Most dangerous newbie mistakes

[lowviz]

I hear the viz is pretty good right now, but it's expected to get crappy soon enough...I think that most of the lagoon is around 20-25 feet at the most...but that's not the fun part of the quarry! Pop over to the bowl and see the sights!

Agree, but exit the lagoon with someone who knows the layout or you will be in 100 feet+ quite quickly. (Don't sweat wandering out by accident, an underwater road is the lower boundary. It won't prevent you from swimming out but you'll know you came to the end) There is a lot of fun stuff on the other side, but best left unsaid for now. Following Buoyant1's teaser, start with a wall dive to the cable spool, rather impressive steel rope and gearing, keep going down and you are in the bowl.

 

[lowviz]

-Realized I never really answered your question. Adding to what has already been offered, IMHO: When you start out it's all about following instructions properly. At some point it is all about being responsible for yourself and your buddy. Failure to comprehend the process that you are in and where you are in this process can be a problem. Newbie mistake: failure to own the speed control for this process. (Hey, all the good ones were already taken)

 

[offthewall1]

There are too many newbie mistakes to list... but newbies mistakes are greatly reduced by a few things...

1. receiving good thorough instruction
2. diving with a buddy and committing to doing your buddy checks religiously
3. listening to dive briefings given at the site
4. not diving beyond your level of training
5. when first starting out... dive with divers more experienced then yourself

Happy Diving!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Hey Ben,

As a fellow older, returning diver you probably realized how frail the human body is in water, you probably are not trying to impress the chicks or climb your way to the top of the bragging heap. You also have probably passed the Drawin test. This makes you an inherently safer diver. The others covered the important stuff already so relax, think before you do and enjoy a great sport. The best thing about being an older diver is you can (almost) afford all the gear you need.

 

[mjdiver]

Dear Ben,

Get the book Diver Down, Real-World Scuba Accidents and How to Avoid them, by Michael R. Ange. You'll learn about mistakes divers made, and stratagies to avoid them. And good luck!

MJ

 

[Ben_Ayers]

Wow, thanks for all the excellent feedback! MJ, that book sounds like exactly what I'm looking for - I'll see if maybe amazon has it.
I plan to take baby steps while gaining experience, however, I can imagine it is easy for newbies to get in over their head. For example, I've seen many threads discussing the Keys and Cozumel as great places for newly certifies OW divers. With respect to Cozumel, at my age, I worry about the potential of a long swim against current back to the boat. In the Keys it sounds like 4+ft. swells are the norm - is this safe for newly certified divers.
I'm especially "safety-minded" because my wife is not a strong swimmer, and is petite. As such, I'm not sure how much help she would be if I got in trouble, and the most likely scenario, I may have to help her!
I'm sure to some I sound paranoid, but I just want to be a good, safe, diver, by mastering fundamentals in a safe environment, and trying to prepare for potential problems our training may not cover.
Thanks,
Ben

 

[offthewall1]

Ben,

You can dive with us anytime... check our dive schedules or just call the store... Welcome to diving!

 

[shoupart]

Thinking back to when I started, I think one big obstacle I had was navigation. I just wasn't very good at it and would sometimes wander around underwater until I found my way, or I'd have to ascend to get a bearing on the boat and make my way back. Once I improved my navigation skills, I was much more comfortable on the dive.

Another basic thing that has been very helpful was to dive with people who had a lot of experience and could teach me how to do stuff (even beyond open water training).

For example, shore diving. i didn't learn much about this in OW, yet once I attempted to do a solo shore dive in Florida (dumb, huh? Yeah, I know). While I sort of knew the area, I had no idea about how to go about doing a shore entry.

I think I lugged all my gear, piece by piece, down to the beach, set it up, put my fins in my BC and thought I could tow it out behind me while I waded into the water.

Man. I don't know how I didn't lose any of my gear. I didn't get very far before the waves and surf began knocking me around, but thankfully I had enough sense to realize I had no clue what I was doing and I shouldn't attempt this.

About a year later in Los Angeles, I went on my first beach dive with an Assistant Instructor who lived next door. He showed me how to beach dive, explained each step of the process, and guided me into the water and back out.

I am very grateful that I had people like that around who I could learn from.

But I think one thing that prevents panic is to make sure that you're with somebody with experience whenever you embark on something new to you.

 

[TSandM]

Ben, you shouldn't have to swim against current in Cozumel. The dives are all live boat drift dives. The only time we swam against current was when we were trying to stop to look at or photograph something. It's pretty much low exertion diving.

 

[Darnold9999]

Something new divers forget or have not yet learned is the shear raw power of the ocean. You can't overpower the water you have to work with it.

Getting in and out of the water, currents, surge, waves, updrafts, downdrafts all have the potential for hurting you in minor and sometimes major ways. Patience, relaxing and thinking work better than hard work. It helps to have a healthy respect for the power of the ocean. Call the dive rather than jump in. Wait a few wave cycles before grabbing the ladder, drift with the current rather than swim against it. Whatever works.

Don't be afraid to call a dive for any reason. I've called dives for no other reason than it didn't feel right.