Togalive
Contributor
Hello Everyone,
I was speaking with another diver just a short while ago, and they brought up an interesting point. Having been certified just a few months ago, and with less than 10 dives under her belt, I brought up the topic of dive tables. Curiously, she responded "Oh, we never learned how to use those in my course, we just used computers." I found this to be interesting, I knew that a lot of shops will outfit OW Diver courses with computers to make it easier, but I always thought they would atleast be taught how to use a table. So, I asked if they at least went over them in the course, and maybe ran through some basic practice exercises, but sure enough her response was "Nope, the instructor just held one up, pointed to a big one on the wall, and said "This is a dive table. We used to use these, but now everything is computerized, so we dont use them anymore." and that was that." I was astounded to learn that not only were there never any exercises taught on how to even use tables, indeed they were never even mentioned again, but that when asked what to do if your computer runs out of batteries between dives or during a dive the instructor replied "You should follow a backup dive plan or call the dive." never once suggesting that you pull out a table and at least get a sense for where you are in terms of nitrogen loading.
So my question is this, where have all the standards gone? Being a diver who loves diving with all that I have, and in the process of pursuing my DM, I swear sometimes I think diving is being dumbed down way too much. I dont think that going back to the old days of diving, where it was more military than recreational, would be the best way to go, but really, how can we expect the next generation of divers to be responsible and safe if they dont even know how to use a dive table? I use a computer, I always do unless im diving enriched air where I prefer NOAA tables, but this all makes me wonder if we have made diving too simple just for the money of getting more people certified. What amazes me even more is that the shop was featured in a major diving publication as being one of the best on the West Coast (United States) for their great instruction. I am sure they have some great instructors, and I have seen that they run a quality retail shop, but really? Not even an exercise on how to use a table? How do they expect their students to fair if they try to learn proper EANx diving one day? That should not be the first time they will have used a table by any means.
Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion? I just can't help but feel that we are polluting the "pool" of divers with poor instruction. It is not the fault of the students that they have never been taught how to use a table, how to properly rescue an injured diver, how to recognize DCS, or even the basics of risk management, but instead have been told that they ocean is a giant playground full of friendly fish and currents waiting to carry you off into some mystical landscape. I love the ocean, I love diving, and I love introducing new people to our unique world; however, I would hate to see what would happen if half of these students tried to go out and dive the Sonoma or Mendocino coast. Up here its rough conditions 90% of the time, less than 15 ft vis 95% of the time, always strong currents, and always "sharky" waters, yet its being presented as a giant playground.
I'm interested in your opinions, I just can't help but think that being a future DM I am going to be finding myself in the presence of divers who are less and less prepared for what they are getting themselves into, not the self-sufficient, responsible divers they should be.
Thanks,
TogaLive
I was speaking with another diver just a short while ago, and they brought up an interesting point. Having been certified just a few months ago, and with less than 10 dives under her belt, I brought up the topic of dive tables. Curiously, she responded "Oh, we never learned how to use those in my course, we just used computers." I found this to be interesting, I knew that a lot of shops will outfit OW Diver courses with computers to make it easier, but I always thought they would atleast be taught how to use a table. So, I asked if they at least went over them in the course, and maybe ran through some basic practice exercises, but sure enough her response was "Nope, the instructor just held one up, pointed to a big one on the wall, and said "This is a dive table. We used to use these, but now everything is computerized, so we dont use them anymore." and that was that." I was astounded to learn that not only were there never any exercises taught on how to even use tables, indeed they were never even mentioned again, but that when asked what to do if your computer runs out of batteries between dives or during a dive the instructor replied "You should follow a backup dive plan or call the dive." never once suggesting that you pull out a table and at least get a sense for where you are in terms of nitrogen loading.
So my question is this, where have all the standards gone? Being a diver who loves diving with all that I have, and in the process of pursuing my DM, I swear sometimes I think diving is being dumbed down way too much. I dont think that going back to the old days of diving, where it was more military than recreational, would be the best way to go, but really, how can we expect the next generation of divers to be responsible and safe if they dont even know how to use a dive table? I use a computer, I always do unless im diving enriched air where I prefer NOAA tables, but this all makes me wonder if we have made diving too simple just for the money of getting more people certified. What amazes me even more is that the shop was featured in a major diving publication as being one of the best on the West Coast (United States) for their great instruction. I am sure they have some great instructors, and I have seen that they run a quality retail shop, but really? Not even an exercise on how to use a table? How do they expect their students to fair if they try to learn proper EANx diving one day? That should not be the first time they will have used a table by any means.
Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion? I just can't help but feel that we are polluting the "pool" of divers with poor instruction. It is not the fault of the students that they have never been taught how to use a table, how to properly rescue an injured diver, how to recognize DCS, or even the basics of risk management, but instead have been told that they ocean is a giant playground full of friendly fish and currents waiting to carry you off into some mystical landscape. I love the ocean, I love diving, and I love introducing new people to our unique world; however, I would hate to see what would happen if half of these students tried to go out and dive the Sonoma or Mendocino coast. Up here its rough conditions 90% of the time, less than 15 ft vis 95% of the time, always strong currents, and always "sharky" waters, yet its being presented as a giant playground.
I'm interested in your opinions, I just can't help but think that being a future DM I am going to be finding myself in the presence of divers who are less and less prepared for what they are getting themselves into, not the self-sufficient, responsible divers they should be.
Thanks,
TogaLive