Thank you, experienced divers

[sabbath999]

I just wanted to shoot a quick note to thank all of you veteran divers here who are patient and helpful to us NOOB's.

The amount of great information on this site is wonderful for those of us just starting out.

I am an "experienced" photographer and am one of the 'old timers' on a photography board ( http://www.thephotoforum.com (clicky -- great site for those interested in photography) and I know how little fun it can be to answer the same question over and over (there it is "what camera should I buy" or "what lenses will work with my D40") but I also know how much it helps the NOOBS to get their questions answered.

The thing is, forums like that do not deal with life-and-death issues like this one does... nobody risks permanent injury or death if he panics and misses focus on a picture of his kids or a bear at the zoo.

You all are a great resource, and I just wanted to say thank you for what you are doing.

I am thanking scubaboard in a more tangible way... soon (if it hasn't already happened) my name will "go red".

Thanks again, and best wishes.

Ken

 

[goodive]

That's what this board is all about. I've been here for about a week and I love it. I'm learning something every day. There are no other activities like diving. Young or old, male or female, big or small, beginner or veteran. We all could go for dive and have lots of fun together.

 

[kjvander]

I agree....I have learned a lot by reading a lot of the opinions on here and seeing what people have to say. Since I haven't been diving a lot yet being able to hear what experienced divers have to say and then transfer that to trying things in a pool and then eventually in diving next spring....it has been a great help and lots of encouragement.

 

[lmorin]

......
The thing is, forums like that do not deal with life-and-death issues like this one does... nobody risks permanent injury or death if he panics and misses focus on a picture of his kids or a bear at the zoo.....

Actually, I had the dubious pleasure of being in the Yellowstone National Park hospital while my 10 yr old daughter had a few stitches to repair a slice in her forhead when an old gent came with a major arm laceration. He made the mistake of getting out of his car to take a picture of a bull bison by the roadside, then he made an additional mistake of taking one step too many toward the bison while framing it in the viewfinder of his camera. The bison mildly twitched his head and ripped a wrist to elbow slot in the guy's forearm that required 80 stitches to repair. Don't know if he got the shot he wanted or not.

 

[TSandM]

I learned a ton from reading this board, when I was a new diver. I asked a lot of questions, and I also went back and read a ton of archived threads. These days, I try to pay some of that forward. Glad you guys are getting stuff out of reading here!

 

[SDiggy]

I agree as well, and it certainly makes this 2+ month SI more bearable

 

[Rick Inman]

Somewhere on the sliding scale I am always a nOOb, advanced or experienced. I like to think of myself as an advance-ing diver, so nothing has really changed over the years.

I can never pay back all I have learned and continue to learn (I learn from nOObs all the time as well). I cannot thank enough, the many SB members who have hosted me on trips, dived with me when visiting, loaned me gear, taken me out on their boats, arranged charters, dinners, etc...

(is this where we all hold hands and sing Kumbiya?)

 

[JeffG]

(is this where we all hold hands and sing Kumbiya?)

I hope not.

 

[Teamcasa]

Nice post, thanks.
Everyone is still a noob at something. Diving is no different. We all have first time diving experiences. First OW dive, first night dive, first cave dive, first drysuit dive and many more first time diving experiences.

On land you may be the next Ansel Addams but take that new gear underwater and you may be just another noob bouncing off the bottom and kicking up tons of silt until you gain that particular experience.

Sometimes we forget that we were all diving noobs at one time.

 

[goodive]

Not that long ago, I did a night dive with couple of very new divers (OW less then 10 dives, second night dive). We are paddling along no problem and we started coming up and I could feel my drysuit start looking like the Michelin man and my left elbow up is not doing a thing. (I think, somebody closed my exhaust valve when I was sleeping). I forced air out, turn upside down, kick like hell, tucked it in....and I am good. I felt like an idiot. Nice role modeling you Bozo. When we got out, one of the guys said. I wish I could dive like you, you are so calm, it looks like you don't even move and you're always around checking up on us. Thanks for the nice dive. Me: No problem guys, I had a fun too. And don't worry, it's just a practice. The more you dive, the better you get.
Moral of the story: Being more experienced diver, I could hide my mistakes better.