Conflicting Guidance from the “Experts” and Insta-buddies

[Jax]

One of the major problems you identify in your second paragraph:"Why do various people express this kind of attitude and make these statements to new divers? For the purpose of this discussion, I am saying “new” for 100 or so dives, or AOW and below training. I don’t dive any ‘one’ place, but more likely a vacation rec diver of four trips a year. This conflicting information creates some strange divers, methinks."

There are a whole lot of "Pros" out there that simultaneously meet your definition of being "new divers." And they, by and large, learned from similar "Pros" who had about the same level of experience. You often have to go way back into their diving family tree to find someone with both enough actual experience to know what they're talking about as well as training that was conducted by an old "Pro."

Someone suggested to me that if the DM's encouraged diver advancement, they'd be out of a job. So, "Trust Me" diving is encouraged. Have any of you seen that?

 

[mooney]

I find that the biggest talkers on the boat are often the least confident and then they "pick" on new divers (as defined by you as <100 dives). ???

amen! and the same can be said for any hobby, sport or profession too.

 

[Scott L]

Most DM's I come across in this busy diving area are comfortable in the water with very good SAC rates and up to date rescue abilities. Other than that, I would not waste my time soliciting their thoughts on anything related to equipment issues or advanced dive planning, etc. or listen to their thoughts about my gear set up...

 

[tomboyy]

Most DM's I come across in this busy diving area are comfortable in the water with very good SAC rates and up to date rescue abilities. Other than that, I would not waste my time soliciting their thoughts on anything related to equipment issues or advanced dive planning, etc. or listen to their thoughts about my gear set up...

I agree

 

[bamamedic]

...DM says, Stop thinking so much and just enjoy the dive. “I’ll take care of you.”

Insta-buddy claims “I have several hundred dives. I don’t need buddy checks.” When I expressed interest in her training, she was AOW only. She didn’t think it necessary that others know she drops her weights in her BC pockets, and the quick-pull weight pockets are empty. (Scares me in a rescue scenario.)

“Just go out and dive. Don’t worry about more education, get a few hundred dives under your belt before you move on.” When recounted, this was countered by the following:

“Why wait and assimilate bad habits your instructor will have to break.”

Why do you need to practice skills? Don’t you think you were trained well enough?

You don’t need <enter equipment here – SMB, air whistle, etc.>.

Why is all your equipment (SPG, etc.) clipped to your BC?

When expressing a desire for Nitrox, “You don’t need Nitrox; all of our dives are 70 fsw and less.” (I am one of those that ‘feels less tired’ after Nitrox.)

...

The advice, "Just go out and dive", at first seems to contrast with the advice, "Why wait and assimilate bad habits your instructor will have to break".

But if you think about it, both points are correct. A new diver who just hops from class to class might not get the chance to feel comfortable diving without an instructor. The advice to, "Just go out and dive", is good advice for this diver. He or she probably needs to gain a bit of confidence in her/his ability to dive without a professional hovering over his/her shoulder, before embarking on the next class.

However, when it comes to advanced or technical training, it's probably very good advice to just take the class and not develop bad habits trying to learn specific skills by oneself. I think that happens a lot in wreck, cave, and intro-to-tech classes (at least, it happened to me, and I had to relearn a few key skills that I had mis-taught myself)

The advice not to practice skills is just plain bad advice....skills practice can only be a good thing. Goes to show ya that not every "dive professional" or "experienced diver" automatically spouts decent advice. In any hobby or occupation, you'll find the good and the bad. Ever get misdiagnosed by a doctor? Just because one has the training, doesn't mean that every word out of his or her mouth is golden. Take everything said with a grain of salt, and if it doesn't sound right, research it or ask divers that you trust.

Some equipment just isn't needed for some dives...it won't kill ya to bring an SMB to my local quarry, but it isn't necessary by any means (except for skills practice). It's not like a boat is gonna run over ya, or the waves are going to get so high that the boat won't find you LOL! A whistle is always useful in an emergency, but in a lake, you can probably leave the signaling mirror at home When I dive (unless training in the quarry), I try to bring the equipment I need...no more and no less. When cave diving, I leave the lift bag at home, for example, and when diving shallow NDL dives, I don't usually bring a spare mask.

In summation....just because they have a "dive professional" title, or hundreds of logged dives, doesn't mean that they have the ability or experience to offer good advice. When getting conflicting advice, check with divers you trust, and take the best path for you. Just because their advice doesn't personally fit your diving, doesn't mean that it isn't relevant for others, though.

 

[mantagirl]

Brrrr. time to get out the dry suit for that one!!!

 

[njedrn]

My brother and I took OW. We didn't really feel comfortable doing ocean dives just ourselves, so we took AOW just to get the additional dives and experience in the ocean. Worked out well, although we were nervous doing our first couple dives outside of the classes, the added time enabled us both to be much more comfortable and educated during those dives.

 

[Jax]

Back to the original point . . . why would people SAY these things?

Except for one line in the example, they are all bad advice / attitudes. I cannot fathom why people would say them? And what is a good way for a noob to counter them? (Without being a dork, of course.)

 

[Walter]

Back to the original point . . . why would people SAY these things?

No one knows except the people who say them. When you hear one of these gems, ask why they believe that.

 

[Teamcasa]

It's the 'serious' advice given by those in an authoritative postion that scare me. If a noob isn't well read-up ( I LOVE SCUBABOARD! ) and has the sense to research what they read, they can really be guided wrong.

Back to the original point . . . why would people SAY these things?

Some people love the sound of their own voice.

Seriously, advice given should always be taken with careful consideration. For instance, A diver that has spent 99% of his diving life in one particular site may have more insight into what may be the best practice for that site vs a well seasoned diver visiting the same site for the first time.