Top 10 Mistakes most Beginners do
The training to become a certified SCUBA diver can vary between a couple
of days and several weeks. If you are a new diver first of all cogratulations; and also you may be doing one or several of the next mistakes.
1.- Confusing the "OK" sign and the
"ascend" sign
This mistake is not dangerous, and sometimes it
can be funny. This happens when the new diver isn't complete used to communicate
in sign language underwater and s/he gets confused between the "thumbs
up" sign which means ascend and the "OK" sign which means
everything is going fine. This could end in a shorter dive with no real
intention of doing so.
2.- Not being aware of the Dunning-Kruger effect
Not being aware of the Dunning-Kruger effect is
not a dangerous mistake per se, but can produce many dangerous scenarios. Like it’s shown in the graph, when you start
learning about something you may become overconfident, but that's only because
you ignore how much you don’t know. When you get to the pick of unskilled and
unaware a lot of dangerous scenarios, like exceeding your limits, are more
likely to happen.
3.- Forget to turn on
air
This happens not only to
beginners, but also to some more advance divers. Not turning your tank on
before putting your gear on can become quite dangerous, but most of the time
you notice it’s of while doing your check up.
4.- Not noticing about their
buoyancy
When a diver is starting
s/he normally doesn't manage to have a good breathing rhythm and, in consequence,
ends going up and down apparently with no control. Most of the time the
new diver doesn’t even notice s/he is at a different depth from his/her teammates.
5.- Not noticing their position
The position you have underwater, which must mainly be horizontal, is one of the must important thing you have to notice. Sometimes,
because of bad training or an inappropriate weight test the diver has a
diagonal position, either head down or head up. This diver will consume a lot
of air and it’s likely to damage the dive site. This is the main reason people
damage coral all around the world.
6.- Make extra movements
When you are underwater
the less unnecessary movements you do, the better. It is common that beginners
use their hands and move their whole body trying to be comfortable underwater,
and, in consequence, damage the dive
site and consume a lot of the air. Stay calm and remember your buoyancy depends
on your breathing and your propulsion on you legs and feet.
7.- Have stuff floating
around
The closer you have your
gear and gadgets to your body the best. If you have stuff floating around, they
can get hurt as well as the dive site. Clip everything in the right place and
try to be as compact at it’s possible.
8.- Multitasking
When something happens
underwater the first thing you must do is to calm down and think. When the
problem you are solving is complex you may need to do more than one task so remember
to do them one by one so you can focus on doing them right. Most of the time
the problem is much more simply than it appears and trying to do several thing
at the same time can worsen it.
9.- Forget to check air
consumption
Mostly beginners and
people that haven't dive in a long time don't really know what's their air consumption
and they forget to check it every several minutes. This can be the cause of an
emergency exit and/or other emergency procedures.
10.- Taking extra stuff
When you start in this
sport you may get existed and start buying stuff you don't really need for
every dive. Remember to take only the essential things, because if you take
something you aren’t going to use it can easily get hurt or lost.
[1] Mohammadali M. Shoja et al. A Guide to the Scientific Career: Virtues, Communication, Research, and Academic Writing, Wiley, Fisrt edition, 2020, page 37
