Bad OW experience (Warning: Really long post!)

[scottg]

I know this is an old thread, but as I am fairly new to scuba, it is amusing (and educational) to peruse these outbursts, philosophies, ideas, bits o’ knowledge, flames, etc.
Having spent 20 years in my younger days skydiving and being very obsessive about it, (to be a little crude, there was a little underground chant to the sport …. Eat, F**K, Skydive!) I have noticed the parallels are very evident. Alas, 2 wives, 4 children, and starting my own business took me away from the skies. Now having the time and the means to persue something I have always wanted to do (and did occasionally without the benefit of any courses and instructors, other than a buddy who “knew all about it”) I have gone the proper route and done the courses, the OW and AOW PADI certs.
I can’t begin to say how similar the experiences have been. This thread only brings back the days of when I first began skydiving, from instructors and drop zones that would vary wildly in their quality of implementing the basics to the gear arguments, methodology, governing agencies and personal politics. I’m glad to see human nature hasn’t changed a whole lot in 30 years, otherwise I would have to adjust to professionalism, unified standards and humble scubagods (skygods) who are always ready to help and improve the less experienced rather than flame or criticize. I was not above this, as I started out the “fast-tracked” student to go on to the “100 jump wonder” to the “700 jump skygod” ready to burn anybody that didn’t share the elevated stratosphere of knowledge and experience that I had attained. It was only after many more years of jumping and meeting and getting to know some of the truly great people (they were few) of that sport I realized what a real jerk I was and began to appreciate the more subtle aspects, such as really helping out someone new to the sport and not just trying to impress them.
Having this behind me has given me a perspective that is invaluable. I appreciate proper training a lot more and don’t necessarily consider the scubagods always correct.
In closing, some of these threads sound all to familiar, not necessarily in content but in tone. I know in my years ahead in scuba I will meet some of the truly great (in spirit and in diving abilities) and will learn much from them and will share many great memories. I can’t wait!

 

[ScubaFishee]

For new developments on my quest for OW certification...

... check out Good OW Experience here.

 

[Mouth Breather old]

I was unaware that you were wearing a toy snorkel. I would recommend getting one a bit less "High Tech".

Ouch! Can we get a little more condescending to the new diver?

A. Have seen the same policy at a LDS. "Can't use it during class if you didn't buy it here"

B. Agree. Would not want a dive buddy that dismissed my attempts to tell them that something is wrong with my equiptment...even something as simple as a snorkel.

C. You go girl! Don't give up yet. The THIRD time I SNUBA'D for goodness sakes I thought something was wrong with my regulator. The divemaster came over and calmly and patiently asked me to take some deep breaths from it to prove to myself that it was okay. (I was overbreathing it and getting anxious about the regulators inability to keep up). A patient instructor is worth his weightbelt in gold. If it wasn't for him. I would have given up the dream of getting certified then and there.

 

[jepuskar]

As a new member to this board and as a pre-newbie to SCUBA..(pre-Newbie means I start my intro to SCUBA tomorrow..after tomorrow I will be a newbie ..I read every single post to this long thread.

This is a great thread to read and I admire Scubafishee for calling the dive. I think the most important point of this whole thread is this:

Call the dive if your not comfortable for.....whatever reason. Your buddy should thank you when you get back in the boat. It's his ass also that might have been saved.

Sometimes reading these threads can be counter-productive. I haven't even had a regulator in my mouth yet and I am already concerned about being weighted properly..lol

Ohh, and the whole snorkel ..toy..thing....I bought an Oceanmaster dry snorkel and it has improved my confidence by 100%. Is this considered a toy because it doesn't have a plain opening? It's a great invention.

 

[finstotheleft]

I'm so sorry that your experience was so horrible! Don't let it discourage you!

My instructor taught us some good skills, and made us work for the certification! But he also told us this: Don't ever forget that you're doing scuba to HAVE FUN! This is so true. Don't let them spoil it for you. Maybe they just lost heart in it, from the sounds of things.

Ask around your area and look for a good instructor. Sounds like you may have to go outside your area, since you seem to have a local dive shop feud going on.

I was lucky. I had one instructor, and was a guinee pig for two other guys that were getting their instructor certifications at the same time. Basically, I had 3 instructors. I ended up pairing with one in particular because he went a little slower....more my pace-especially for a newbie.

I didn't like the snorkel either, until I got my Aqualung Impulse II. It's great. Give it a try, and good luck with future diving!

 

[scottg]

Sheeezzz finstotheleft, it sounds like you were at the same school/class i was at, down to the same snorkel and 2 instructor/trainee guinea pig thing and "Let's dive to have fun!" quote. You didn't do this in Minnesota did you?

 

[finstotheleft]

Wow. That's pretty cool scottg! Kinda funny too! Think there's a conspiracy going on here??? Maybe we've joined some kind of weird scuba instructor cult?:devsurpr: :ydevil: :dshades:

 

[WreckWriter]

edited for being non-constructive

 

[Dea]

Diving is not for everyone.

So is teaching!

I during my training I did not have a single problem with any of the tasks.
Yet my first dive POOL dive was full of purely psychological stress because of the instructor’s manner. She made us feel as if she was supposed to go somewhere an hour ago and we were delaying her with a silly class. And the way she was conducting it — she should be doing “stress training” for the navy seals and not OW! I was scared of her, not of the water!
She is a “hall of fame” diver, but she should not have been an instructor.

After just one session I called and said I had a flu, so that I didn’t have to go through another class with her. She did not believe me. (I probably was not the first student to suddenly develop a flu after her first class. ) But the owner did reschedule me with another instructor and the difference was amazing.

I’ve had a number of other courses since then, and I was lucky as all the other instructors were great.
I’ve been called “a natural” at diving in every course from my first C-card. But the memory of that woman… I think that if I had continued with her, I would not be diving today.