PADI necessary hidden skills
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In his post Edward show how some competences and skills that in PADI and other agencies are segregated specialties or (I will add) learnt during Open Water and Advanced are clearly listed and described as tasks to be completed during the equivalent of the PADI OW or AOW course. I found that post very interesting because it's very clear it shows necessary skills that are highlighted very well and probably better than in the PADI approach
What are exactly the "hidden" skills in PADI Open Water or Advanced Open Water? Would you add some to the list below give by the BSAC?
Thanks
What are exactly the "hidden" skills in PADI Open Water or Advanced Open Water? Would you add some to the list below give by the BSAC?
Thanks
I am not sure what you mean as there are no "hidden skills" in any PADI course. All skills are laid out for the student so that they know what to expect. There is nothing that is sprung on them at the last second because it is "hidden" but maybe I am misunderstanding you.
Many of these things are regionally relevant. You wouldn’t see a tropical dive school teaching cold water, low viz dives with a dry suit. Somehow adding these as required OW skills in PADI would not be helpful. Likewise with the three different boats... while experience of different dive types is of course beneficial, this would seem like an odd thing to mandate. (There isn’t a great diversity of dive boats where I live & train, for example.)
(I interpreted "necessary hidden skills" as "things you must know but PADI doesn't teach in OW, but should")
(I interpreted "necessary hidden skills" as "things you must know but PADI doesn't teach in OW, but should")
"Hidden skills" is probably not the right term, but I will make an example
In PADI nobody officially taught me how to start a shore dive. I mean, obviously they did since I made plenty of shore dives. But this was not clearly considered a specific "skill", let me say like the "24 skills" that are clearly listed one by one. My understanding is also that in PADI it is up to the instructor to decide if the want to teach you shore diving or not. Though it might sound absurd, it is not listed as a "compulsory" skill to learn to pass an examination. So (I am guessing) you could become OW or AOW without being taught anything about shore dives
This is what I meant (more or less)
I think you are right, but still, it's strange for me that these skills are not clearly part of the PADI courses. In Italy especially in Sicily visibility and temperatures are maybe closer to Mexico than to the UK, but drysuits are commonly used for several reasons even just not to get a cold while on the boat with a wet suit in winter. The visibility in the South is usually at least good all year round but in some spots there is mucilage or other suspensions in the water and then for some dozens of meters you will have conditions of visibility that are much lower than usual even in Sicily. In northern Italian lakes viz and temperature are similar to the UK and in summer viz is possibly lower than in the UK sea
So I think you got it right by saying these differences are mostly regionally based, but it is still probably necessary for anybody to learn how to dive from the shore, or with low visibility or low temperatures in specific spots, even for those who were born and raised in the Maldives
Quite a click-bait title.
Let's take that list into consideration, when teaching Open Water.
You'd need a long boat and a short boat. And next to that, a boat with a mechanical lift.
Low visibility, drift, night - easily doable, but I'd plan that after basic skill mastery.
Low temperature and drysuit.....
Having several sizes in BCDs is already a headache, although using BP/W is a great solution to accommodate size issues.
Doesn't work for drysuits unfortunately. Even for normal-sized divers, there is just too much difference in neck-size for correct fitting seals.
How much would you be willing to pay for a course that includes that list?
Let's take that list into consideration, when teaching Open Water.
You'd need a long boat and a short boat. And next to that, a boat with a mechanical lift.
Low visibility, drift, night - easily doable, but I'd plan that after basic skill mastery.
Low temperature and drysuit.....
Having several sizes in BCDs is already a headache, although using BP/W is a great solution to accommodate size issues.
Doesn't work for drysuits unfortunately. Even for normal-sized divers, there is just too much difference in neck-size for correct fitting seals.
How much would you be willing to pay for a course that includes that list?
That's another interesting question...
Until now as a PADI OW and AOW I have learnt by doing / from my instructors:
• Shore dive
• Small boat dive
• Large boat dive
• Dive using shot line
• Wall dive
• Dive in protective clothing – a dive wearing either a wetsuit
• Low-visibility dive – a dive in visibility ranging between 2m and 4m
• Cold water dive – a dive in water where the overall temperature is below 10°C
The rest I have not tried yet or it is possible in PADI too but requires additional courses like Nitrox and Drysuit so they are not part of the "hidden" OW / AOW PADI skills but segregated and considered additional courses
The point of the list you quote from Edward is to make some breadth of experience necessary to qualify. In particular the second level BSAC qualification, Sports Diver, is an end point for many divers and they can go off and do most U.K. sites. Before signing them off you want them to have had a good mix of conditions etc.
BSAC courses are about getting people diving, not wasting your weekends teaching endless minor courses. The idea is to make buddies that are safe to dive with.
This is an entirely different philosophy to the commercial aims of the teaching systems you are probably familiar with.
The important point here is the the skills and experiences Edward listed aren't taught all in the same entry level course. They are divided up over at least two courses. It must also be noted that not all BSAC courses around the world teach the same list from Edward.
One of the several disadvantages of the BSAC system is that it is difficult to get a real schedule for the course(s) to be completed in a reasonable time. Their courses go on and on and on and may take a year to complete. It is a volunteer system and hence the instructors don't have a motivation to stick to a schedule. It is a system that produces divers prepared to dive in the UK environment but often the implementation takes a very long time. Perhaps it is better to break up the course into modules/milestones with proof of completion and competency for each module (c-cards). This is what the specialty program is all about.
One of the several disadvantages of the BSAC system is that it is difficult to get a real schedule for the course(s) to be completed in a reasonable time. Their courses go on and on and on and may take a year to complete. It is a volunteer system and hence the instructors don't have a motivation to stick to a schedule. It is a system that produces divers prepared to dive in the UK environment but often the implementation takes a very long time. Perhaps it is better to break up the course into modules/milestones with proof of completion and competency for each module (c-cards). This is what the specialty program is all about.
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