First Dive Of The Year Question

[blindref757]

I'm now entering my second full year of diving. In my first year, I logged 25 dives--and completed OW, AOW, and Nitrox courses. I have dove to 65 ffw in a dark cold quarry, and to 100 fsw in Florida and Cozumel. So I consider myself to be in that "dangerous stage", like a teenager...a good amount of emerging knowledge and bullet-proof! However, I'm smart enough to realize it!

So here is my question. Do all seasoned divers swallow their pride and head to the platform on the first dive of each year to rehearse and practice some basic skills like mask flooding, regulator replacement, fin-pivots, octo breathing, etc? Or is it more common to just get in and go to your favorite part of the pond and do what you did last year?

I know that I'll be on the platform...but just wondering if I'll have to be there alone, or will others join me?

 

[Wildcard]

Sadly you will be there alone. Most of the divers that show up with no dives in the last year want to jump right in without any review.

 

[duckster3d]

Sadly you will be there alone. Most of the divers that show up with no dives in the last year want to jump right in without any review.

sadly all to true. Most new divers really need to do just what you want to do, and are going to do no matter what anyone says. always practice your skills, most tech level divers go over some basic skills during dives. what you learned during your classes is only the beginning, and you must practice and get better.

dive safe dive lots

 

[spectrum]

So here is my question. Do all seasoned divers swallow their pride and head to the platform on the first dive of each year to rehearse and practice some basic skills like mask flooding, regulator replacement, fin-pivots, octo breathing, etc? Or is it more common to just get in and go to your favorite part of the pond and do what you did last year?

No all seasoned divers don't start the seasoned with a skills review. Many disciplined divers begin each dive with one! Many seasoned divers work that stuff into their dives and try to do the stuff mid-water, on the fly.

With a good part of your dives as instructional dives doing what you suggest is an excellent way to reorient yourself before getting too far from the entry point. Make sure that your buddy is on board to do this with you.

IMO fin pivots are not a skill. They are an exercise to help the light bulb go on in the student divers head that they can control some of their buoyancy with their lungs. Your's ready to get off the bottom and put your energy into hovering.

Be true to yourself. If you feel the need to practice something then be sure to do it. you cannot over train.

Pete

 

[cummings66]

I never start my first dive of the year with a skills review, in fact my first dive of the year is often a week after my last dive of the year. I dive year round and occasionally make an entire dive a practice session.

Often during dives I'll pick a skill to fine tune and work on it while doing other things, for example buoyancy (not fin pivits) and as an example of it I practiced it upside down 2 weeks ago. The results, not as great as I'd hoped but I didn't rush upwards which is what used to happen a couple years back.

I will take new divers I'm diving with to the platform for practice if they feel uncomfortable and ask for the platform, otherwise we do our practice in the water.

 

[SharkDiver36]

Most divers I know of do not do skills when they dive, they do do a tune-up dive(s) though at the begining of every season though at the quarry before hitting a boat.

I don't really practice skills in open water, I get enough practice in the pool with students (3 times a month). That said, I do do some skills in OW that I can't do because of gear config's OW vs. pool.

Practice is GOOD and worth it!

 

[nolatom]

You could try making these drills a habit during your safety stops. That's a good time to breathe your alternate reg, do a mask drill, and work on buoyancy, since it's harder to stay neutral at 15' than at 65'.

You'll also know if you're properly weighted at 15', better to be a tad heavy than a tad light.

If you try these things at depth and they don't work, you may have a problem. At 15', less of a problem.

 

[Guba]

Most years, our diving group (we're not exactly a club, but we host events) has a "dive rodeo" in which stations are set up with skill challenges. Stations include mask flood/removal, reg recovery, air sharing, navigation, etc... It's a fun activity and one that "dusts off the cobwebs" for many who have not been in the water for a couple of months. It also gives the "non-stop" divers a chance to mentor others, thereby reinforcing THEIR skills as well.
It's also just another excuse to get underwater and have some fun!

 

[String]

I dont believe in seasons....

Other than that yes, after a layoff or even just having not done it in a while going to the platform to practice is a very good idea.
Sadly its something lots of divers dont do and try to carry on one year where they finished the last.
Easter is traditionally the time of year here where the most diving incidents occur as a result of this. Skills are rusty, kit has been sat idle for ages, boats sat idle and everyone trying to carry on where they left off.

 

[waynel]

I'm at the same level of development as you. I make at least two dive trips per year, in fact I'm going for 10 days in June to dive Key Largo. While I be doing deep divers, wreck dives, etc., on the first day I book an afternoon 2 tank trip on very shallow reefs. I spend the entire first dive going through my skill sets. There are reefs that are as shallow as 25 ft., not much deeper than the pool, so I don't have to worry about blowing through a safety stop because of improper weighting, although I do practice a safety stop as part of my skill set. I've heard some divers on this board call it a "shakeout dive" to check skills and equipment.