Does the learning ever stop?

[Rileybri]

I know I have a long way to go before I even have to think about it but do you ever get to a point when you are not learning someting new onevery dive? I Went for a shallow dive in the lake to day with my regular buddy. We ere 15' max diving a retaining wall and pier where people regularly "drop" drop stuff. Well I was about 200 psi into the dive on my new to me ST72 when I herd a PSTTTTTTPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP sound and bubbles welled up around my head. Oh oh I think! I remember something in my manual or ST about this? Ok first relax im ok and can swim from (drop weighs) 15' if need be. Second how fast am I loosing air, check SPG? Third signal buddy to surface. It was all automatic. We were still very close to our entry point so back to the bech it was to see what was up. Yup blown O-ring. Easy fix had we not dropped gear at the start of the dive and parked the car at the end. Dammmmmmm oh well lesson learned, had I checked the o-ring when I got the tank, before I place the first stage on, or at any point before the dive I would have noticed the cracked dry o-ring and we would still be diving right now!

[ReefHound]

If you're a good diver, the learning never stops. And you can't always foresee a blown o-ring, sometimes they look perfectly fine up until they go.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Everyone always says in life - you are always learning... I'm wondering if it's just that I'm getting older - forgot a bunch of stuff... and now when I have to learn it again, I think it's the first time.

[Sansho]

What ReeHound said!

[Vercingetorix]

Learning is constant. I just got another "Lesson Learned" on yesterday's dive.

I set-up my gear, and cranked on the air (with reg purge valve open, of course). Hear LOUD hissing from first stage...oh sh*t!!!

Check o-ring. Good. Check LP and HP port plugs. Good. Turn on air...and loud hissing from between yoke and 1st stage cylinder. I mention to dive buddy (Kenneth Hall on this forum) and I tell him I'm headed to ScubaToys to repair. He responds, "I had that once. Feels like it's coming from under yoke. Check your hoses." Sure enough, my SPG hose is finger-loose in the first stage. Tighten it, and I'm good to go.

Lesson learned: check ALL connections before a dive.

Speaking of blown O-rings, another dive buddy, TxHockeyGuy, had O-rings blow on three consecutive weekends. When we went diving the next time, I suggested I get a new buddy, because he was bad luck
He hadn't done anything wrong, it was just luck of the draw.

[TropicalSoul]

Originally Posted by Rileybri

I know I have a long way to go before I even have to think about it but do you ever get to a point when you are not learning someting new onevery dive? I Went for a shallow dive in the lake to day with my regular buddy. We ere 15' max diving a retaining wall and pier where people regularly "drop" drop stuff. Well I was about 200 psi into the dive on my new to me ST72 when I herd a PSTTTTTTPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP sound and bubbles welled up around my head. Oh oh I think! I remember something in my manual or ST about this? Ok first relax im ok and can swim from (drop weighs) 15' if need be. Second how fast am I loosing air, check SPG? Third signal buddy to surface. It was all automatic. We were still very close to our entry point so back to the bech it was to see what was up. Yup blown O-ring. Easy fix had we not dropped gear at the start of the dive and parked the car at the end. Dammmmmmm oh well lesson learned, had I checked the o-ring when I got the tank, before I place the first stage on, or at any point before the dive I would have noticed the cracked dry o-ring and we would still be diving right now!

Nope. Which I think is actually a big positive to diving. I've taken over 40 (yes 40, as in Four Zero, last time I counted them up which was several years and more courses ago) and I am still, and will always be, learning. I'm always looking for something new to learn, in either a new course with another agency, or reading the various dive magazines, or just observing every other diver on every dive, boat, charter, shore, ocean, lake, wherever/whatever dive, always shows me something by how they set up, dive, and care for their equipment. Even if it is a bad habit or a good practise. What rig change is working, what doesn't work so well. What equipment is cool to look at and what really works better and is not eye candy to look at. Always looking to upgrade my various rig sets for salt/fresh/cold/ice/temperate/subtropical/tropical/cavern/wreck/reef/drift and the many other diving situations possible.

[georoc01]

I think that is what of the great things about this sport. THere are always new places to dive, new things to see and plenty more to learn. Their is just too much cool stuff under water in this world to not keep learning something.

[navyhmc]

Hopefully the learning never stops. Like everyone else said.

[JimHar99]

I don't know about learning something on every dive, but I do try to keep learning. That's part of why I read all of the posts here.

[Rileybri]

I am really glad to hear this. I have gotten to the point in my other obsession (snow skiing) where after 30+ years I have reached a point where unless I really want to put my self on the edge (think extreme skiing) its more a matter of just going out and letting the muscle memory take over.

One of the things I am loving about scuba is that at this point in my diving I am going out and learning something new on on every dive. With every conversation I have about scuba, with every new buddy, dive sight ect. I am absorbing and processing information.

Actually is really all I think about lately. I think its safe to say I have the bug bad! Thanks for all of the great info on diving and the support for all the crazy questions I come up with (no not just to raise my post count to 250 ). Keep up the support and this amazing community and I will keep up the diving! just logged dives 17 and 18 since getting my cert may 30th!

cheers,

Brian D.