Starting Our Certification Path!

[ReneB]

... I apologize for not reading between the lines and for misunderstanding you. Again, there's no way that any of us can know how the instructor will structure the day, and therefore critiques of the course the OP has signed up for are premature.

No apology necessary!

Yes, of course no one should criticize an instructor or a course without knowing the details, etc. My intent was simply to suggest that 5 hours at a time can be a bit long -- even for younger folks. In no way was I trying to suggest her experience would be sup-optimal, I was simply writing that in my experience, when one is tired, learning can be more of a challenge. For the record, we were in the pool for about 5-6 hours with a one hour break two days in a row; all of our time was doing practical skills with a brief review of the theory we covered in our eLearning course at the start of each day. There were only two students and the instructor, so our time was pretty focused and intense. That said, it was a great experience.

 

[Divejones]

Seubank

Congrats !! Kudos to the instructor (Not all have great time with their instructors, consider yourself blessed), is he/she from SB ? things that deter new divers are (a) Headaches, bodyaches etc that happens commonly after initial dives (b) Distances involved to dive shops (c) Water Temp... etc etc stay the course, you will start enjoying it to the point of addiction. (Overtime, it will bring you back to shape, and you don't have to worry about ill fitting BCDs) :cool2:

TC

Gusty

 

[seubank20]

Thanks everyone! We are very very excited to finally taking the plunge and getting into a class.

Now to clear up some confusion about the class scheduled, for lack of better words, because at first I thought it sounded like a lot but after the instructor gave us an outline of the class, I am fairly confident that it will not be an issue! Since there is an on site heated pool where we are taking the class the instructor told us that we have unlimited access to the pool even after the class is over if we still need time. So we are not being rushed in any way. This is just a way for us to take the class without having to make a 2 hour trip once a week for 4 weeks. Like I stated in my original post there is a great deal of at home reading that we are to do before class to make it even easier! I do appreciate the concern though, because we want to do this as safely as possible!

Class will start at 9am Saturday/Sunday
Approx 2 1/2 - 3 hours of class room time
(Numerous breaks as needed)
An hour lunch break from 12pm - 1pm
Pool Session from 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Another hour break 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Last pool session from 4:00pm - 5:00pm

So actual time spend in the classroom/pool is approx. 5 hours but the actual time spent is closer to 8 hours. I could have probably cleared that up in my first post, so I do apologize.

@DiveJones I don't think that our instructor is a member of SB but then again I really didn't ask him. Even after our "discovery dive" I still was not certain that I wanted to take the course because I did feel weird after the class but after that passed and I could really think about how awesome it was I decided that all the weird feelings were probably contributed a lot of my nerves! Other than the fact that my pulmonary system felt incredibly dry, but I have heard that was normal because the air in the tank is dry air and that you can get respirators that help that! Plus, I wont argue with getting back into shape! Lol

 

[ajduplessis]

Have fun and enjoy the new adventure!!

 

[RichmondKYdiver]

We will be in class/pool for about 5 hours both days then doing our OW sign off dive the following weekend over 2 days as well.

Hey gang, read a little closer, "We will be in class/pool for about 5 hours both days".... class and pool. The three day confined at our LDS does class Friday night, class Sat morning, pool Sat afternoon from 1-4:30ish, Sunday the final exam followed by the second pool the entire afternoon on Sunday. Quite a bit but my fiancee and her daughter just went through the course last week.

Congrats and have a great time!!! I'm originally from Ashland, if you get a chance head on down to Lexington. The local dive shop that I am doing my divemaster at usually head out every other weekend to do local quarry dives and such. Matter of fact, they have a OW cert scheduled for Florida May 10,11,12.

Enjoy, although by the sound of your post....you aren't going to have a problem have fun

 

[James R]

I hope he's breaking that 5 hours up. That's a long time in the pool. People get cold and tired. When that happens the learning process comes to a grinding halt.

This is actually something that is a surprise to a lot of people. The pool we use is heated to 89-90 degrees, and is indoor. I wear a 3mm vest or one of those 2mm long sleeved shirts. People look at me like I am crazy at first, then a couple hours later are asking if there are any to borrow. After a couple hours, it gets pretty chilly!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I hope he's breaking that 5 hours up. That's a long time in the pool. People get cold and tired. When that happens the learning process comes to a grinding halt. It's why I am not allowed to teach a class like that by my agency standards. Nor would I due to my own. And just how much time does that leave you to actually absorb the material? Not just parrot it back. Read the lake Rawlings thread where the woman died. Same type of class. One weekend or three week nights. If you were my daughter I'd advise you to go with the longer one with your friend.

My shop offers the weekend class and we divide the pool time and class time so that there are four distinct sessions of each. We also keep the pool between 85 and 90 degrees F. These weekender classes offer an excellent learning agenda provided the students do invest themselves in the written materials and knowledge reviews in advance. They offer substantial pool and class time, almost like a scuba camp. They also provide an opportunity for people like the op who do not have a dive center nearby to be able to schedule a professional training program. While Jim's view on this itinerary has been made clear in many threads, here I will disagree with him, and congratulate the op's on their training choice. It is appropriate, it is more than adequate, and I support them 100%. Competence of coverage is not measured by schjedule, but by quality and coverage of instruction.
DivemasterDennis

 

[nimoh]

4 hours of pool time does sound a little minimal for 5 students. Probably need to take at least an hour out of that for going over gear setup, the swim test and the tread water test. Not much time left for actually being underwater.

I am guessing the last pool session of the day can go well past 5:00 if needed.

 

[James R]

My shop offers the weekend class and we divide the pool time and class time so that there are four distinct sessions of each. We also keep the pool between 85 and 90 degrees F. These weekender classes offer an excellent learning agenda provided the students do invest themselves in the written materials and knowledge reviews in advance. They offer substantial pool and class time, almost like a scuba camp. They also provide an opportunity for people like the op who do not have a dive center nearby to be able to schedule a professional training program. While Jim's view on this itinerary has been made clear in many threads, here I will disagree with him, and congratulate the op's on their training choice. It is appropriate, it is more than adequate, and I support them 100%. Competence of coverage is not measured by schjedule, but by quality and coverage of instruction.
DivemasterDennis

We have the same setup for weekend classes and it works well. Each pool session has 4hrs alloted to it, which goes by fast if there's a big group.
Sat: morning classroom, afternoon pool
Sun: morning pool, afternoon classroom

 

[iluvtheocean]

piece of advice especially since said felt dry/dehydrated after the discover scuba session -- make sure to drink plenty of water the night before & during the class day to stay hydrated.