in a situation where they won't have a clue how to deal with it.

Ya remember what the Three Stooges used to say ...

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till ya do succeed".

Suck on, dude ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

That's a WONDERFUL post, Sabbath!

I'll echo a few things:

Any time you add or change equipment, you're going to suck for a while. You should see me with a deco bottle and a stage! But it's true at any level -- integrating new equipment into your skills takes time.

Any time you dive in an unfamiliar environment, you're a newbie. People who forget this get into trouble. Using local advice and guidance isn't being a wuss, it's being smart.

When I started diving, I wrote up "report cards" on myself. I did that at 50, 100, and 200 dives. I haven't done it recently, and maybe I should.

Almost 1000 dives, and I'm still learning, and I still have my weak points, and most importantly, I'm still humble. Because if I'm not, the ocean will take care of that in short order

 

[Peter Guy]

Or as my absolute favorite dive instructor said, "Each day I suck a little less."

 

[SkimFisher]

I get the gist of the post - but, I wish people would stop paying so much attention to their "# of dives" (I'm not really directing that at the OP, just in general). It's like saying that my post count makes what I have to say more important than anyone with fewer posts.

It's the quality of the time spent underwater that counts, not the # of times spent underwater. I could go sit on the 40' platform for 30 minutes each day at the local dive site and log 300 dives a year. Does that make me experienced? Hell no. But I'll have 300 dives in my log book...

We all suck when we're learning something new - but at least we're learning something. The divers I can't stand are the ones that have the same problems dive after dive and do NOTHING to solve them. Those are the ones that suck.

 

[TMHeimer]

You sound in pretty good shape to me. I still watch my drysuit buddy try to figure out what he's doing in that thing. I've read somewhere that the accident rate for pros is higher than for average divers because they think stuff can't happen because they know a ton of stuff. Don't know if that's true. But it makes sense--on Air you get max of 20 minutes at 100 ft. regardless if you know all the details about why.

 

[TSandM]

Well, SkimFisher, everybody knows that total dive count is not a reliable proxy for dive experience -- We dove with a guide on one of our trips who had 3000 dives, but in reality, he had about a dozen dives he'd done 300 times each. But I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to expect that at 100 dives, he should be better than he was at 10; or that at 1000, she should be better than at 100. If that's not happening, development as a diver has stagnated.

 

[SkimFisher]

Well, SkimFisher, everybody knows that total dive count is not a reliable proxy for dive experience -- We dove with a guide on one of our trips who had 3000 dives, but in reality, he had about a dozen dives he'd done 300 times each. But I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to expect that at 100 dives, he should be better than he was at 10; or that at 1000, she should be better than at 100. If that's not happening, development as a diver has stagnated.

Me neither. Pardon my tangential rant.

 

[damage]

That's a WONDERFUL post, Sabbath!

Any time you add or change equipment, you're going to suck for a while.

That is so true, I changed last week to BP/W and I feel as it it was my 5th dive =(

Great post man; I read the first one you write, and totally agree with both of them, actually I though that when I have 100 dives I will no suck, but that's not gonna hapend .

The only solution that I see: keep diving