Dude, you need to update your profile or really thank your instructor! This is solid advice from someone with less than 50 dives.
Jim, I really appreciate your praise. My profile is accurate. I just did my 30th dive a month ago. It was my first time in fresh water (Paradise Springs, FL). I was heavily over-weighted and too hot in my 7mm suit. I forgot I could just let in the water to cool off. I still have so much to learn.
I was trained for OW in a typical two-day resort course. Looking back, it was a competent program, but nothing special and way too short. After no diving for several years, I found a "retired" DM who wanted a buddy. He'd been off a few years, too. We started with a checkout dive where the locals do their OW checkouts (Breakwater in Monterey Bay). There I learned about so many things I didn't quite remember from my cert class. And, I lost control of my buoyancy and had a runaway ascent just like I mentioned. I really wanted to understand what went wrong and why, so I studied my buoyancy much more carefully on later dives.
A few months (and dives) later we took another noob to check him out in the same way. He had exactly the same problem with buoyancy and runaway ascent. Then, a month later I did a San Diego dive with an insta-buddy. She had more dives than I, but all guided in Hawaii. She had exactly the same problem with buoyancy and runaway ascent. I think I spotted common problem.
My DM dive buddy has been a great mentor. He's not really instructing me, but he provides an opportunity for me to practice my skills and talk about how to improve. (Especially navigation; he gets lost so easily.)
So, even though I have logged only 30 dives, I'm pretty comfortable in my native waters, and I've worked with a few divers new to cold water. I watch what I do and notice enough mistakes to know that I need way more skill and training.
When I vacation-dive in San Diego, I'm on my own. I love diving with people more experienced than me, because I learn so much. But I feel sorry for them because my air consumption cuts their dives short. Other times I've led dives on sites I've never seen before because I'm the one with the most relevant experience (kelp). I talk with the boat DM to get as much info about the site as I can. I really try to plan the dive well and be as safe as possible. Thankfully I've never had to deal with a rescue situation.
I love this sport, and I want to be as safe a diver as possible. I'm always looking for opportunities to improve my skills. Hopefully later this month I'll finally finish that AOW course I keep rescheduling. Eventually I'll follow it with other courses, and maybe even go pro (for semi-retirement). But, most of all, I need to dive to hone my skills.
So, thanks again for your kind words.
and they fully respect and understand that. I know that many many diving incidents are caused by divers diving outside their comfort zone. I made it clear to my buddies that I don't want to go deep or anything remotely technical I just want to get wet and experience some local diving.
