If you are a new diver, please read this

[SanFranDiver]

As a new diver I've found this and hundreds of other SB threads to be informative and I thank the posters (fewer thanks to the ranters).

That said, last year I took a Possibly Adequate Dive Instruction OW course, and believe me, (a) being allowed to teach Gas Management with info on SAC and tank/depth capacities, and (b) having the time to cram it all into a single 9 hour classroom and pool dive day are two totally separate realities. As I recall, we were taught Rule of Thirds, surface with 500psi. Period.

Fortunately for me, I'm an information junkie, so I've done lots of reading and question asking. I'm also usually 6-sigmas out on the bell curve (guess that makes me a very un-standard deviate - apologies to folks who are still traumatized by their intro statistics class), so I doubt any of the folks who attended the same OW instruction facility as I did during the past year know anything about SAC.

I'm certainly in favor of teaching a lot more about Gas Management for the beginning diver. I recognize that a CC is just a learner's permit, but you can still get killed while practicing new, underdeveloped skills, or by failing to know what you don't know. I think that more classroom time and more water skill development time should be required before releasing CC-bearing newbies into the wild.

A somewhat related point: not all OW classes/instructors are created equal, and it's tough for the newbie to judge that before taking a particular facility's class. In my case, it seems like the class was designed to be "once over lightly" for the Lowest Common Denominator: quick 'n' dumb.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

That is one of the issues that irks me to no end. That places will try to cram all this stuff down a person's throat in one day. I have found that on average about 2-3 hours is all most new divers can take before the mind starts to shut down, they get fidgety, hungry, etc. In the pool they will start to get chilled and once that happens it's tough to get them to retain skills. The only reason to do this is greed. No ifs, ands, or buts. Get as many thru as quick as possible and get their money. I am not permitted by agency standards to teach these types of courses. It's why I left an agency to become an instructor for one that fits my beliefs ethically, morally, and educationally.

I had a little better OW experience than yours but still with the bulk of my education coming from self study( why the hell didn't I get 1/2 the course fee now that I think of it?) I flew through the book in two days. Did a couple classsroom sessions, I think 3 pool sessions and two weeks later did not remember 1/2 of what I covered in the book. It was not reinforced or thoroughly gone over and as a result did not seem that important.

Now as one who has others lives in his hands I see just how important everything is. It's why I do 6-8 classroom sessions and 6-8 pool sessions. Spread out over an equal number of weeks in most cases. When my students are done there is no doubt that they have it down and are more importantly retaining that knowledge. I know this because we discuss and verify their understanding of the previous lesson each time. This is done through a Q&A and by going over their workbooks which require them to add to the material we went over in class but in the same subject. It also reaffirms what we covered in class by requiring them to use their notes and memory as well as some independent though to complete certain questions. For example what type of exposure protection is required in 75 degree water. Some say a 3 mil, I use a 5, some people will dive dry. The answer I like to see them give is "it really is based on how many dives I'll be doing, the air temp, the times I'll be down, and my personal tolerance for cold."

This is not a book answer, this is a thinking divers answer. And by that time the pool sessions we've done, subjects we've covered, and my experiences allow them to pretty easily come up with an answer like this. If they say a 5 mil suit and I ask why, and they say because the book said so, it is not the answer I'm looking for and we spend some time going over why. You can't do this type of teaching in a quickie course and to even try is not something I am able to do from an ethical and moral standpoint.

As a DM I assisted an instructor who rushed someone thru a 10 hour day of classroom and two 6 hour pools sessions so he could do his checkouts in Thailand the next weekend. I thought to myself that this does not seem right. Then later when doing my crossover and Instructor internship I saw my instructor trainer require a student to go on his Australia trip and then come back for the last two pool sessions and checkouts before he would give him a card. This is the way it should be done.

 

[on_two_wheels]

I'm way behind on this one....been off the board for a while. First, thanks for posting the article. For what it's worth, I didn't learn actual gas management in my OW or AOW class so I have learned a lot from reading this!! Using the example of the divers that died, however, may be completely unrelated. As was said, perhaps they had a good plan but didn't follow it, didn't pay attention to gauges, etc. The best gas management plan in the world is worthless if not followed.

 

[BettyRubble]

Hi ScubaDocER

Overall I was pleased with the class but there were 7 students for 2 instructors. They did have 2 safety spotters too in the pool. But I completely agree with you that the instructor let his guard down on this and think he realized it too when we talked later. Fortunately I don't panic easily. They had their hands full with a couple of students who were not as comfortable in the water and not comfortable with the skills (mask clearning etc). I was glad the issue happened in a pool and not in OW with surf.

I LOVE SCUBA so it will take more then this to shake me from it.

I am glad that you made it through alright. My concern was for divers reading this, especially new divers, to feel that ditching their weight belt was a means of correcting buoyancy issues. There are a few issues I would take with your Instructor though.

They should have kept a better eye on you since they added weights to you. They have no way of knowing if the additional weights would be effective, or in this case, dangerous, since you could not even break the surface even while struggling. If they "had their back" to you, then they neglected their responsibility of supervising you which could have been fatal. Don't be deceived about the fact that you were in 9 feet of water. People can panic and drown in 9 feet. Given his lack of supervision over you and the options you were faced with, I agree that ditching your weights was a reasonable option. Your Instructor talked to you about over weighting. I would have talked to him about the importance of watching over his students.

If they are going to add weights to your system, they should tell you where the weights are. Seems as if you found out why. I agree that the last person to touch your gear should be you. That assumes however that you know what you're doing. In a teaching environment, the Instructor should know how to assist you with the assembly of your gear, this includes your weighting systems. What he could have done was hand you the weights and showed you how to put them on to demonstrate how to put on clip on or drop weights.

I agree with the other lessons learned but would extend a caveat to one of them. The issue with correcting buoyancy issues is not necessarily a change in your inflation system. You do not need to go to a BP/Wings system to become proficient in your buoyancy skills. Learn how to dive in either system and your will be able to remain trim and balanced no matter which system you choose. If you are currently using a BCD, continue to practice with it and understand how it works. Understand how much air is needed to control your buoyancy at various depths. Once this is accomplished, then you can consider a switch to a BP/Wings. Just a suggestion.

Sounds as if you are keeping a positive attitude about the experience and I think that is one of the best lessons learned from my perspective. As long as you have the desire to continue to improve on your diving skills you will be just fine.