Most important skills for newbies to master?

[Colliam7]

can you all give your opinions on what are some of the most valuable skills for beginners to master so that they're second nature to us when we need to use them? . . . Right now we figure the most important skills to practice besides "don't die" and buoyancy are:

1. Replacing mask that gets knocked off and clearing
2. Sharing air
3. Randomly asking each other how much air we have (and hopefully knowing without looking)

I guess I'm trying to think of "oh ****" moments that are bound to happen eventually

I will echo TSandM's compliment, that it is great you are already thinking about this. You are getting a lot of very good feedback on the things that will help you become a competent diver (not just an underwater tourist).

And, virtually everyone has mentioned buoyancy / trim / weight distribution so I don't need to add to that - it is a given! As several have mentioned, I have never been involved in, or even seen, seen a true OOA situation, although practicing for one is a regular part of my personal diving routine, and a point of emphasis in my teaching, beginning with OW and continuing through a number of specialty courses. Being proficient in that skill materially adds to your confidence as a diver.

My one additional / supplementary point of emphasis: practice no mask breathing and no mask swimming, A LOT. The "oh ****" moments that I have witnessed have almost exclusively involved divers getting some water in their mask, getting some water up their nose, and bolting (or attempting to bolt) to the surface. And, I have seen that too many times. If you can get to the point that your breathing control (which several have mentioned primarily in the context of buoyancy control) is so 'spot on' that you feel as completely comfortable swimming underwater (while breathing from a regulator) without a mask, as you do with a mask, you will minimize the likelihood of injury associated with the 'bolt'. Touching the bottom won't kill you, or even hurt you (although your feelings might be hurt by the piercing glares during the dive, and blunt comments after the dive, of other divers). But, bolting to the surface from 50 ft because you snort water up your nose, possibly even spitting your reg out during that bolt - both of which I have seen more than once - can hurt you. I would never publicly suggest that I might in any way violate, or substantively augment / amend, any training agency standards. But, I have a friend, let's just say he is an instructor a lot like me, who I have been told begins every OW course Confined Water session after the first one with a no mask swim for the students. And, I have also been told this same instructor has OW students perform a mask remove / replace / clear on each of their 4 OW dives, not just on one.

 

[tbone1004]

I'll circle back and make these two recommendations.Don't buy any gear until you evaluate your long term diving ambitions.Get with a technical/cave instructor or similar mentor ASAP for a primer/fundies/intro to tech/ something similar. The sooner you get into this, the sooner you will cut any and all bad habits that you may develop on your own. It will be very rough and it may feel like you're in a modified boot camp of sorts, but that is really the best to move forward quickly. At that point, you really don't need any other classes unless you want to get into a cave or something that requires specific certs. No need for any specialties unless you want them because you have the fundamentals of good diving ingrained into you.

If you believe in buddy/team diving, I would take GUE fundamentals literally as soon as you can. It isn't cheap, and it isn't short, but it is worth every penny if you're serious about this sport and you're certainly in the right area for training. It doesn't have an AOW requirement either which is good. Basically the only way they won't accept you is if you're a smoker or severely obese. Both of which are for your safety more than anything.

1. Submit a completed registration form, a medical history, and a liability release to GUE Headquarters.
2. Be physically and mentally fit.
3. Hold insurance that will cover diving emergencies such as hyperbaric treatment, e.g. DAN Master-level insurance or equivalent.
4. Be a nonsmoker.
5. Obtain a physician’s prior written authorization for the use of prescription drugs, except for birth control, or for any prior medical condition that may pose a risk while diving.
6. Be a minimum of 16 years of age.
7. Be a certified GUE Rec 1 diver or be certified as an open water diver from a recognized training agency.

 

[USFpsychDiver]

Buoyancy and trim took a while for me, coming with practice and experience (and, in my case, additional training). I think beginning divers have trouble emptying their lungs fully to initially get below the surface of the water -- it seems unnatural to exhale completely when you're about to sink. So they get overweighted in order to get down. Once you're down 10 - 20' you lose exposure suit buoyancy and get sinky and now have to pump up the BC to overcome the excess weight, making everything kind of sluggish and difficult to control. Learning to relax in the water and be comfortable and confident allows reducing the amount of lead which makes buoyancy much easier. For me it was somewhere between dives 50 - 80 that it really started to come together to the point that now it's unconscious, kind of like walking. Be patient and dive as much as you can and it will come if you keep in mind reducing weight until you're diving with the absolute minimum you need to get down.

Trim is also highly dependent on how your weight is distributed on the rig, and this also takes time and practice. A good instructor or mentor can be invaluable here. I've added shoulder trim weight pockets to all my non-metal backplate BCs to balance the standard hip-mounted weight; a couple of lbs on the shoulders can go a long way in achieving a flat profile in the water.

 

[Belzelbub]

Buoyancy and trim, as these are the ones that get used most often.

Next, I'd say regulator retrieval drills. A consistent gear configuration is very helpful here.

My daughter was recently certified earlier this month. Prior to her class, she already had a full set of gear. Since she'll be diving with me most of the time, I got her gear configured very similar to my own. She did much of the pool class as the only student. However, since her last pool class, and dive weekend got rained out, she did a few pool sessions, and her OW dives with other students. The group pool sessions had two instructors and a DM. When she wasn't doing drills, she hung with the DM, and mimicked her. The instructors commented to me after class that they were amazed that she had figured out perfect buoyancy so soon.

During the OW dives, they did the usual drills, mask clear, mask replacement, doff and don, regulator retrievals. As usual, those were on command from an instructor, so the student knew what was coming and when. That's not a true test of being ready, but practice definitely helps. During her last OW checkout dive, she actually got to practice one unplanned. Another student accidentally knocked her regulator from her mouth. It went into freeflow. She searched for it for a bit, but couldn't find it initially. She then immediately grabbed her octo, cleared it and breathed. By that time, I was there and assisted with the freeflow. While maybe not textbook, I was real impressed with how calm and cool she acted with an unplanned situation.

Oh, and from watching video of the class, I'd add kicking style to the mix. A lot of the students were using the bicycle kicking style. She started out doing that initially, but figured it out, and had much better form than most of the other students, despite being the youngest.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm going to take a bit of a different angle. I think the most important skill any new diver can develop is AWARENESS.

Vision is our primary response mechanism ... and from birth we've learned how to use it based on a "wide-angle" view that at an unconscious level relies on our peripheral vision. Now in order to go scuba diving we put on a mask that removes that peripheral vision and substantially narrows our field of view. Most divers don't even realize that what they subsequently do is rely on assumption ... assume my buddy is where I expect them to be ... assume that there's nothing in my path that I can swim into, assume that ... any number of things that outside of scuba you'd ordinarily confirm without even realizing it through the use of your peripheral vision. In order to compensate for this loss of peripheral vision we must teach ourselves a new skill ... turning our head from side to side to see what's out there.

New divers tend to get "focused" on what they are looking at. And because of this they can lose track of all sorts of things ... their buddy, their depth, their buoyancy, the remaining psi in their tank ... things that get them in trouble far more commonly than a flooded mask or free-flowing regulator. We must learn a new skill ... one that rarely gets taught, and always gets underemphasized in OW training ... AWARENESS.

Training yourself to look around ... to turn your head from side to side to see what's around you ... leads to a better acquisition of the skills you DID learn in OW, because it gives you information to help you make better decisions. And better decision-making leads to better responses and the elimination of potential issues that can blossom into problems (like losing track of where your buddy is, or suddenly remembering to check your SPG and realizing you have less gas than you thought you did).

By all means practice the common OW skills. Keep in mind that nobody ever masters anything in OW class ... you only learn how to master them. It's like playing a piano ... learning how to play chopsticks doesn't prepare you to play Tchaikovsky ... it only gives you some mechanical progress that makes learning it easier. One "masters" any skill through constant practice and repetition. And becoming a good diver includes mastery of these common skills to the point where you can do them without giving them a lot of conscious thought.

But the true secret to becoming a good diver involves making good decisions ... those that help you "stay on top" of your situation to the point where you can be proactive rather than reactive. A good diver doesn't react to a change in buoyancy, they anticipate it and are doing something about it in advance of the need to make a correction. When you can do that, then you've "mastered" the skill. And that all starts with awareness.

As with any new skill, it starts with the basics. Work on making regular eye contact with your buddy ... that helps you begin to expand your awareness beyond what's in front of your face. It takes you out of your "focus zone" and helps you remember all sorts of things ... like looking at your depth and tank pressure more regularly. Once you've established that habit, you'll be amazed at what you notice that you wouldn't have noticed before. Then a lot of those other skills will fall into place much better, because you'll find yourself anticipating their use to keep your dive going right, rather than having to use them in reaction to something going wrong.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TMHeimer]

My BC inflator did stick once and I did have to disconnect it or become the Michelin Man. Compass is important, especially if you find yourself in a place you don't want to be (especially if cramping), and an underwater swim is the best option out of there.
Something I always mention is in case you can't retrieve a regulator (I have yet to have one come out of my mouth) you can always grab your own octopus. Never a need to panic.

 

[uncfnp]

Doc touched on my recommendation and I have said this before but will repeat it here.

Master the art of stillness. The ability to do nothing underwater. Observe, Enjoy, Relax.

 

[Bob DBF]

I'd say start with getting your weighting right, using the techniques you were taught.

I am compelled to put TSandM's statement back up. Buoyancy and Trim do not imply proper weighting as some would believe.

"Neutral buoyancy is a condition in which a physical body's average density is equal to the density of the fluid in which it is immersed." Notice that it says nothing about the weight of the body.

"Proper trim (scuba diver) is a completely horizontal position, with arms extended and fins elevated." Also not defined by weight.

You can have proper buoyancy and trim and be 10# or more heavy. This won't be hard for an experienced diver to deal with, however this will drive a new diver nuts trying to practice neutral buoyancy, especially in shallow water. Not to mention the safety hazards that could be posed by over weighting.

Weight, Buoyancy, and Trim may not be the answer to all your scuba skills, but it is the start.



Bob

 

[DogDiver]

Just listening to your divemaster.


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[beachbummer28]

But, I have a friend, let's just say he is an instructor a lot like me, who I have been told begins every OW course Confined Water session after the first one with a no mask swim for the students. And, I have also been told this same instructor has OW students perform a mask remove / replace / clear on each of their 4 OW dives, not just on one.

I actually did this on my own and it saved me on OW dive #3. I had trouble with mask removal/clearing in the pool which was one of the first skills our instructor started with; totally a mental thing for me and after my first failed attempt I bolted straight up with water up my nose and choking. I had a great instructor who worked with me for 10 minutes just on breathing, and then broke down each step so it didn't seem so daunting since he could tell I was upset from the first attempt. Since it was the only skill I was apprehensive about I made myself do it repeatedly during any down time in the pool, and then did it multiple times on every single OW dive at all of the different depths. On dive #3 I took the reg out of my mouth to smile big for a group picture and the skirt of my mask somehow got tucked underneath itself, and the mask just kept filling no matter how often I cleared it. A few times I removed it altogether and put it back on but the leak persisted because a piece of my hair was stuck in the top. We were 50 feet down and the instructor's back was turned to me as he showed other students a cave entrance, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't look up towards the surface and think, "'I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" My husband was my buddy but visibility wasn't great so I don't think he could tell that I was panicked versus just practicing skills. The constant filling and clearing only lasted for about 3 minutes but it felt like a long time as I listened to my breathing get quicker and shallower and I realized no one else noticed that I was having problems. I finally got the mask on, sealed, and cleared it properly, and then had to take a few minutes to slow my breathing. It occurred to me afterward that if I hadn't been practicing that dozens of times on each dive leading up to that point, I may have done something dumb. That's kind of what I mean about "oh sh!t" moments; afterward I was really glad that I had made myself more comfortable with mask clearing before that happened, so I was trying to think of other things that need to become second nature so I can react calmly when/if it happens instead of being completely unprepared.

Thanks for all of the suggestions in this thread - TSandM, the link you provided was extremely helpful. I also agree with awareness and stillness, which is hard when you're new and you're trying to focus on a million different things and oh yeah, have a little bit of fun at the same time! lol it kind of reminds me of taking horseback riding lessons ... you're trying to control a million different muscle groups that you didn't even know you had at the same time while also trying to keep good form, stay alert, and ultimately enjoy yourself. It's a challenge but eventually it does become natural and easy, and I'm sure scuba will too. We're doing an easy shore dive this weekend if the winds cooperate which will be our first time in the ocean, as our OW classes were held in a nearby spring. Excited doesn't even begin to describe it; I think we're counting down the minutes until Saturday!