Keep up on those skills, people.

[fishy ms fishy]

While many don't realize it, diving is a much more dangerous sport than it is considered. Of course, if you follow the rules of ascent, descent, and other such skills, this will make your dive experience much, much safer. Even being a diver certified for about four years didn't prevent accidents (or stupid behavior) from happening. For example, on a certification deep-dive for the advanced course in a flooded quarry in PA, we had to go to 90 feet and meander around, presenting basic skills. Well, I had forgotten all about mask squeeze and noticed, as I started to descend, that my mask was doing unpleasant things to my face. Eventually it squeezed so hard that it was very hard to see. Panicked, I shot, SHOT to the surface from 90 feet. Very, very stupid thing to do. I was reminded later about mask squeeze and that I could have embolized. Not a very nice thought.
A second example was when I was diving just this past summer in Curacao. I figured that on my previous dive trip I was too young to appreciate the beauty of the ocean (13 years old) and that, in my present incredibly withered old age (16) I should drink in every possible aspect of every dive. Well, it ended up that I'd be at 10 feet, shoot to 60 ft to see a cool fish, then again to 15 feet to see a cool piece of coral, and again to 67 feet to see a cool, whatever, and so on. My divemaster, after I did this for about 5 dives, eventually pulled me aside and said, "..........WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING???" My diving behavior was COMPLETELY dangerous. It just goes to show you that even the most experienced diver (although 4 years isn't really that experienced) can make mistakes, and should hone up on skills every so often to prevent accidents from happening. I'm very lucky that nothing happened to me.

 

[Randy43068]

Great advice... glad you didn't get hurt.

 

[Mako Mark]

good post fishy, you are never too old to learn right?

 

[jlayman800]

good post fishy, you are never too old to learn right?

I know it sounds like a dive manual, but, one of the things that happens that causes diver injuries is an experienced diver goes some place new or tries something new. I was a fresh water diver for about 15 years and then went diving in the Gulf of Mexico. Even though I keept my skills up, the salt water, current, waves, and new sights all made it so I wasn't near as safe as somebody with a lot less experience. Fortunately I lived through it. Now, after a year in salt water, I'm getting to be a pretty good diver again.

 

[fishy ms fishy]

That must have been really frightening, in that new environment. I'm glad you're okay man. And, on the plus side, you always have a nice story to tell, maybe occasionally spiced up with oh, a rabid sea oppossum attacking the boat, or perhaps a sixty headed shark?

 

[asmith5]

This is all good advice. The basic skills are what keeps us alive. Thankfully the dive shop that I trained at has open pool sessions where people they have trained can come in and polish/maintain their skills. They will open up the pool for an evening for anyone going on an organized dive and let us polish up our skills before we go on the dive together.

Andrew

 

[munkispank]

yeah- this is a really cool thing to do. I got certified at a Unviersity and they allow the sam ehting- I used it to brush up on skills and also to check out new equipment prior to a trip to bec ome familiar and to adjust bouyancy.