How Many Dives Does It Take?

[Hetland]

The ocean will never view you that way.

What she said.

 

[TSandM]

You may well be right, Walter. I guess I have struggled so hard for the skills I have, that I've never been able to relax into complacency very far.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

While every dive is technically a death-defying act, there are certainly those you can do with your seat belt left unfastened, not to be confused with those you need to be near the top of your game on. It's all good, just dive!

 

[Kicker1866]

All good feedback. I love the sport and do try to learn from each dive. Git into some rough gulf current this weekend on Black Bart and Span 14, but we had a good dive plan and stuck to it. Ended up with 4 good dives. Had a free flow on my BC in Vortex which kept causing uncontrolled ascent ...learned to pop of the air line if that ever happens again. Found myself unexpectedly positive on another dive and it was hard to stay down. Realized after the dive I had lost a weight pocket. All of these things are now in my memory banks. I tend to be a very cautious diver who is repsectful of the water. I doubt you will ever see me get cocky....even after dive 500...I will likely be doing the same safety checks I did on dive 5.

 

[David_57]

To the OP, I know this may sound stupid why? What difference does it make to you? You know your abilities and as already mentioned "experienced diver" is all about perception, dive count does not equate competency.

 

[Kicker1866]

David57....to me personally it really doesn't matter. I will always dive within my limits and be in charge of my own personal safety. But, if I am to enter a community of people defined by a collective activity....diving or otherwise....I find it helpful to understand any common thought within that group....whether I agree with it or not.

 

[mikerault]

It depends on if you have 200 diofferent dives that all teach you something or 200 of the same dive where you learn nothing. Unfortunately we only seem to learn from adversity, so 200 dives where you know every rock, hole and obsticle doesn't improve your experience.

Mike (still inexperienced but willing to learn!)

 

[bowlofpetunias]

It depends on if you have 200 diofferent dives that all teach you something or 200 of the same dive where you learn nothing. Unfortunately we only seem to learn from adversity, so 200 dives where you know every rock, hole and obsticle doesn't improve your experience.

Mike (still inexperienced but willing to learn!)

that depends on whether the dive where you know every rock, hole and obstacle is highly effected by condition changes such as current, swell, tide changes, rough seas, boat traffic and changes in viz.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Have you dived in a variety of dive locations, diving in a variety of conditions, the ability to navigate all on your own, the ability to affect self-rescue and problem solve, the ability to render aid to others, the ability to adapt to changing conditions, awareness, the ability to assess and anticipate problems......

If you have these experiences and qualities and are a calm safe diver, then I would call you experienced. We will be working on mastering this list for our entire dive careers. We can always learn more and refine our skills. The experienced diver realizes that he/she will always have something to learn and continually tries to do that. All the rest are just talk. Happy diving.


Oh, and TS&M, I am stealing that statement for a new signature. I like it.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Duplicate post. Sorry