Looking Back - Did Your OW Teach You Enough?

[Eric Sedletzky]

My open water was pretty good. I got certified on the North Coast of California in 46 degree water in a washing machine when the vis was about 4 feet.
My intructor was an ex Navy diver and Very complete in his instruction plus he added stuff on his own (not sure if PADI knew about that).
I had an advantage over the others in the class, and that was the fact that I had already been skin diving that section of coast for abalone a few years before getting certified so I was aclimated and knew what to expect.

The only thing that comes to mind that they dropped the ball on was weighting and buoyancy control (an issue because of bad weighting).
I wished they would have stripped off all the extra weight they loaded on us and showed us how weighting really should be, not like an anchor!
They did that because they didn't want to deal with people trying to figure out how to get down, they would rather have people sink like rocks as soon as they let air out of their BC's so they could get on with the skills with people pinned on the bottom on their knees.
Unfortunately they never undid any of that bogus training.

But within a few weeks I had it figured out thanks to a veteran mentor that showed me the right way.

 

[Razorback76]

I was NAUI certified in college over the course of an entire semester. I never really thought about the quality of that experience until my wife was SSI certified through a LDS. Her training was ok but not in the same league as what I had. During my certification process we covered everything we could possibly cover and then did it again and again and again. We did things that were not in the NAUI OW curriculum. There were a few guys who did not pass this OW cert class. When I got my OW card I was as prepared as a basic diver could be. There was none of the self doubt that I see so much of in new divers these days. Self doubt is just as bad as over confidence imo. I have hoped for some time now that I would run back into my old instructors so I could shake their hands and tell them thank you.

 

[TSandM]

By the end of my OW class, I was very good at working dive tables, but I had no idea what to do when my computer-guided dives didn't fit in my log book, because according to the log book, I was deep into deco all the time.

I knew not to swim into overhead environments, and to check my gas frequently and not run out. I knew I was supposed to stay with my buddy, but I didn't have a lot of tools about how to do that. I was supposed to plan my dive and dive my plan, but I had no clue at all what a dive plan was or how to make one.

My biggest criticism of my OW class was that, at the end of it, I could not (and had not demonstrated) do a descent without holding onto my instructor. I could not get neutral, and I could not execute any kind of shallow stop. I got my OW cert anyway. Luckily, I'm bright enough to have known that I was horrible, and to seek further help out immediately.

I was not an easy student, and I had no talent at all. I have little criticism of my instructors for not having gotten me to a better level of function by the end of my class. I have a huge criticism of them for passing me. On the other hand, I've turned out okay . . .

 

[chriskinney18]

I dont think it is realy fair question. What you know now cant compair to what you knew then. Cause once i got my OW. I found a whole nother world out there to discover and explore. I had a realy realy good instructor for my OW and felt that Ben Harris taught me more then enuff to go out into the Gulf Of Mexico(I Live in Clearwater, Florida) on a local dive boat and hone my diving skills. But i think the difference then and now is that I have gotten 2 more crets (AOW, Nitorx) from Ben and have done my best to stay up to date on skills and knowledge. Remember that you are responsible for your own wellfair and safety as a diver. Also he has done a great job helping me stay current and has sometimes given me that litte nudge to help me get what i need to explore all the parts of diving. Either it being more skills training or introducing me to gear to see what i like and dont like. Also i think i am very lucky cause i was trained by some one who loves to teach scuba and cares for his students that has walked through his shop doors.
I have also met other quality instructors through my time diving that i am sure would teach their students everything they needed to know and probaly then some before they qualified them for their OW.
I think most of all it realy depends how much you researched your instructor and how far do you want to take you diving skills. I asked arround and took my time and researched several dive shops till i found the instructor that i felt was right for me. I just happen to pick the right one.

 

[Searcaigh]

I would say that I knew more about diving before I did my OW course with PADI, but the instructor I had was damn good, and took time to explain a lot of the why we did this and that to his students, and learned that there is no such thing as a stupid question, if you don't know then ask! No embarrassment and better asking than remaining ignorant about something your life might depend on.

Like most, yes I have learned a lot since the OW course, but the day I stop learning then most likely I will stop breathing.

 

[supergaijin]

Believe it or not- the vast majority of diving skills/theory are actually covered in an OW manual (like PADI's). They cover trim, neutral buoyancy, weighting, dive planning, buddy skills- pretty much everything that a beginner diver is expected to be able to learn in a beginner course. Nowadays PADI requires divers to own the manual. Recently there were complaints that these manuals are too 'dumbed down', and yet they contain pretty much everything beginner divers should know, to plan and dive beginner dive sites.

The DVD shows this in a visual form.

The 'wet' part of the course is for the student to demonstrate 'mastery' of the OW skills. As an instructor, I certify divers that show mastery in benign conditions. We are not doing the dives in advanced conditions- low viz, current, cold etc.

Then the student signs a statement to the effect that they are beginner divers, with plenty of things to learn, but they have the basic skills to plan and execute a dive in similar or better conditions. If they don't dive for a few months, then a refresher 'course' is advised.

The normal thing for many students is to return to their 'real life' for a year or so, then go somewhere new and dive again. Are they still 'masters' of the basic diving skills? No, so their first couple of dives should be with an experienced diver where they practice their basic skills, or with choose to dive with diving Pro$$.

The catch is that most beginner divers do not know any experienced divers. They have gone on vacation to a foreign land, and don't know anyone, thus their options for doing these refresher dives are limited to diving with dive pro$ working out of a shop. Some people balk at the perceived cost of these refresher dives, decide to give it a go and hope for the best. Others see the cost of a refresher vs. the AOW course, and somehow think that it'll also cover basic diving skills- kill two birds, save some cash and become advanced.

Where basic OW courses fail IMO, is that they seem to create a false sense of beginners' capabilities and downplay the real risks of being 60 feet underwater with a limited supply of compressed gas strapped to your back.

The OP asked the question whether your original OW course taught you enough. Mine did- it was done over a couple of weeks in NZ; class/pool work twice a week after work, with OW dives in the weekend. It taught me enough to muck around in shallow water with little current, get a few scallops and maybe a cray.

The course is not designed to turn a rank beginner in to a diver ready to tackle drift diving with hammerheads or deep diving for thresher sharks- it is designed to introduce the underwater world to kids, bankers, housewives, dentists etc. so they can take some snapshots of Nemo and Dolly.

Only by diving regularly will one become proficient at the basic skills, and becoming a truly proficient beginner diver- doesn't matter if the course is BSAC, PADI, FFESSM, GUE, SSI, NAUI, TDI........ mastery is a skill: use it or lose it.





*Re: SSI courses don't do CESA- their version is an emergency buoyant ascent.

 

[antattack]

Mr. Bill Perret taught me "Zen Diving". One teacher, a DM and six students over three weeks meeting two or three times a week until everyone was one with the diving skills.

It was a great way to learn to dive and make friends. Mr. Bill is still a frequent dive buddy. It's not a great way to earn a living. It's the way I imagine dive clubs used to certify new members. Just taking your time to get to know the club, learn some skills, train and have fun.

Once I finished OW, I needed another thirty or so dives to become an advanced beginner, and didn't become a good buddy until I finished rescue. Looking back at my log book, I think OW prepared me nicely for some interesting dives.

It may not be true, but it feels like training in cold, kelpy water makes good divers. Colder is better training

 

[LoonDiver]

By the end of my OW class, I was very good at working dive tables, but I had no idea what to do when my computer-guided dives didn't fit in my log book, because according to the log book, I was deep into deco all the time.

I knew not to swim into overhead environments, and to check my gas frequently and not run out. I knew I was supposed to stay with my buddy, but I didn't have a lot of tools about how to do that. I was supposed to plan my dive and dive my plan, but I had no clue at all what a dive plan was or how to make one.

My biggest criticism of my OW class was that, at the end of it, I could not (and had not demonstrated) do a descent without holding onto my instructor. I could not get neutral, and I could not execute any kind of shallow stop. I got my OW cert anyway. Luckily, I'm bright enough to have known that I was horrible, and to seek further help out immediately.

I was not an easy student, and I had no talent at all. I have little criticism of my instructors for not having gotten me to a better level of function by the end of my class. I have a huge criticism of them for passing me. On the other hand, I've turned out okay . . .

Your story sounds a lot like mine and your dive journal was one of the things that gave me hope and motivated me to get as much additional knowledge as I could after my OW class. Thank you for sharing it!

 

[Superlyte27]

This is an interesting discussion where I can see both sides of an argument almost equally. One of the biggest things I see from new divers (regardless of level) is that most of the time they think their instructors were the best. But honestly, whether you're a new OW diver or a new cave diver, you really don't have a good reference to what a good instructor is. Then when talking to them further, they missed serious skills. Sometimes they even know when these skills were omitted, because they instructor erroneously explained to them why they weren't necessary. But, I'm slightly off topic here.

My curriculum says that a new diver must demonstrate a MASTERY of the skills. Some instructors merely require a demonstration of the skill. If you struggled with clearing your mask for 3 days, and then on the 4th day you got lucky and actually successfully completed it for the first time should you be passed on that skill? Will this demonstration of the skill hold you over until the next time you dive 3 months, 6 months or a few years later? Of course not. But, maybe that's why some of my students don't pass the class in the time allotted.

I agree with Thal that unfortunately there's a marriage between safety, time and cost. Thankfully I don't teach OW anymore and mainly focus on the higher technical level programs, but if I were teaching OW, I'd attempt to move to a course that took twice and long and cost twice as much. I believe we can show you how to be safe in 4 days, but not much more. Can we get you fine tuned in buoyancy, trim, breathing, common sense, several different kick styles, etc? It depends on the proficiency of the overall class, but the answer is: Not usually.

I implore the new diver (whether he/she is a new OW diver, or a new cave diver or a new rebreather diver) to use multiple instructors. And be open about your training training. If you took OW with Jerry, take AOW with Terry. Only by this openness can you find out where the holes in your training were. Why? Because out of the hundreds or thousands of divers I've talked to, only one or two said, "yah, my instructor was a moron, he sucked hard." But nearly everyone of those hundreds of students said, "oh this guy was the best thing ever, he used to be a navy diver, or a cop, or a cave diver, or a recovery diver or blah blah blah." But the number of truly excellent instructors out there are probably less than 10% of the instructing population.

One last word: If it's not possible for someone to fail the class, you are with the wrong instructor. The class should be difficult enough that the possibility exists not to master the class in the allotted time. I'm pretty certain that if you are in a class where you paid for certification (instead of paying for training) that someone might not be mastering everything they need to know to be a safe, proficient and alert diver.

 

[drbill]

Mine did, but it was under the Los Angeles County program back in the 60s and required three weeks of class work and diving.