SINGLE most useful thing you have learned?

[KeithG]

sit one out if it does not feel right!

There are lots of little mechanical things that I have learned over the years (including some noted above) but the most important item was mental: be prepared to pass up a dive unless you feel everything is 100% go!

We are resort divers jamming a years worth of dives into 1 or 2 trips. In the early days we felt like we could not miss a dive. Feeling a little tired? Still must dive! Got a little congestion? Still must dive! A small head ache? Dive! Scraped my knee? Current looks a little too strong? viz too low? Suck it up Princess! Time to dive!

Upon reflection, I had a few dives that I really did not enjoy. Not the fault of the dive site. Mine entirely!

Now we are much more laid back and get 100% enjoyment out of every dive. That means we skip a few, since every now and then one (or both) of us we are not 100% ready to go. But I also feel that we are now much safer divers as we have taken poor personal performance out of the picture.

We dive for pleasure, not as a competition or for renumeration. So it is okay to say "honey, i'm tired" and then have a nice little afternoon nap. The fish will be there (or not) tomorrow. They really don't care about me. I am not that important to anyone but me.

So put yourself first and learn to skip a dive if you are not 100% up for it.

 

[scubadobadoo]

I think I will pass on this dive for ________ reason.

There is always later or tomorrow.

 

[Bogie]

Breath control and mind control so I never get on the path to panic.

 

[soltari675]

Knowing every inch of my gear, both on the surface and at depth. Knowing how to take off and put on every piece underwater. Being able to do this confidently without thinking much about it makes me feel I won't panic badly if something should go wrong.

 

[gcbryan]

I've learned that most bad things in scuba occur on the way up and have concluded that it's best to slow that process down. Overexertion (CO2 buildup) causes many other problems so slowing down in that sense seems like a good idea as well.

Therefore I'm never in a hurry to get to the surface, I try not to overexert myself underwater and have come to appreciate the stop..breathe..think..act phrase that I'm sure is included in most O/W texts.

 

[Searcaigh]

A lot of valid statements already mentioned.

I would just like to add what my instructor told me after I qualified, "choosing who not to dive with is just as important as to who I should dive with"

It did not take long to realise that there are quite a few nutters who dive and are dangerous not just to themselves but to other divers too.

I am frequently very happy just diving with my Japanese friend "Nikon"

 

[toddthecat]

I would just like to add what my instructor told me after I qualified, "choosing who not to dive with is just as important as to who I should dive with"

Isn't that the truth? I was on a dive boat once when a guy near me asked for help setting up his octo. He was confused because the regs were on the left but the yoke valve was correctly seated on the valve. Grabbed the octo, flipped the regs around to the other side, and with a dumbfounded look he said, "Oh".

 

[knowone]

I was sitting, reading the board tonight, and reflecting on all the things I've learned in five years of diving, taking classes, and reading posts. And I asked myself what the SINGLE most useful thing I have learned in all that time would be. Would it be gas management, or the back kick, or the existence of DIR diving, or how to tie on boltsnaps?

I came to the conclusion that the single most useful thing I have learned can be summed up in quotations from three of my favorite people, HBDiveGirl and airsix, and my cave instructor Danny Riordan. Claudette said, "Bring your own fun," and Ben said, "You will never have a disappointing dive in Puget Sound, if you focus on what's there, and not what isn't." And Danny said, "The cave you came to see is the cave you are seeing." And the lesson is that a dive is what you make it -- YOU are the difference between a great dive and a disappointing one, even in the same conditions and with the same things to see. Existing in the moment, and marveling at what's there, or sometimes simply at the amazement of existing and breathing underwater, and being free to move in three dimensions, can make a dive fantastic when you can't recount any specific "finds" after you surface.

So, what's your single most useful thing?

:goingdown: Nothing more to say.

 

[DevonDiver]

TS&M illustrates a great lesson...it is something I agree with 100%. Any dive can be great, if you are open-minded to enjoy what it has to offer.

My example is very simply... 'that you will enjoy scuba diving more, if you seek to continually develop your skills and experience'.

 

[burna]

To answer your question literally, the single most useful thing I have learned is prob'ly to splash my face with cold water before donning my mask. It cools down your face and all but stops the mask from fogging. (A tip I seem to be spreading around everywhere ATM!) I was almost ready to give up on diving because I could never see anything.

To answer your question more philosophically, I borrow a saying from my time in aviation. Learn from the mistakes of others because you won't live long enough to make them all yourself!