Discover Scuba safe?

[marineanimals<3]

Hi I signed up for a discover scuba and after doing some research I am not sure if I feel comfortable. There is only a 20 min class portion and no pool time to practice with the equipment :depressed: There is one instructor to 6 divers. I do not understand if to get certafied it takes 3 days and e learning how a 20 min class then diving is safe. It is padi though but its going to be on vacation and Im wondering if I should just get certafied even if the open water certification is pretty expensive. Thanks! Also have any of you guys done a discover scuba?

 

[Kryssa]

My husband and I did Discover Scuba before getting certified. I think the #1 question you need to answer for yourself is "do you want to dive?" If the answer is no, don't do it. There is plenty to see snorkeling. Don't dive to please your spouse or your friend that you might be going on vacation with.

If the answer is yes, you want to do dive, then just give it your best shot. It is very safe. Go in with a good attitude, be attentive, ask any questions, and hop in the water. If you feel uncomfortable, you can always say that you want to stop.

I would definitely do the Discover Scuba before signing up for the Open Water Certification. Some shops credit the cost of the DS to the OW class if you sign up. It's worth asking about

What exactly are you worried about... maybe we can help by explaining something?


EDIT: Our Discover Scuba consisted of 20-30 min of instruction, then about 30 min of pool time. We practiced mask clear, reg recovery, using the inflator on our BCs, and other very basic stuff. That afternoon, we did a 30 min dive around 40 ft deep in the ocean. We had a good experience, but we had a competent teacher and both my husband and I are very comfortable in the water to begin with.

Also on our DS dive, we descended on a line and once on the sand (we were all overweighted) our DM adjusted our BCs to neutrally buoyant. So buoyancy might not be something you have to worry about.

 

[TMHeimer]

Though I'm qualified to assist in the teaching of these classes, I've never really seen one -- not a big call for it up here. I was on a cruise long before being certified and could've signed up--saw them in the pool on the ship. Was told it was an hour or 2 instruction. My OW instructor here said some of those cruise courses basically teach you how to breath and drop you in 80 feet of water. I know that's not true for probably 99% of Disc. Scuba courses. I would ask the operation what the dive plans are-- where--how deep, etc. Most likely you will be in very shallow water and in a pretty safe situation. But I don't know- 20 mins. class and no pool...... If you really think you're going to get into scuba, I would get OW certified at home and go on vacation to start diving.

 

[clay357]

My wife and I looked into the Discover Scuba program before our cruise. We decided to get our OW cert. before the trip. We met a couple on the ship that was doing the Discover Scuba. They had a very negative experience. They felt very pressured and rushed. Overall it was not a good experience for them, and they were out the money for it. They are now working on their certs at home.

FWIW... I don't think the Discover Scuba Program would have worked for my wife and I either.
I know this is not true for everyone, but just the experiences I am familiar with.

 

[drydiver]

No pool time??? I am hoping that the environment is rather benign then, great viz, no current, shallow as in < 30 ft. I grew up a water baby, was naturally very comfortable in the water and still appreciated my pool time with the equipment in class.

I have been on a dive with a pack of discover scuba divers who had pool time, in clear warm water, 40 ft and based on what I saw (I was a newly certified diver hanging around them) I would not recommend people going this route on vacation. OTOH I know some divers who had no problems and became totally hooked.

If you are not already naturally comfortable in the water, don't recommend it at all.

The most important thing is your comfort at all points. In addition to all the book materials on how to dive safely, I recommend the following:

If you check out your gear and make sure it does everything it is supposed to do, make sure you know how to work it, inflate, dump and breathe off the both the reg and octo before you even walk away with the equipment.

stick close to the instructor

steer clear of wackos, if you are able to ascertain such a thing in your brief pre dive encounter with fellow DSDers

Before you even descend, breath for a while on the surface if possible to just get used to the sensation of breathing through your mouth instead of nose, until you feel comfortable.

Clear sinuses often, like every few feet, I think one of the more common mistakes of newbie diver is that they don't.

You will have no clue on buoyancy and they will likely overweight you. Stay on the line to better control your decent (will save your ears) and ascent.

that's all I can think of for now

 

[marineanimals<3]

I emailed them and the water depth is 40 ft.

 

[driftwood]

This is a tough call since it all depends on the instructor. 40' and a 6-1 ratio seems to be pushing it. I would feel a lot better is they had an area half that depth for you to practice skills in.

For my money, I would talk with the shops in your area and see what they will charge you for a "discover scuba" program in their pool.

Done right, Discover Scuba is a good introduction. Done wrong, Discover Scuba can be a ... As I stated initially, it all depends on the instructor. A PADI shop is no guarantee of quality instruction.

 

[drydiver]

Done wrong, Discover Scuba can be a ... As I stated initially, it all depends on the instructor.

well, without going into the details of the DSD that I witnessed it was a total cluster.

I am hoping others post about more positive experiences . . .

 

[ScubaSam]

I did a Discover Scuba in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. There was a classroom portion for 30 mins to explain how and why we equalize our ears. They show you how to recover the reg and explain the gear you're gonna have on you. Then you splash with an instructor who controls your BC by adding or venting for your buoyancy, checks your SPG, and all you're required to do is equalize your ears, inhale and exhale.

It's a dive to about 30'ish feet for about 20 - 30 miinutes. The ratio is one instructor to four students or that was what was told to me when I signed up. The day I did it, there was only me and another student who freaked out and did not do the dive so it was just the instructor and me.

After the dive, you receive a piece of paper stating you've done a Discover Dive. If you go for OW certification within that year, the Discover Dive can be counted as one of your open water dives.

It's a good way to find out if you will like the experience of breathing underwater and to actually experience the weightlessness under water.

 

[oreocookie]

I did a Discover Scuba in a pool a few years back. I already knew at the time that I wanted to learn to dive but didn't have the right combo of time, money and a friend to get certified with, but my marine-bio-major friend figured she'd learn to dive eventually. I convinced her to come with me for a fun, fairly cheap night out ($25 each). The instructor was a bit of a nutcase (wild personality and a bit over the top, but not actually crazy I don't think) but we had a fun night and my desire to get certified was confirmed and my friend's "I'll do it eventually" became "when can we do the course?". There was NOTHING worth seeing in the 8-10ft deep indoor pool but the DSD was done well.

My opinion about the OP's situation: 20-30 mins of theory is probably enough to go over all the info that's needed to do the dive safely. I think we had about an hour, but he was telling a lot of stories in between bits of theory. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing the DSD though if there is no pool time (in a pool or pool-like water) to introduce the basic skills and get at least some confidence with them before going for a 40ft dive. A DSD can be very safe even though it's a lot shorter than an OW course because the OW course covers theory and skills that are not necessary for the DSD experience; the OW course trains you to be able to dive independently with your buddy including planning dives while the DSD is more of "this is how to use scuba gear and breathe underwater".