How frequently do you practice basic skills?

[Hoosier]

Almost every dive! Just practice one by one at a time, specially in the local dives.

Pretty thorough buddy check, s-drill before cave dives, valve drill on stop on the way out, on a regular rec dive not so much, but beyond the odd mask clear or no mask swim, not much i work on. Could do better.

 

[simbrooks]

Almost every dive! Just practice one by one at a time, specially in the local dives.

Buddy checks i want every dive, s-drill i definately want to at least check if not actually do one before each cave dive. The rest i can see it being a one skill per dive thing

 

[OneBrightGator]

HEY! he said Hogarthian/DIR/Tech need not apply... keep it up and I will ban you, Simon!

 

[simbrooks]

HEY! he said Hogarthian/DIR/Tech need not apply... keep it up and I will ban you, Simon!

Guilty, i missed the caveat at the end there, not even sure he didnt add that in later just to spite some of us

Even so read the rest of the dives stuff, however half my dives are in caves nowadays anyway....

 

[mania]

Twice a week in the swimming pool. It's still too cold to dive outside so for the last 4 months together with friends we go and practice or learn new skills there.
Mania

 

[Wijbrandus]

I am not talking about clearing a mask, but things you need to know in a urgent situation like...Alternate Air Source Ascent, Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent, Buddy Breathing Ascent, no mask swim, regulator recovery. You did them in class, have you ever done them since?

My wife and I tried to practice a share air drill on a safety stop in Cancun this last winter. The DM freaked out and interrupted us and gave me his alternate. Then he snatched my SPG, and seemed to think it was broke (I had 700 left at the time at 15'). Needless to say, basic drills we will practice when we are on our own from now on.

How often do you do a full buddy check before entering the water? Do you consciously examine your buddy's configuration to make sure you know where their alternate air source is and how to dump their weights?

Every dive. We still recite the BWARF. My wife and I have seen to many people jump in the water missing weight belts, forgetting to turn on their air, or defog their mask. The mnemonic may seem dorky to the really experienced, but it's how we remember them, and we haven't had a problem yet.

This question is to the majority of Scuba Divers with Open Water/Advanced / Rescue Diver training.

That's me. 30 dives, and PADI trained all the way.

 

[Otter]

I am pleased to hear that many of you are continuing to practice your skills, when the time comes and you really need them, you should be much more comfortable doing what is needed to get yourself out of a bind. Safety stops are a great time to do them....just make sure you tell your DM you are going to them before entering the water!

[/soapbox=on]For those of you who have been remiss, it's not too late to start. Go through them in the pool and if you have any questions ask a buddy, Divemaster or Instructor. I don't know of anyone who wouldn't help -- most of us would do it for free, as long as we weren't teaching them ALL over again

There is no way to pick just ONE skill to do, but if forced, I think I would suggest your pre-dive buddy check. Better to prevent a problem than try to recover from one. As others have attested to, too many people jump out of a boat without weights, leaking BCDs, partially secured BCDs, and air turned off or partially off. Don't get complacent. [/soapbox=off]

 

[miketsp]

Mask removal and regulator recovery - every time somebody points a camera at me.
Say CHEESE!

 

[ScubaFreak]

guilty!

Not often enough. Definitly one of my plans this season. besides doing OW skills every week with students, spending time with my own buddy practicing skills is definitley on the agenda this year

 

[tedwhiteva]

Prior to becoming DM's my husband and I would go to Dutch Springs in the beginning of the season and practice some skills. Since becoming DM's we get practice everytime we are in the pool with students as well as the monthly open water check outs. Becoming a DM has made me a better diver.

Amen to that!