From 1971 to 2005, Ted Gladson of Chicago, Illinois, was the president of Gladson Interactive, where he was recognized for his distinguished career and inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. Aside from his work in Chicago, Ted Gladson enjoys scuba diving.
As can be expected, novice scuba divers often make mistakes. Here are three of the most common mistakes new divers make. Avoid them to best enjoy your new pursuit.
1. Doing Too Much - Between buoyancy control, keeping track of your gauges and equipment, and enjoying your dive, new divers often have a plate full of tasks. The Scuba Diver Life website suggests leaving the camera behind on your first dives, so as not to overload yourself. Once you are more familiar with diving and all the attention it requires, you can then bring the camera along.
2. Surface Strain - New divers often forget that they can use their buoyancy control device (BCD) on the water's surface to avoid putting much effort into staying afloat with all that awkward, heavy equipment. Using your legs to keep yourself above water requires much more energy than simply inflating your BCD, leaning back, and floating.
3. Not Asking Questions - There is no shame in not understanding something, especially with an involved sport like scuba diving. Do not be afraid to ask for clarification during instruction. The chances are excellent other students have the same questions, but like you, are too embarrassed to ask. Instead, realize that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be thorough, and ask away.
