Experienced Only Need Reply

[yknot]

A question for the experienced divers on the board. What skills do you admire in other divers? Of these skills (and please be specific) how do you feel they were aquired? What part did "TALENT" play as opposed to training and commitment? Being new to scuba I have been following many issues on this board with facination. What I can't get over is how often logic (IMHO) seems to escape some people. I believe you could be AOW certified in as little as what? 12 dives? How long to acheive instructor's credentials with some of the bigger agencies? Less than a year? I keep seeing threads here started by "Members" (requires what, 100 posts min?) that begin "I should be OW certified in a week". Or this subject- "Been diving since this morning. As I plan to take advanced cave/ wreck/ trimix classes starting tomorrow, what gear should I buy and from whom and for how much..... Anyone that thinks that a particular brand of gear will gain them entry into some special club where they will be held in awe should instead buy a dozen name brand golf balls and join the PGA (or LPGA) tour. You will be less likely to drown. Seriously, I am having the time of my life so far with my diving. I would like to become more proficient at it without turning things into a cert. contest. What should I be working on? When do you become satisfied with your skill level for a particular thing? What do you wish you could do?

 

[sheck33]

bouyancy skills and buddy awareness come to my mind, they were aquired by intense practice.

 

[Uncle Pug]

ynot.... you need to PM Detroit Diver and ask him to take you diving and teach you some things.... also ask him to help you find out about getting into a DIRf.

 

[yknot]

Uncle Pug- Thanks for the suggestion. I also have been continuing to dive on an informal basis with my OW instructor- the man appears to be a very competent diver and I am learning something every time I dive. By the way, isn't a drift to true tech diving expensive? I realize you get what you pay for but what would "B/P and wings, AL95 dbls, Apeks regs, and all the real training necessary cost? What type of time commitment is required? Too many people want a helicopter ride to 29,000 feet, a sherpa piggy back ride to the summit with color video of you and the flag with a plaque stating "I climbed Mt. Everest" Does this make you a mountain climber? Incidently, my 14 yr old son became certified with me. As it looked like we were having an almost illeagle amount of fun in the process, my wife and 4 other kids are eyeballing my fins now. Rephase earlier question to "7 sets of B/P and wings....

 

[sheck33]

i didnt mean to imply i am an 'experienced' diver by posting

i am still learning too!!

what IS an 'experienced' diver anyway

 

[yknot]

Sheck- you did it now. You just opened this thread to every multi plastic card carrying, look at what I use, etc. poster with internet access. What I really need to know from truly experienced divers is what do you wish you could do better? How will you go about gettin these skills? Forget gear temporarily. Think above all else....

 

[DiveTub]

Now that is a tough question as I suppose everyone has there own standards. My personal ones are.
A diver with no less than 500 dives in all conditions.
A Diver that remains up to date with technology and diving theory
A Diver that continues there education
A Diver that is comfortable with his/her gear and knows how each piece of kit works and functions.
A Diver with amazing bouyancy at all depths
And a Diver that respects the environment they are diving in.
Oh yes and a Diver with a sound knowledge of Diving First Aid

All Skills are mastered through practice and learning. I practice skills on every dive, just one or two each time maybe I will take my mask off for a couple of minutes, or simulate an OOA on my buddy each skill practised is one that I will be prepard for if I am in an emergency situation.

what do I wish I could do better? How will I go about getting these skills? Well through practice and education. A Divers education never ends. It is not so much courses, but if you look back on every dive you have done you would have learnt something, it might be as simple as a new fish, or how the boat owner likes you to board his boat. Education & practice is the key to being really great at most everything, and diving is no different.

Cheer Chris
PADI MSDT
http://homepage.mac.com/sydney_diver

 

[sheck33]

yknot once bubbled...
Sheck- you did it now. You just opened this thread to every multi plastic card carrying, look at what I use, etc. poster with internet access. What I really need to know from truly experienced divers is what do you wish you could do better? How will you go about gettin these skills? Forget gear temporarily. Think above all else....

it is not like this thread wasnt open to anybody to begin with anyway

the skills i mentioned that i admire in some other divers ARE the skills that i want to get better at and i am doing it by practicing a LOT and diving with divers above my skill level. Also i do this by suggesting possible skill improvements to new divers. Whenever i am at the 5th D store here in the PNW i ask lots of questions, sometimes i even think i need to step back from being so completely taken over by diving

yes i do want to do deeper dives but that is because what i want to see lies at greater depths, if the Brittannic say were in 78 ft of water i'd be happy and there would be no need to dive deep.

and lets get it straight, i am nowhere near the level that i need to be at to dive the Brittannic :mean:

 

[Uncle Pug]

yknot once bubbled...
Uncle Pug- Thanks for the suggestion.

And it is quite understandable that you would think I was edging you toward bp/wing=>technical diving...

But I assure you such is not the case here at all... well...

Anyway... DD would be able to show you some things in regards to buoyancy skills (if he has learned them since his trip out here ) and a DIRf would give you an excellent basis for developing situational awareness, good buddy skills, dive planning and buoyancy control. While these basic skills are treated in an agressive manner to get potential technical students ready for the more advanced courses... they certainly fall within the category of *must have* skills for everyone IMO.

As for the expense of technical diving... it is orders of magnitude more expensive than recreational diving and probably not where you want to be going.

While it is true that BP/wings can be wonderful rigs for recreational diving... it is not true that they are the most expensive way to go... Fashion Tech is certainly more expensive... not to mention the HUB ("Honey can we afford to outfit the whole family with HUBs?")

One benefit to the pocket book with BP/wing for the growing diver is the adjustability of the harness.

 

[detroit diver]

Ya know, at first I felt honored that UP pointed you in my direction. Then I read-"Anyway... DD would be able to show you some things in regards to buoyancy skills (if he has learned them since his trip out here ...." and I wasn't so sure anymore!!

I'd be happy to show you what we do every week in DIR training. Or, better yet, we are hosting a DIR Fundamentals class next weekend-the 20th thru 22nd of September. Cost is $300.00.

If you have some interest in the class, PM me and I'll be happy to send it to you. We've got BP and wings to use and test out. No cost except for maybe some harness material to fit you.

I'll be out of town until Friday nite, so my response will be a little slow if you write.