Dive Planning

There's several aspects to this post (for discussion) but in general there seems to be a lack of dive initiative in otherwise capable divers. It's personal choice of course but there seems to be a greater rush to take courses that teach specific skills at the expense of personal initiative/leadership/judgment/responsibility or however you want to look at it.

This applies to those looking to become DM's and Instructors but not having much dive planning/implementing experience, it applies to those rushing into tech diving without the same skills and in many cases it just applies to any group of divers.

I noticed it when I first started diving and I notice it now. I would go to a dive club to find more experienced divers but I noticed that 1) they weren't experienced and that's why they were in a dive club or 2) they had been diving for a long time but had never done any dives unless planned and coordinated by someone else.

I ended up doing new dives where I had to do the planning because no one else had much experience with anything but the local watering hole (not no one but many didn't).

I see it today when I'm in dive stores and no one has done many of the interesting dives. Of course there are many who have but my curiosity and this post is about the greater (than I would expect) numbers that haven't. It's not even about number of dives or dive sites. It's just about the lack of confidence or ability or experience or something that makes so many prefer to just follow someone else and yet want to push on to other levels having skipped this step.

There are DM's who have never done much diving except in classes.

There are tech divers who never really did any diving before their tech classes except the local sites.

I guess it's not exactly a skill that you can teach...initiative or whatever you want to call it but it seems to me this is the most lacking aspect of our sport that is not mentioned in these scuba boards to any great degree.

It's not that people have to be independent (except for their own safety) and of course many divers do plan dives...it's just surprising how many don't and I'm not just talking about occasional divers or ones who don't have local access to decent dive sites.

Maybe this has just happened to be my observation and maybe it's not widespread...I have no way of knowing ...therefore this post.

I couldn't agree more.

I mentioned the exact same issue, earlier today, on the 'rumor control - DM logged dive requirements ?' thread....

DevonDiver:

Specifically with scuba diving, all entry-level divers should equipped with the skills and knowledge to operate as complete, functional divers, independant of professional supervision. However, the overwhelming trend is for those divers to hop from course to course (under the supervision of an instructor) or to only go on escorted fun dives (under the supervision and guidance of a divemaster).

The greater majority of scuba divers - regardless of the number of years they have dived, or the number of dives they have completed, have never been in a situation where they were the most experienced diver in the team and had taken complete responsibility for themselves.
........
What matters is that the diver has done a sufficient number of independant dives to have applied the training they have recieved on previous courses and developed the ability and confidence to dive effectively without supervision and guidance.

Click to expand...

There is an identifiable trend for diminishing skills and capability within overall diving community. Some people are quick to point the finger of blame for this at the training agencies... and there is some merit to this. However, we must, as a diving community, also share this blame if we allow ourselves and our fellow divers to abdicate themselves from having any responsibility for applying the dive planning and scuba skills which they are taught.

Post was hard to follow at places as you drifted around. First talking about planning then talking about not diving beyond local sites. I'll address both.

I am limited to my dive sites as I don't have loads of money and I live on an island. I travel around and dive new sites as the shores of Oahu allow me to. When I move back to the mainland I will make an effort to get out and dive different areas.

As for dive planning. I see a lot of people that simply put their gear on and go jump in the water. Even diving sites I have dove countless times before I always go over at least a basic plan for what we are going to do, when to start coming back in, etc. If I am diving with somebody new or somebody that just haven't dove the site before then I will do a more in depth briefing with them. We also do a head-to-toe check and bubble check on every dive, regardless, along with a basic-5 and s-drills.

I, also, see many new divers that are just like you say. They don't go beyond dive sites that they are familiar with and only after somebody else has led them on them before. I see two causes of this. One, training just isn't thourough enough to give many new divers the confidence to do the planning process and try new dives on their own, once they judge them to be within their limits or not. Secondly, there are many "advanced, seasoned, expert, skilled, etc" divers out there that are above diving with a newbie and showing taking them under their wing because those divers are beneath them or just to much trouble. This is sad, and only hurts the sport as a whole. In the four years I have been diving I think I have mentored about 10-12 new/newer divers. Every time was a learning experience for me and they all came out of it as much better divers. I am not an instructor, but I sure have fun helping newer divers out and watching their enjoyment grow as their skills do.

I expect this is the natural progression of the mass marketing and reduced requirements of our sport.

We started with very unique individuals who sometimes had to build gear and had a passion for diving. As the gear developed, we added reliable manufacturing processes and large scale distribution methodologies which made the equipment available to all. We've also developed the equipment to the point that no serious effort is required to dive at the OW level. Assemble the gear and follow the computer.

In tandem, we went from stringent local club prerequisites to certifying organizations (PADI, et. al.) whose sole purpose became expansion of the sport, which required a reduction in those constraints. While we hope individual instructors may have limits or requirements, to the best of my knowledge none of the 'big' agencies have a 'swim test' for new divers.

Add in the wonders of the sea, Hollywood, and the instant distribution of digital photography/videography, and you've drawn every whimsical baby boomer who ever watched Sea Wolf or Jacques Cousteau.

Same thing happened to Harleys. Every guy/gal over 50 who grew up with Easy Rider or James Dean suddenly wants to be a rebel without a clue.

it_mike:

In tandem, we went from stringent local club prerequisites to certifying organizations (PADI, et. al.) whose sole purpose became expansion of the sport, which required a reduction in those constraints. While we hope individual instructors may have limits or requirements, to the best of my knowledge none of the 'big' agencies have a 'swim test' for new divers.

Click to expand...

Not to defend the "big" agencies, but PADI is the biggest and it has a swim test. I mean, if you can do 4 laps in a pool without drowning you can swim. Now, it is not necessarily a swim endurance test, but still a swim test.

it_mike:

We started with very unique individuals who sometimes had to build gear and had a passion for diving. As the gear developed, we added reliable manufacturing processes and large scale distribution methodologies which made the equipment available to all. We've also developed the equipment to the point that no serious effort is required to dive at the OW level. Assemble the gear and follow the computer.

Click to expand...

The same could be true of motoring, aviation.... or any other pursuit that has benefited from the advancement of technology and industrialized manufacturing processes.

Name me one activity that hasn't been made easier or more accessable as technology has impacted on either the performance and availability of the necessary equipment.

it_mike:

We've also developed the equipment to the point that no serious effort is required to dive at the OW level. Assemble the gear and follow the computer.

Click to expand...

It's a bit like the development of GPS systems for motorists. People have undoubtly lost some ability to navigate by map - but the end result is that they reach their destination and get lost less often.

Technology replaces skill in almost every aspect of our lives. We accomplish a lot more because of it. Reliance on technology is a sad product of that, but it is inevitable.

it_mike:

In tandem, we went from stringent local club prerequisites to certifying organizations (PADI, et. al.) whose sole purpose became expansion of the sport,......

Click to expand...

There are agencies that still operate on a club basis. They are equally keen to promote the expansion of the sport.

it_mike:

....which required a reduction in those constraints.

Click to expand...

Do you believe there are more or less constraints in the sport now than there were 10, 20, 30 or 50 years ago?

As scuba diving has evolved into a mass-market activity, the number of constraints placed upon the participants has increased massively.

it_mike:

Add in the wonders of the sea, Hollywood, and the instant distribution of digital photography/videography, and you've drawn every whimsical baby boomer who ever watched Sea Wolf or Jacques Cousteau.

Click to expand...

Are you suggesting it is somehow wrong to be inspired to achieve something?

DevonDiver:

.
.
There is an identifiable trend for diminishing skills and capability within overall diving community. Some people are quick to point the finger of blame for this at the training agencies... and there is some merit to this. However, we must, as a diving community, also share this blame if we allow ourselves and our fellow divers to abdicate themselves from having any responsibility for applying the dive planning and scuba skills which they are taught.

Click to expand...

And, may I add, to seek out the instructors that *do* give a damn about how much they teach their students and are not in it just for the money (or whatever other reason). I suspect that is rather hard at the beginning stages, when you are completely new at the sport, but after a certain number of dives you begin to get a feeling for the quality of instruction.

Just yesterday I've cancelled the rescue diver course at my seaside diving club. The owner and instructor, who taught me OWD and AOWD and with whom I am quite friendly, was willing to do it just for me, since I've been diving there for most of the summer. But recently I've joined a club where I took the deep diver course and during the course I saw that the quality of the course, the amount of information that I learned and the amount of practice that I got were much better. So I will be doing the rescue diver course at the club. I know it will be tougher, but I will come out of it a better diver.

rockjock3:

Not to defend the "big" agencies, but PADI is the biggest and it has a swim test. I mean, if you can do 4 laps in a pool without drowning you can swim. Now, it is not necessarily a swim endurance test, but still a swim test.

Click to expand...

4 laps has to be 200 yards by standard, or a little short of an 1/8 mile, while it is not timed, it is a requirement to get certified

I wasn't trying to make an issue with how much you travel. My area is a little different. We have local dives (really local) and then we have dives that you could do if you would just drive for an hour or two.

There are many people advancing through the various levels that I mentioned that have rarely done a dive that wasn't controlled on some level by someone else.

I'm not even talking about really difficult dives in many cases. There are just people who can't read current, navigate, understand a site or have the initiative to put a dive together without someone else holding their hand.

I can see if you're just a really passive person but if you want to advance and are but don't have those skills I find it hard to understand.

A couple questions to toss out to the general public ...

In what class were you taught the "how to" of dive planning?

What did it involve, and how does that apply to the diving you do today?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)