when is a diver "experienced"?

[highlandfarmwv]

I tend to agree with Aggiedad. Judgment matters. I would rather trust muself with a buddy with good judgment--based on "experience" AND knowledge from continuing education and review.

 

[dannobee]

Good judgement you get from experience. Experience you get from bad judgement.

I tend to agree with Aggiedad. Judgment matters. I would rather trust muself with a buddy with good judgment--based on "experience" AND knowledge from continuing education and review.

When I dive with someone and they say they have, say, 100 dives, I wonder if their experience is comprised mostly of different/varied dives, giving a wider range of experience, or the exact same dive 100 times.

 

[Jcsgt]

In my experience, I've found that a good dose of common sense goes a long way. Unfortunately, it's not something that you can really teach somebody.

 

[MoonWrasse]

I,being a Florida diver don't have this as an option.
So,when my gear is not being used,It stays in my Scuba/Guitar room.
This room is air conditioned and heated space and seems to work out pretty well.

I'm sure you'd never stick anything but a Sears guitar in a closet

People have stored things such as wedding dresses in attics, only to discover years later they've been seriously damaged by the harsh environment up there.

 

[wreckchick]

There's another factor that I don't think has been addressed which is a "tool box" of sorts. Once someone has been diving a while, there is an accumulation of experiences that make that person better prepared for issues, small or large. Part of the tool box is mental in the sense that there is a realization of a issue earlier in the issue's life-cycle and part is physical in that there is something that can/should be done about it.

An example would be a sticky inflator. An "experienced" diver is more likely to know what's happening earlier and act on that information and handle the aftermath appropriately. I would say an inexperienced diver would have a harder time with the situation. It's not an emergency if it's handled well, but it sure as heck can be if it's handled poorly.

I hope that made some sort of sense.

Rachel

 

[Knight]

Its a damn shame that alot of folk judge a diver by his age,I am a diver of 23 yrs of age and have been in the commercial industry since the age of 18. Having worked for 4 diffrent companies i have found that the older divers tend to be so stuck in their ways that they are unable to allow the fresh blood to flow. I am very capable of undertaking a wide variety of complex tasks and have proven this in circumstances when the older diver could not accomplish the task in hand and i have been sent down for what feels like a last resort. It feels real good to manage completion and come up and see the stubborn old divers put on their fake smile and force themselves to say well done.
I dont deny that older is wiser but its not always the only way forwards.
As for the number of dives in your log, they only count if each page has a diffrent activity, depth and time. also if your only a fairweather diver then you suck anyway, try getting on your boat in 6m swell

You gotta respect the olders who been in the business for many years especially older instructors who have very good book and dive knowledge, as you say you also work in the commercial field and you should know that - yes some older divers would rather have a younger diver go down and do the work for good reason there not what they use to be at your age and you may be more fit for it, does that mean your all sudden somewhat better then em and your not gonna listen to there words of advice up on shore or in the class room?

Always descending,
c.h.

 

[Halthron]

When I dive with someone and they say they have, say, 100 dives, I wonder if their experience is comprised mostly of different/varied dives, giving a wider range of experience, or the exact same dive 100 times.

I had this conversation with someone a few months ago. We were talking and he was trying to impress me with the depth of his experience, saying he had almost 200 dives over 15 years. My response? 12 dives a year? Sounds like you only dove during one period on vacation each year. Were they all warm water dives? He wouldn't answer that.

 

[Web Monkey]

were not warm water divers. They were experienced in cold water diving and therefore thought they were prepared for the easy warm water experience. They discovered experience in cold water quarries did not adequately prepare them for rough seas and strong currents.

I'll buy that one. I bagged a couple of dives in florida because water that the locals consider "nothing special" had my stomach doing flip-flops just watching the weather report.

It all depends on what you usually dive in. As long as it's warm enough that I don't need a hole saw to get in the water, I'm happy, but rough seas make me feel like I'm doing OW checkout dives again.

Terry