I love new divers

[The Horn]

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.

I think there is a bit of that Surgeon. Medicine got it correct when they say that Doctors "Practice Medicine". Same can be said for just about any job on the planet. Sometimes you are wrong. Hopefully it does not end badly. The more you "Practice" the better you get and the chances of failure decrease drastically. The more you practice diving the better you will get. You really only need the OW card and off you go.......the proof is in the pudding

As TSandM says it is great to see the joy on someones face when something "new" to them is shown for the first time!
In my job I'm not what you would call a "newbie" or "green" but the feeling is the same when a new person sees some of the stuff your doing for the first time and is impressed or excited. It sure gets the "check this out, check that out...." and a new thrill for the old stuff going.

 

[noobascooba]

Well I'm up to a grand total of 5 dives... and I love it!! Even in horrible viz, it is just such an amazing, awesome thing to do. It's like being close to nature and defying nature at the same time (sorry that came out a bit gushy)

I don't consider newby a derogatory term. I WANT people to know I'm inexperienced because even though I take responsibility for my own saftey I want people to tell me if I do anything dumb/ dangerous.

 

[ckjacques53198]

That's a great attitude for you experienced divers to have towards newbies. I'm newly certified and one of my biggest concerns ( besides safety) is that I will somehow ruin another person's dive by being an air hog or doing the wrong thing. I have so much interest and excitement right now. Usually my obsessions go away by now. Thanks to all you veterans for showing us the ropes.

 

[cummings66]

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.

As in any activity people are going to compete and lay claim to being better.

Diving is something we do for fun, most of us anyhow. Let's share that with newer divers, Lynn sets a good example for this mentoring. We should all be so lucky as to have somebody like her diving with us.

 

[Meng_Tze]

We are all newbies. There will always be someone who has more experience (even though we could argue if experience makes for a better diver...) as will there be people who 'know' more. The thing is to get comfortable within your own criteria, experience and activities. Only then can one become better by building upon past experiences and knowledge.

It's all relative.

 

[mexken]

I dive over 200 dives per year and I dive with new divers all the time. They do make diving more exciting one way or the other. I enjoy helping and giving balanced advise when asked. I never get into the water without the hair on the back of my neck standing up.To be truthfull, I didn't feel really relaxed under water until about 250 dives and I'm not normally concidered a nervous individual. Sometimes too, I find newer dives better buddies from a safety perspective, but that's a huge generalization.

 

[Carribeandiver]

hey! a newbie is a newbie. Why cant a newbie refer to another as a newbie? It isnt derrogative, it is only a means of description that relative to a person's idea of what/who is new.
If a mother's son is 41 years old but the youngest child, isnt he still the baby?
TS & M meant no disrespect and I certainly did not see any pompousness on her part. She appeared to be making a point of how someone's excitement can be contageous.

 

[wardric]

Newbie is such a relative term. Someone who always dived in clear warmwater could be considered a newbie in murky cold water (cold being below 40F of course ) and someone who never dived in surge or the open sea could be considered a newbie in these conditions.

I agree that a year and a half is a short period and I would instinctively call anyone who has been diving such a short period a newbie myself. But being a newbie doesn't mean being a bad diver, just that the person has not been diving for many years and is (relatively) new to the sport. Anyway, you'll always be able to find someone who has been diving longer than yourself, so you're always a newbie in the eyes of someone

What was that thread aboot? oh, yeah, it's fun to bring a new diver to places he's never been, I agree. In fact, when I see a turtle or a barracuda or any tropical fish, i am so excited I feel like a newbie

 

[miketsp]

There are certain inconveniences to not being a newbie any more.

Like when the DM that's supposed to be leading the dive group asks you to navigate so they can concentrate on their photography...

Or you start to notice that on almost every dive the trip organizer asks you to let another pair tag along...


Edit. just reread my post and it may be interpreted as stating that I don't like diving with newbies. I don't mind from time to time but if I feel I have responsibility for others on every dive it does start to take some of the fun out of it.

 

[wardric]

There are certain inconveniences to not being a newbie any more.

Like when the DM that's supposed to be leading the dive group asks you to navigate so they can concentrate on their photography...

Or you start to notice that on almost every dive the trip organizer asks you to let another pair tag along...

Good point.