What Defines "Open Water"?

[BDSC]

We all know that in order to become certified, a person has to complete a certain number of open water dives. My question is, how is open water defined?

I got to thinking about a place like the Georgia Aquarium. It's a really large body of water as far as aquariums go. Could a site like that be considered open water?

 

[RJP]

We all know that in order to become certified, a person has to complete a certain number of open water dives. My question is, how is open water defined?

I got to thinking about a place like the Georgia Aquarium. It's a really large body of water as far as aquariums go. Could a site like that be considered open water?

I don't believe it is large enough to meet the PADI definition of an "Open Water Site"... which is a bit vague though:

Open water is a body of water significantly larger than a swimming pool offering conditions typical of a natural body of water encountered by divers.

Within this definition, there are certain sites (very large aquariums and specifically-constructed environments designed for recreational diving, for example) that provide conditions typically associated with natural bodies of water, such as appropriate depths for diving, the ability to plan and experience a dive, bottom contour and composition, water temperatures representative of the open water dive experience, and/or others.

"Bottom contour" is pretty contourless... no?

 

[Mustard Dave]

I dived Nemo 33 in Belgium a couple of years ago. At the time it was the world's deepest swimming pool at 34.5 metres (there is an Italian pool that is 40m now). On their website it says PADI do not consider it to be an open water site. SSI allow you to do two of the four open water dives in their pool. Nemo 33's website says:

"We remind you that the PADI diving courses are recognized only to a certain limit at NEMO33. PADI considers NEMO33 as a normal pool, and after we start teaching SSI Courses, they change the teaching standards. You are not able to do any of the open water dives in NEMO33. You can take the sessions of confined water and then do the 4 open water dives outside NEMO33. This sounds absurd because in the past NEMO33 formed hundreds of excellent divers."

My response to the bit in bold is 'b*ll*cks!'. How the hell could you teach navigation skills in a pool, where you can see from one end to the other? How can you teach entry skills where there is a set of bloody steps? How can you give students experience of diving in currents?

 

[tbone1004]

I think the aquarium has actually quite a bit of bottom contour, more than most quarries. Bunch of ridges and various other things on and around the bottom. Surprisingly natural setup. I'd log it as an aquarium dive though since it is still considered "confined" by most peoples standards. You can actually do the confined portions of the OW class in certain quarries and parts of the ocean actually depending on the the specific conditions.

Sea Camp in Florida teaches the confined water portion in the ocean, though it is in a harbor type setting where it is restricted. I'm sure there are many others that do the same where swimming pool access is limited

 

[RJP]

How the hell could you teach navigation skills in a pool, where you can see from one end to the other? How can you teach entry skills where there is a set of bloody steps? How can you give students experience of diving in currents?

Not lobbying for pool use for OW, but...

I've been in plenty of places where the viz exceeded the typical nav distances in OW classes.

There are plenty of places in the ocean where there are steps.

There are lots of places in the ocean where there is no current.

If those are your specific concerns... then the vast majority of actual open water dive locations in places like the the Caribbean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific would not meet with your approval for OW dives.

 

[tursiops]

I don't believe it is large enough to meet the PADI definition of an "Open Water Site"... which is a bit vague though:

Open water is a body of water significantly larger than a swimming pool offering conditions typical of a natural body of water encountered by divers.

Within this definition, there are certain sites (very large aquariums and specifically-constructed environments designed for recreational diving, for example) that provide conditions typically associated with natural bodies of water, such as appropriate depths for diving, the ability to plan and experience a dive, bottom contour and composition, water temperatures representative of the open water dive experience, and/or others.

The rest of the quote from the PADI Instructor Manual is:
Sites having such attributes can be appropriate for conducting the following PADI open water dives:
• Discover Scuba Diving dive(s)
• PADI Scuba Diver dives
• Open Water Diver course Dives 1 and 2
• Specialty course dives that have an Open Water Diver (or lower) prerequisite

That seems pretty specific!

 

[RJP]

The rest of the quote from the PADI Instructor Manual is:
Sites having such attributes can be appropriate for conducting the following PADI open water dives:
• Discover Scuba Diving dive(s)
• PADI Scuba Diver dives
• Open Water Diver course Dives 1 and 2
• Specialty course dives that have an Open Water Diver (or lower) prerequisite

That seems pretty specific!

Specific as to what dives can be done in such water, but not really as to "what constitutes open water" in any meaningful way. "Bigger than a breadbox" doesn't help much.

I wonder if their "there are certain sites" language indicates that there are "specifically identified sites?"

 

[Doc]

Kinda' funny, how times change.

In 1968, the actual written practices fully allowed me to get my AOW in a swimming pool. (when local seasonal climatic conditions would otherwise interfere)

 

[gwklein]

"Bottom contour" is pretty contourless... no?[/QUOTE]

The bottom of the aquarium varies significantly. Depth ranges from 18 - 33 feet. Large rock formations cover the bottom. There are two places where the rocks make narrow passages wide enough for only one diver at a time.

 

[Mustard Dave]

Not lobbying for pool use for OW, but...

I've been in plenty of places where the viz exceeded the typical nav distances in OW classes.

There are plenty of places in the ocean where there are steps.

There are lots of places in the ocean where there is no current.

If those are your specific concerns... then the vast majority of actual open water dive locations in places like the the Caribbean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific would not meet with your approval for OW dives.

True, however, It should be noted that we are told when we are certified (with PADI) that the we are qualified to dive in conditions similar or better than those we trained in. I would never dive a 40m wreck in Scapa Flow with somebody who has only ever dived in the Caribbean.

If you are fortunate enough to live and dive somewhere with crystal clear waters, there is little you can do about it. The same goes for current. There are plenty of places where there are steps, but If I was teaching, I would try to avoid using them if possible, and try to mix the sites up a bit so students got the benefit of experiencing different entry methods.

If you have leared to dive in Nemo 33, you may well be okay in some of the many exotic dive locations, but it seems ridiculous to train divers in a pool when you have alternative sites that will give the students experience of proper open water conditions.