3 things to tell a new guy (In Monterey)

[micboucher]

It's funny. When I hit Dive #50 I thought I was getting good as a diver. Funny, age and time wises you up and as I near Dive #100, I can sit back and realize the road to becoming a truly good diver is alot longer and more challenging than I thought 50 dives ago.

You're a great diver and a great buddy Sarah! I'd dive with you anyday.

 

[sarita75]

Thanks Michelle. I was not on a fishing expedition (for compliments) but thanks (and same goes for you!). But it is funny how we get comfortable with our gear and then think we've got it all down to an art, when it is definitely not the gear that 'makes' the diver good.....

 

[mikeguerrero]

Sarah,

Diving the same gear over time is one element that can keep a diver safe, changing gear out as much as I have is plain stupid and a mistake.

I remember my Seaquest ProQD i3, from my 65 logged dives that I have about 45 are with it. I have only dove Monastery once and it was with gear that was unchanged or un-altered before I entered.

Even with the rush of andreneline that I had when my body hit the water at Monastery I remained confident with my gear and had one of my most enjoyable dives there.

I was happy to know that my ProQD i3 came through for me when I really needed her, Monastery beach.

MG

 

[Drewpy]

Great Thread Ben..and lots of great points by all!
Ill just add one..
A thermos of hot water is awesome after a long wetsuit dive! My hands and feet were always chilled! A cup of hot water in your booties was heaven!!

Having done my first DS dive on Sat.. I can relate to the Noobishness!!
I feel like a total rookie again..did an easy dive at Macabee on Sat which was ok. Still have some weighting issues to work out and need some new fins as the previous ones are to small with the DS! Overall it was great..love being toasty warm during and dry after the dive!

Thanks to all-great advise!
Drew

 

[ryssyr]

 

[emttim]

It's only been mentioned for Monastery, but quite honestly, here's a huge piece of advice that I haven't seen mentioned yet.

Never turn your back on the ocean at ANY dive site

I don't know if any of you guys were at BW on Nov 9th, but it was getting torn apart that day with 6-7 foot surf hitting the beach by late morning/noon. I was DMing for an OW class and I saw at least one dive team turn their back on the ocean and repeatedly get knocked down. When they got back up, they'd just get knocked down again because they /still/ were not watching the surf. Another DM in our class had to rescue a diver on two separate occasions in the surf zone.

Sure, consider BW a "bunny hill", cakewalk, beginner site, noobzone, whatever, but just like at any other dive site, pay attention to what you're doing because the moment you don't, BW /will/ bitchslap you just like any other dive site. And there's plenty of rocks hidden under the shallows for that bitchslap to turn into a serious injury.

 

[Ben_ca]

Hi Michelle,

Yeah I'm back to basic diving after my two ordeals on the big boats, I survived but it's not worth the rush to complete a dive, like many others have said, you can dive other days.

I'm glad I placed myself through it and it's now behind me. I'm also glad that I got so many responses from many experienced and novice divers about my mistakes.

I can only hope that divers read my mistakes and learn from my error on the boat dives; over confidence and wanting to rush things.

Even though I took my camera on all three boat dives, the camera remained on the boat. I had never dove my gear and was just trying to get use to it. The camera would've been my Achilles heel.

I plan on being at Break Water for quite some time to practice my SMB with reel and of course more navigation. I should have lots of fun since the gear I have is top notch and I'm literally in love with my BP/W setup.

Halcyon makes really great equipment and I've never felt so streamlined as I do now. Only wish I had purchased it in the beginning Michelle, I would have 65 dives logged to this rig.

MG

p.s
Thanks for your concern about my errors in diving...

Sarah,

Diving the same gear over time is one element that can keep a diver safe, changing gear out as much as I have has is plain stupid and a mistake.

I remember my Seaquest ProQD i3, from my 65 logged dives that I have about 45 are with it. I have only dove Monastery once and it was with gear that was unchanged or un-altered before I entered.

Even with the rush of andreneline that I had when my body hit the water at Monastery I remained confident with my gear and had one of my most enjoyable dives there.

I was happy to know that my ProQD i3 came through for me when I really needed her, Monastery beach.

MG

Mike you say that you are taking it easy but you are doing it again. You are going to dive at BW (Good) with your new BC (Good) and new Drysuit (not so good...) and practice a new SMB and Reel? (Not good at all)

Plus you are missing the point of the "back to the bunny slopes" approach. You change one aspect of your configuration at a time... when you change your BC and your suit at the same time that's 2 things you have to worry about. Master one thing (BC or drysuit) then master the next then add more gear.

You had 3 incidents in the last 3 dives. That's too many IMHO. Slow down! What's your rush? Sorry to call you out but you aren't getting the message.

 

[cmuljadi]

Breakwater is still part of the ocean and I agree it is not a good idea to try too many new gears at the same time. Any water depth above your knee with full Monterey gears still can cause drowning/death. Treat BW the same as Monastery. Go with dive buddy and plan all the dives there. Even if it is to master dive skill (Nav, Bouyancy,weight, etc) or to try new gear.

 

[mikerault]

The plural of gear is gear by the way...just like for deer it is deer...

Mike

 

[mikemill]

I thought the plural of deer was dinner...