The learning curve

[Diver0001]

We left the dock and made our way to the dive site.

....snip amusing story....

Sungod

I love this story because we have *all* been *you*.

Any experienced diver will tell you, we've all screwed up dives. We've all blown it for our buddies, we've all gone to a lot of effort to be somewhere just to spend 10 minutes under water and have to bail, we've all kicked ourselves and thought "I should have known better", and we've all made a wrong turn.

You're are lucky man. You're safe. Your buddy is safe and you learned your lessons without losing anything you value, including your sense of humor about it.

You know, don't worry too much about what your buddy thinks. He might have been irritated but chances are he understands.

Your problem with this dive is that you were in too much of a hurry. Slow down. Think like a slug. In your case if you do this you'll probably still be trying to do things too fast. Boat dives can be challenging for beginners because the tempo is high and you tend to get rushed along, which plays right into your weak spot. Maybe it will help to ask to go into the water last so you have more time to prepare. And don't forget, water is 800 times thicker than air so you have to try doing *everything* 800 times slower.

R..

 

[Melicertes]

Why did you go inside a wreck on your first ever ocean dive? That could have killed you.

My two greatest concerns about your dives were firstly the fact that you entered a wreck without the proper training for it, and secondly that you both continued on a second dive despite the fact that you felt you needed O₂ after the first dive.

I have noticed many divers enter wrecks with the understanding that an advanced (or Instructor's for that matter) certification is enough. It's not. Don't think that PADI's wreck specialty course is enough either since wreck penetration is a wholely different kettle of fish from Introduction to diving wrecks. No diver is qualified to enter a confined overhead environment, like wrecks, caves..., unless they have explicitly done the required training to do so.

Secondly, your headaches were indications/red flags/warning sirens from your bodies that *something* was amiss. Discarding these warnings from your bodies and risking another dive is irresponsible and reckless IMHO. You're lucky that this probably was only a CO₂ headache from the exertion of the swims, but what if it was not?

I nevertheless enjoyed the piece you wrote, and despite Walter's concerns about your writing skills, although somewhat justified :11:, I don't think you were trying to win an essay competition with that post and should be congratulated for a well written and informative first draft :14:. I commend your resolve to learn from your mistakes on these dives and certainly can attest that I too have made some really boneheaded mistakes before, the failure is not so much in making the mistakes, but in not learning from them. Experience is bought at a price, and paying for a dive course is not it - experience comes only from doing it for real in the real world out there. I have a sneeky suspicion that you'd already be a much more competent diver the next time you put that regulator on your tank because of these experiences. Keep up the attitude and always remember laws of nature can never be broken (theoretically :devil_smi), you can only break yourself against them - you either dive safely or you do not; choose the first!

 

[Walter]

No, I'm not hijacking the thread, you did that, Thor, when you suggested he write for a living. In my first post, I mentioned I enjoyed reading his story, then moved on to lessons to be learned.

Cuda, the difference between an adverb and an adjective is grammar, thanks for the grammar lesson. I can always use them. I, however, did not give such a lesson, I merely answered Thor's mistaken impression that I had objected to a typo.

Few of us write all that well, I know I make my share of mistakes. OTOH, a professional can't afford to do so.

 

[Barracuda2]

<pouring oil on fire>
How so, Cuda?

You're right. I got sucked in!!! Sorry.

 

[ScubaThor]

LOL...the gloves are off! I'm sorry...I will keep my little instigating self out of this for now...before this gets out of hand. Bad things happen when I get bored at work.

 

[miketsp]

Actually, they aren't, but I assume that's a typo - haul - octopie and slow instead of slowly aren't. No kicking, I just believe in honesty instead of fueling false hopes.

Well I thought it was really entertaining. The octopie really fuelled visions of a pie made with octopodes.

 

[ScubaThor]

Well I thought it was really entertaining. The octopie really fuelled visions of a pie made with octopodes.

MMMMM....pie.:cake: :1poke:

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

Well I thought it was really entertaining. The octopie really fuelled visions of a pie made with octopodes.

octopodes? Wouldn't an octopie be made from octapples?

 

[Melicertes]

octopodes? Wouldn't an octopie be made from octapples?

You're such a

 

[Walter]

Back on track, there are lots on important lessons (not grammar) to be learned from the dive. It's great you're willing to learn.