How many dives before you cease to be a beginner ? [Poll]

[dlofting]

I have almost 200 dives but still know that there are a lot of situations that would be new to me and would make me uncomfortable.....as an example currents still give me trouble and my bouyancy needs to improve.

As a contrast I have been backcountry hiking for the past 55 years and feel that I can handle just about any situation that could arise. But I hike over 2000 km a year and only get in about 40 dives so don't expect to ever reach the same proficiency.

 

[Photo Girl]

We are all beginners. The more you dive, the more you learn.

 

[dberry]

The answer is obvious: you do OW in 6 dives, and then you can do AOW in another 5 dives. Surely an advanced open water diver is not a beginner! So according to PADI, you're no longer a beginner after 6 dives.

 

[Hoag]

I have just over 400 dives. At the most, I only go on about one dive trip per year, so I get in about 20-25 dives per year. There is little doubt that when I hit the water on the first dive of the trip my skills are at a significantly lower level than they were on the last dive of the previous year or than they will be at the end of the current trip.

Realistically, it takes me about a day or so to knock the rust off. Until then, my buoyancy is not what I feel it should be, my air consumption is not where it should be and I have to think about where things are as the muscle memory needs to be refreshed. These issues are normally quickly resolved after a few dives, but until that happens, I feel like a beginner again.

So, to answer the question of how many dives before you are no longer a beginner, my answer would be: it depends. It depends on how many dives you have. It depends on how often you dive. It depends on whether you actively seek to improve (even just a little) on every dive. It depends on your buddy. (I am not saying that your buddy is going to make you a better diver, but if you ask your buddy if they saw anywhere that you can improve, they owe it to you to give you an honest answer.) It depends on your willingness to accept honest constructive criticism.

There is no universal simple answer, but I hope that helps.

 

[Mike1967]

The answer is obvious: you do OW in 6 dives, and then you can do AOW in another 5 dives. Surely an advanced open water diver is not a beginner! So according to PADI, you're no longer a beginner after 6 dives.

It's not even that many dives but I'm pretty sure the whole post reeks of sarcasm anyway....I hope!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Does she have some physical limitation that prevents her from doing these tasks herself?

Does stupidity count?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It depends, my husband became a skillful diver much quicker and more easily than me but he was always a strong swimmer. After several dive vacations, including a liveaboard, I still struggled with drift dives and buoyancy control whenever there was much current. I'm better now but current still isn't my favorite thing. Only you will be able to decide when you feel comfortable and competent and even then, there will be challenges and things that could present difficulties.

I'm approaching 2500 dives and I still hate currents. I won't get in the water if there is a current unless there is no other option (Cozumel). If I do, I usually hate the dive afterward.

 

[divinh]

Does stupidity count?

Well then, it seems like her dive buddy is an enabler in all this...

 

[TMHeimer]

You can also be good at certain types of diving and a beginner at others.

A lot of good comments so far and I'm sure this thread will have many pages. I like this one best so far. Variety of experience is often brought up. I've never done a "true" drift dive (other than from shore, tidal currents, couple of rivers)--ie. no "Cozumel"--So, I'm definitely a beginner with that.
By beginner vs. advanced perhaps we are just talking about the very basics of diving--equipment, finning, buoyancy, etc.-- instead of specialties or problems of different climates. So it depends on the criteria.
It has been discussed regarding instructors: "You will be a better instructor if you have varied dives in many different conditions". Maybe, in some respects. As an OW student, I would want the instructor who had thousands of dives in the Atlantic around here rather than one who had hundreds all over the world.

 

[lermontov]

I would say when you can hold your position in a column of water without constantly going up and down trying to maintain buoyancy youve passed beginner status