You too?I didn't take a course myself and so far I'm still alive.
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You too?I didn't take a course myself and so far I'm still alive.
This is at the crux of the issue. The dive industry, to a large extent, is not selling training, but access. I don't think it has much to do with our litigious society. They restrict access to create demand for their certifications. I only took nitrox because without it, I couldn't get nitrox fills. And there was nothing in the course that I couldn't have easily gleaned from a book. I have never had anybody ask for my night or deep dive certification, or an AOW, for that matter, but it's been a while since I dived in the United States.My concern about the mentor idea is that you can only learn what they know. You don't get the benefit of a fully reviewed course of instruction. There's no written material and no knowledge reviews. Now, if that mentor happens to be an instructor and the instruction happens to completely follow a known course of instruction then you get a bargain. More often than not, it's "just do what I do".
Around here it doesn't matter what your buddy teaches you about Nitrox, you can't get a fill without a recognized card. Same thing with deep and night dives from charter boats; no card, no dive. For these types of dives, an AOW is usually adequate.
One thing about our litigious society, we practice self defense. Businesses implement policies that attempt to keep people from hurting themselves.
I'm not a fan of the 'mentor' concept. It might be useful for polishing skills but I don't think it is a good substitute for more formal training.
Richard
would i have to take a drysuit course so as to use or rent one
So do you think then, that people should have to pay for a course for any new skill they want to learn? Such as night diving? Or diving with a drysuit? Different fin kicks? Those kinds of skills to me do not require an instructor in my opinion. There are many skills where one would benefit from an instructor but not all.
It depends how comfortable you are in the water. I didn't take a course myself and so far I'm still alive. Basically I read a whole bunch about using a drysuit, bought one and went out under a shallow pier and practiced the skills.
would i have to take a drysuit course so as to use or rent one