I dive with "noobs" all the time. I've met a lot of great people by posting dive trips on my website and here on the Board. It's great comparing notes after the dive!
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frankc420:I'm sure that most experienced divers have no problem diving with newbies, as long as they are safe, there's no question there. But, when a n00b like myself is diving with someone that has say, 100+ dives under their belt, I guess it can be a little intimidating at first.
MikeFerrara:I don't spend much time at resorts but I don't know that I'd want to be with a new diver on a dive that I have a bunch of money tied up in if I think the dive might be a bit much for that new diver. My wife and I genuinely enjoy diving with new divers and even actively working with them to improve their skills if that's what they're interested in. I may not be willing to pay a lot for the privilage though.
MikeFerrara:In that regard, I think it's up to the new diver to seek oportunities and make themselves available for mentoring before the "big" (and probably expensive) vacation dive. Then they can get on that charter feeling confident in their ability to do the dives at hand without feeling intimidated or feeling like they are imposing. By contrast, the new diver who tucks that new card in their pocket, skips the boring local dives and expends little of their own effort prior to getting on that charter probably should feel intimidated.
MikeFerrara:I spend lots of typing time critisizing the agencies over the certification process but the fact of the matter is that I saw a real lack of interest for anything but seeing pretty colored fish and coral on the part of new divers. The VAST majority want to get certified more than they wanted to learn diving. As I see it so many of our new divers are taking the shortest and least expensive path to certification and willingly neglecting to invest any of their own effort toward making themselves the kind of divers that more experienced divers want to dive with.
MikeFerrara:So, I'd answer the question of the original post with some questions. That is, why is it that new divers seem unwilling to do the dives that more experienced divers are eager to do with them? How do they expect to gain the experience? Why do they want to skip practice and coaching and expect not be put on the bench on game day?