50ft dive after 1hr of instruction?

[DevonDiver]

I was talking to a friend the other day and he told me he tried scuba at a resort in Mexico, he was briefed for 1hr after which he dove 50ft and claimed that there was "not much to it". What can you really learn in 1hr? Isn't this dangerous? Is it common for resorts to do this?

Heinous.

Most organizations put strict limitations of 'try dives' or 'discover scuba dives'. For PADI it is 6m (dive 1) and 12m (dive 2, if training was conducted with an instructor).

However, many dive shops choose to provide 'experience dives' that are not formal and do not follow organization guidelines. As such, they are unlikely to be covered under the liability insurance of the shop/instructor concerned...so if anything goes wrong, then legal actions would be painful.

Realistically, being taken to 50ft, under the careful supervision of an instructor is no more dangerous than being taken to 10ft....however, as the the customer concerned has no formal training or theory knowledge (they are not a trained diver, or diver in training)...and are much more likely to freak out underwater (they have not been progressively introduced to being underwater) then they are completely at the mercy of the person taking them for the dive.

For me, as a professional dive instructor, I would never want to take a 'discovery' diver to those depths....there is too much to go wrong and too many variables...and I would not want responsibility for their safety in those circumstances and I would not want the legal repercussions in the event of an incident. Maybe the instructor concerned (I assume it was an instructor!?!) had greater confidence in themselves.

 

[DevonDiver]

So tell us, under what authority were the existing agencies created?

There is none. However, the majority of agencies in existence have agreed to be compliant to the standards set by the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC).

There is no reason why anyone else couldn't found their own training agency. However, the issue they would face would be whether they could obtain liability insurance for themselves (as an organization) and their instructors.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Most organizations put strict limitations of 'try dives' or 'discover scuba dives'. For PADI it is 6m (dive 1) and 12m (dive 2, if training was conducted with an instructor).

Is this a NEW rule? Last I heard the Intro dive was regulated the same as OW dives 1 & 2m, 40' max depth (at least here in the North America region).

Also, the RSTC might only have semi-jurisdiction in the US; other countries may not recognize it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I was talking with my friend today who did this dive and he was telling me about ascending. In my OW course we ascended by dumping all the air (which was put in to establish neutral buoyancy underwater) and then swimming upwards to the surface at which point we re-inflated the BCD to establish positive buoyancy. The reasoning against using BCD to ascend was that as you ascend air in the BCD expands and you could go up in an uncontrollable fashion.

The way you were taught to do it only works if you are nearly correctly weighted and wearing a relatively thin wet suit. This weekend I was working with an AOW student who had been taught that technique. This time she was wearing a 7 mm suit and a hood. She dumped all her air and immediately began to sink rapidly. As she sank, she did not have the kicking power she needed to overcome it.

A 7 mm suit compresses significantly at depth, and you have no choice but to be overweighted there. You must therefore have a fair amount of air in your BCD to be neutral, and if you dump it all, you will sink rapidly.

All the instructors I know teach that you should instead begin a slow ascent, using your fins for propulsion. As you ascend, you will feel your BCD begin to pull you up. When you feel that, dump some of the air so that you are always providing the upward momentum with your fins.

After what happened this weekend, the course director circulated a memo reminding all instructors not to teach the "dump all your air" technique.

 

[Meanee]

a PADI shop in Aruba took me on my Discover Scuba. After 30 minute DVD, signing release forms, and 20 minute gear explanation, we were taken to about 5 feet. Did a quick set of exercises. (Recover regulator, equalize, clear mask) and off we go. My girlfriend could not get the clear mask exercise done and was told "to go snorkel" with full set of gear. Started at 35 feet. By the end of a dive, we were at 45-50 feet.

Next day did 2 dives. Both dives, at around 45 feet. Both times, I showed my DM that I am running low on air, and first time he took me up, he did not explain me the safety stop. I was almost fighting him to get to the surface, because I felt like I had to suck air out of the regulator. Got to the surface with less than 100 psi.

2nd dive was about the same with air situation. But at least my DM explained me the safety stop, but not until I asked.

Currently taking OW course with LDS. So far so good. I can call myself a very capable swimmer and adventurous, and after reflecting on past experience with diving, and reading the material, I am a bit more aware of what's going on. This whole experience was bad on my girlfriend. I wanted her to be my buddy, but her confidence is shot. LDS did offer her a free course in a pool, to restore her confidence, hopefully that will help

 

[DandyDon]

After what happened this weekend, the course director circulated a memo reminding all instructors not to teach the "dump all your air" technique.

I don't remember where I first heard that suggestion, but long ago figured out that it was wrong - probly when diving a 7 mil suit in Blue Hole. The way newbies often over weight, it could be a problem even without neoprene.

 

[Web Monkey]

He told me the way he did it was that he was told to press the BCD inflation button once, then wait until the rising stops, count to ten and the press the inflation button again and so on until they reached the surface. Is this a valid way of ascending to the surface?

It's great if your plan is to breach the surface like Flipper. Other than that, it's only good for testing out your will or DAN insurance.

If you press the inflater button until you start to rise, then wait until you stop, you'll be on the surface.

Terry

 

[ScubaDocER]

The way you were taught to do it only works if you are nearly correctly weighted and wearing a relatively thin wet suit. This weekend I was working with an AOW student who had been taught that technique. This time she was wearing a 7 mm suit and a hood. She dumped all her air and immediately began to sink rapidly. As she sank, she did not have the kicking power she needed to overcome it.

A 7 mm suit compresses significantly at depth, and you have no choice but to be overweighted there. You must therefore have a fair amount of air in your BCD to be neutral, and if you dump it all, you will sink rapidly.

All the instructors I know teach that you should instead begin a slow ascent, using your fins for propulsion. As you ascend, you will feel your BCD begin to pull you up. When you feel that, dump some of the air so that you are always providing the upward momentum with your fins.

After what happened this weekend, the course director circulated a memo reminding all instructors not to teach the "dump all your air" technique.

I agree John. The method you described was the way I was taught as an OW diver and it's what I teach my students. Letting all of your air out and swimming to the surface can place undue stress on a diver. The BCD is there to be used to control buoyancy and should be used as much as possible to relieve physical stress. It can be exhausting to kick your way to the surface. The run away ascent seems to happen often with divers who are not cognizant of their depth and ascend too rapidly. Divers should note their depth during ascent to make sure they are not ascending too quickly, keep their inflator hose in their left hand ready to add or release air to control their ascent, and have their right hand above them so they protect their head from hitting anything as they rise. My Instructor told me this was "Ascending in the Superman position". It works for me.

 

[Belce]

There is nothing to it, until there is something to it.

 

[offthewall1]

I was talking to a friend the other day and he told me he tried scuba at a resort in Mexico, he was briefed for 1hr after which he dove 50ft and claimed that there was "not much to it". What can you really learn in 1hr? Isn't this dangerous? Is it common for resorts to do this?

Should it be done? - NO... Is it done? - YES... Can it be done safely under the right supervision? - YES... Would I recommend my mom and dad do it in mexico with Jose? - NO

The only real problem is that someone like your friend leaves the process thinking diving is easy and without risk and may do more of it without taking the time to properly educate himself.