Most dangerous newbie mistakes

[offthewall1]

A newbie diver on our boat in North Carolina was looking good... he had flashy new gear, had his air turned on, weight belt on, camera in hand, and was ready to do his very first ocean dive. He was just getting ready to take that giant stride off the back of the boat when the Captain looked at him and said... "nice day for a dive... you doin' this one without fins are ya?"

Sometimes we forget to turn on our air... sometimes we forget our weightbelts, sometimes we forget to load film in the camera... sometimes we all forget something... and it's not just newbies... so if you're a newbie and you think you're a putz... just remember... everyone else on that boat has been a putz at one time or another too... whether they'll admit it or not is another story.

 

[Kevfin]

A study done out of USC/LCMC here in California (I think in 2000 - I don't have it in front of me), shows that the majority of accidents that lead to a chamber ride were newer divers that went too deep and ascended too fast.

With that in mind, and with what was said above, I would say the three most important things that will keep you safe/alive are:

1) Control of buoyancy
2) Do not push limits of dive tables or computers (dive management)
3) Know your limitations


*If anyone would like a copy of the report just PM me with an e-mail addy. I have it in TIF format on my other computer.

 

[gypsyjim]

1) Control of buoyancy
2) Do not push limits of dive tables or computers (dive management)
3) Know your limitations

I'd add 4) If something ever go's wrong, as eventually happens to everyone, remember to slow down, think it through before reacting.

 

[Ben_Ayers]

Ken,
LOL, that's why I mentioned poor memory in one of my earlier posts-it's scary when you find the potatoe chips in the fridge! I also wanted to get my private pilots license, but at this point I'm afraid I would forget to put the gear down on landing, or something equally boneheaded. Maybe those of us over, say 45, could/should have a laminated check-list to review before jumping in.

Ben

 

[Rick Inman]

Newbies act through inexperience (which is natural), but as to the most "mistakes" I see, they usually come from divers with between 100 and 500 dives. They have maybe a PADI Advanced card and enough dives to feel like they know what they're doing. At any point in time when a diver gets over-confident, caviler, complacent and starts cutting corners, going too fast, skipping steps that seem silly, and taking risks that they feel they are now up to (without the training), trouble cometh.

When I went through that phase, I was fortunate enough to dive with some much better divers than I, who kept me humble and on the straight and narrow. Now I've found that the most careful divers are the ones with 500 plus dives. Technical divers with thousands of dives can be seen doing thorough pre-dive checks on easy recreational dives, while the "Advanced" 100-dive-divers just jump in.

The most dangerous thing I see is a new diver blindly following one of these bullet-proof 50 dive experts into a dive neither should be doing. That just scares me.

 

[TSandM]

Ben, I know exactly what you mean about one's memory not being as reliable as it used to be. That's why I've now gotten my gear organized so that I can LOOK at the shelves and see if something is still there that ought to be in the car. It's also why I religiously use the GUE EDGE mnemonic for pre-dive checking, and why I do a head-to-toe equipment check, even on silly, shallow dives. Even some of my DIR friends think I'm a little nuts, but I know darned well if I stop being methodical, I'll start forgetting stuff.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Do a search on "panic" with author "Walter" -- Walter has written several excellent posts about the panic cycle, and learning to control it.

Does anyone have a link to these posts? I tried to search Panic with Walter as the author and got a lot of hits. I was looking through them and found him talking about how to find an instructor, and how there is more to combating the panic cycle than just stopping and thinking. I'm sure he has more in depth posts that I'm just not finding.

Thanks!

 

[paddler3d]

Ben, did I dive with you this last Sunday at Bainbridge?

I wore the Pinnacle wet semi-dry suit, DR Rec Wing, Single Tank, I dive a basic Hog set up.

If so let me know if you ever wanna go back up there.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Ben_Ayers]

Chris, it wasn't me. It looks like I'll probably start a 6wk course on 4/26 ish. if cleared by ENT. Depending on who I go with, check-outs will be either Bainbridge or Hydes. I'll be happy to hook-up once I get recertified - I heard the lagoon at Bainbridge is a good place to practice buoyancy control.
How was the temp and vis?

Ben

 

[cowdog77]

Mistaking inflator for deflator~