diving and skills

[marpac]

Any thoughts as to how often a diver needs to be in the water to continue to not only stay current on all dive skills, but also continue to improve.
I realise the frequency of dives is directly proportional to better skills.

My question is;
What is the minimum number of dives needed to stay current and improve?

I guess this is probably relative to each person and there is no correct answer.
maybe a better way to pose this question is;
At what point did you start to feel as though you were past the novice stage?

thanks for your input..:

 

[TSandM]

As you said, this is going to vary from person to person. I know if I'm out of the water for a couple of weeks, I can feel it on the next dive. The first time back in the water, I'm just not up to speed for a while, so I would think that, if I only dove ever 2 or 3 weeks, I'd have a hard time making progress, because I'd be spending most of my time just trying to get back to status quo.

At what point did you start to feel as though you were past the novice stage?

I'll let you know when I get there . . . Seriously, the problem is that, as I have gained skill and experience, my definition of what "there" is has moved steadily along ahead of me. No matter how much you know and what you can do in this sport, there's always somebody who knows more and is even more graceful, confident, quiet, broadly experienced, or whatever dimension of diving you are looking at. So at some level, almost all of us are novices.

 

[jimdiverman]

Any thoughts as to how often a diver needs to be in the water to continue to not only stay current on all dive skills, but also continue to improve.
I realise the frequency of dives is directly proportional to better skills.

My question is;
What is the minimum number of dives needed to stay current and improve?

I guess this is probably relative to each person and there is no correct answer.
maybe a better way to pose this question is;
At what point did you start to feel as though you were past the novice stage?

thanks for your input..:

Set training goals for yourself, and then enjoy the journey. I was certified in OW in 1999. Between 1999 and 2006, I had made less than 50 dives. I was PADI certified Rescue, but I still had not done enough dives to develop good buoyancy and trim. Since August 2007, I took Advanced Nitrox & Deco Procedures, Twin Sets, Cavern through Full Cave and Advanced Wreck. I decided that I wanted to get into tech diving, and I went out and did it.

So what I am trying to say is diving in and of itself is good, but doing training dives in concert with increased diving is even better. You want to make sure that you are reinforcing good habits, and not bad ones. You will also find that equipment that you bought 6 months ago, you now want to change. It's a journey and a process that is a like a loop. No matter where you get on it, it will go and go without end.

Dive safe!

 

[ligersandtions]

I am by no means anything other than a new diver....but what's helping me is going out at least once a weekend (generally more if I can convince the hubby! ) and I'm now diving with people who have a LOT of experience. The more questions you ask of someone with a lot of experience, the more they will tell you and the more you will learn.

I remember my first couple dives....drift dives in Cozumel....I was thinking "hey, this is fun. I'm pretty good at this diving thing." Then when I got to do non-drift dives, I realized how many issues I was having with buoyancy. Then when I started to get my buoyancy down, I realized how many more things there were that I wanted/needed to work on. The more you dive, the more you realize you have to learn. That's part of the fun, imo.

Dive as often as you can, and keep it fun!

 

[JMdiver]

It's not a matter of a minimum dives if you love diving you get out as often as you can. The lease amount of time between dives the better. If you're just diving to get the minimum you're not into diving enough to advance your skills IMOHO. If I miss a weekend I start drying up.

John

 

[WannaLaguna]

Any thoughts as to how often a diver needs to be in the water to continue to not only stay current on all dive skills, but also continue to improve.
I realise the frequency of dives is directly proportional to better skills.

My question is;
What is the minimum number of dives needed to stay current and improve?

I guess this is probably relative to each person and there is no correct answer.
maybe a better way to pose this question is;
At what point did you start to feel as though you were past the novice stage?

thanks for your input..:

as most people have said it's all relative. What we did when my dive buddies and I were new is we would go to a local pool with a dive club and just practice different skills and work on buoyancy and just have FUN. Now this was in Canada and during the winter this was the ONLY way for us to keep our skills sharp. During "dive season" we'd try to get in at least 2 dives a week.

I STILL consider myself a student of the ocean...and always will...there is always something to learn and there is always someone with more experience than you to share the expertise with you. The big thing is never be afraid to ask questions.

It's a journey and until we take our last haul off our proverbial regs...we continue to learn and improve.

Dive Safe,

Jeff

 

[kathydee]

Hi

I agree with the rest, it varies from person to person.

I'm pretty new to diving too and tend to dive only on vacation as I like warm water & clear vis. Before a diving binge, I always do a few slow shallow refresher dives to warm up the body and a quick breeze through important parts of the training book to warm up the mind.

If your out long enough to loose your confidence, you can always take a quick refresher class or ask a DM to supervise practice. After a few dives, the skills come back - it's kinda of like riding a bicycle.

Here's my experience with three diving binges:

Felt pretty confident around dive 14. After dive 16 didn't dive for over a year.

Did not feel confident. After a review with a DM & a re-read of the entire PADI book, felt pretty confident. By dive 19 - improved- After dive 26 stopped for 6.5 months.

Felt pretty comfortable in the water and did a self review & a skim through the book. By dive 29 started improving. After dive 63 & AOW course improved tons & felt much more confident.

Excited to see how the water feels for a month of scuba in December after being off for 4 months!

Again, everybody is different ;-).

Have fun!

 

[ozziworld]

Should not force yourself to dive because of a perceived "minimum". That would be like going to church because of obligation - you will not get anything out of it and becomes a pointless excercise.

I found myself in that situation with golf. It dawned on me that I actually did not enjoy the sport and felt compelled to play because of a certain obligation to friends I started golf with. Needless to say, I quit golf because I just simply preferred to spend my free time diving.

Dive as often as you like, enjoy and make the most of each opportunity to do so. You will naturally learn a lot more when you do something you enjoy. Diving with experienced divers is always a good things as I find most divers more than willing to offer their two cents and more. Hence the great help this board has been to many new and experienced divers looking for higher learning.

 

[socaldiver]

I am not going to be redundent, the previous posts all seem to give you good advice. One thing that I will add is that diving is a dangerous sport. No matter how many dives you have never get complacent. You should have the confidence and the skill to do the dive you are planning, but always be aware and alert. You still can enjoy and have fun on the dive.

 

[WannaLaguna]

One thing that I will add is that diving is a dangerous sport. No matter how many dives you have never get complacent.

Excellent advice!