Hit 500 logged dives last month but still feel like a greenhorn

After 500 dives I figured I'd stop making rookie mistakes, but I nearly forgot to check my air on a deep job in Galveston last week. Anyone else hit a milestone and realize they still have blind spots?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.xena13d ago

I mean it's wild how the brain just decides to skip over the basics sometimes. I remember hitting dive 400 on a wreck off the Keys and I spent like five minutes fumbling with my buoyancy because I forgot to account for the current shift that happens there every afternoon. Like, you'd think after that many dives you'd just have muscle memory for everything but nope, the ocean finds new ways to humble you every time. Maybe it's just me but I feel like those moments keep diving interesting, you know?

terry_wood5113d ago

The ocean finds new ways to humble you every time" is the nicest way I've ever heard someone say they looked like a confused seal for five minutes. I hit dive 300 with a fancy new drysuit and spent a whole minute trying to inflate my BCD with the dump valve button. Keeps you humble alright, mostly by making you question if you've ever actually learned anything at all.

wyattrobinson6d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta push back on this one a little. Those moments don't keep diving interesting for me, they just make me feel like an idiot. Muscle memory is real but it's also fragile, especially when you switch gear or conditions are off. I've got over 500 dives and I still sometimes forget to pull my inflator hose before hitting the water. It's not humbling, it's frustrating. The ocean doesn't teach you anything new in those moments, it just reminds you that you didn't prepare well enough.