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A lot of us feel this way. The history of OW certification has been the whittling away of class time and skills practice to the absolute minimum that will get people safely through a guided dive to 60'.... But I felt they really rushed me through my skills training... I seemed to have functioned well, but after the dive, I felt like, I performed the skill well, but was it 2nd nature?
I think if anyone is teaching you skills that your life literally depends on, they should make sure those skills are are part of who you are!!! Don't just have me locate my lost regulator once, and then go on to the next thing...Have me do it 10 times...and then, on the 7th time, knock my mask off...turn off my cannister...Have me ascend, by myself, performing my safety stop...
I know all these skills take practice and practice and more practice... I know I can latch on to any beginners group and hang tight... But, all these drive trips move so fast... Boom, your on the boat... You gear up... Go through safety checks (sometimes), and then... SPLASH! Everybody's off and running... Hey look at that turtle... Look at that ray... Check out that reef... Let's turn the dive... Up we go... Snacks... SPLASH...
Hahaha... What the hell is the rush?...LoL... Where's the ?
4-6 divers per group. All paid good money to be there... But it would be nice to be able to stop at some point and as the guide, "hey, why am I flipping over sometimes?" Maybe I'm not weighted correctly... Not trimmed properly... Who knows...
That's why I'm looking for private dives... To go along with some group dives...
I'll let myself out.