I love new divers

[mikerault]

Compared to the youngest dolphin we are all newbies...

When you stop learning you stop living and are just waiting to die.

Mike

 

[cummings66]

I often dive with newer divers, and like Lynn says it's fun. They're happy to just be there in the water and anything that happens there is good by them.

I was going to comment on the newbie thing, but I just don't see the point. It's an accurate term when looked at in context. No disrespect was meant and I'm sure none would have been taken by that diver.

One thing I've run into with new divers is they'll often say I'm diving with you because I perceive you're more skilled than I am and I want to learn something. I'll usually point out that I'm learning too, but we'll have fun anyways. As long as we live we learn new things, or ways of looking at things.

 

[jeckyll]

No good deed ever goes unpunished...

... especially on internet forums.

Lynne: good for you! I'm certainly glad that people took me out when I was starting out and brand new and am glad to be returning the favour now and then

There is nothing wrong with calling someone a Newbie. Now, Muppet on the other hand ...

 

[do it easy]

I have the most fun with divers who have the same enthusiasm for diving that I do, regardless of skill level. The worst ones are the divers that no longer enjoy diving or expect 100' of vis in the local quarry.

 

[TimK]

I have a grand total of 14 dives and tell everyone I'm a newby. It's not something to be ashamed of, it's simply a point close to the beginning. I was newby pilot at one time as well as a newby parachutist. Now I'm a newby diver!

I feel by telling experienced divers that your new and have limited experience they a: know something about what to expect when they dive with you and they b: more quickly step in to help and offer advice without feeling that they might be "intruding" by helping or giving advise.

And I normally have to apologize to those I dive with right now for looking at everything! (and blowing through my air)

 

[do it easy]

I think that those floods have put some lovin' in the air- it's a regular lovefest out there- no one and nothing is safe...

 

[60feet]

Being "new" to diving could be viewed at using 1) # of dives logged or 2) time since certification. I was certified 7 years ago and do not consider diving as "new" to me. However, with less than 50 dives logged, I am certainly "inexperienced" relative to divers with considerably more logged dives, independent of time elapsed since their first dive. Regarding enthusiasm about diving and marine life seen underwater, this is also a function of a diver's personality and attitude in addition to being "newer" to diving. I've dove with less experienced divers who were much less excited as I upon seeing different marine life. I've also dove with more experienced divers who were very enthusiastic about everything.

 

[TSandM]

TimK, don't apologize for looking at everything! It's a wonderful quality, and I'm trying desperately to keep it. I was watching two starfish interact on my dive Wednesday, and that's excitement in VERY slow motion. I think one of the dangers of getting a lot of dives in is that you begin to allow too much of what you see to become background noise. I remember being astonished in the Virgin Islands that there were few starfish and almost no crabs. Our dives are wallpapered in starfish and crabs, and one soon begins to ignore them to look for the "fun stuff". The risk then is that a dive without "fun stuff" starts to feel like a disappointment.

Hang on to your delight in everything as long as you can -- It just makes every dive a special event.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

From my time in surgery, a) some people accumulate "experience" faster than others --- some surgical residents become facile after doing an operation a dozen times and others take a hundred procedures before they even have a clue --- it's not just a numbers game; b) the sign of true experience? When you realize that you still have a lot more to learn. Surgery and diving both have a way of reminding the most experienced artisans that they don't know squat after all.

Is it me, or do some people consider diving some form of contest? How many dives/year, or per career, how deep, how many certifications... in the end, we are all just floating around seeing what we can see, having a good time and trying not to get stung, bitten or bent.

 

[under water]

I've been diving for about 2 years, but just 14 dives and eagerly point at sunflower stars and am definitely a newbie.
Loving it!
Look!! A Sunflower Star!!!