Check-out dive... what's involved?

[OHGoDive]

Hello all,

Heading to Curacao over the holidays, and the dive operator has stated a policy of requiring a checkout dive prior to boat diving or renting tanks from them. So, this will be my first experience with a "checkout" dive (well, outside of a course I guess)... what's typically involved? Is it basically just seeing to it that I don't look likely to harm myself or others? Is it just an orientation type of dive, rules & regulations and such? Will I need to take notes, will there be a quiz?

Seriously, what's involved?

Thanks!

 

[RJP]

They will proably make sure you can set your gear up, don it correctly, enter the water, descend, swim around a bit, and ascend. That sort of thing.

As you suggested, it's pretty much a quick look to make sure you've got some idea what you're doing.

 

[Thalassamania]

Most checkout dives are just a dive with a DM or Inst who will ask you to do basic skills, (e.g., mask clear, reg. recovery. etc.) some are not event that. Here's the story of the best checkout I ever had to take.

 

[pgdive]

Hi

It's just an orientation dive. A lot of operator/islands (Bonaire, Curacao) require everybody regardless of their experience level or date of their last dive, to do a dive on the house reef, with a DM. The purpose is to make sure you are reasonably comfortable with things and to get you acquainted with how the dive operation works, i.e. where the tanks are kept, where to store your gear after diving. You can also use it to get your weighting set for the rest of your vacation.

As a side note, I've seen some very experienced divers get bent out of shape about having to do the checkout dive. "You want me to do what?, don't you know that I was on the Andria Doria last week!" All I can say is chill out, they have to treat everbody the same, they literally have 1000's of people comming through a year. Plus your on vacation, relax....

Paul

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It's no big deal. You've already had it described and they are also looking to be sure you are safe and hopefully not going to plow up the reef too bad. Hey look at it as your chance to show off a little. Anyone who puts up a fuss about it to me has an ego problem or is afraid they might see something that would prohibit them being allowed to dive. In which case they should not be in the water anyway.

 

[WVDiver]

Just came back from Bonaire and all they did was ask how much weight we needed and said have a good dive. No DM at all. Worked good for us.

 

[OHGoDive]

Thanks everyone! Pretty much what I was expecting, but just wanted to make sure. Looks like I can leave my #2 pencil at home.

Thalassamania, good story about your checkout. Just one question, though:

You both modified your swimming to compensate for the booties, a good sign

Other than to compensate for the bouyancy change, how do you modify your swimming when wearing booties? And to what effect/benefit?

 

[Thalassamania]

You do not get the same "traction" on the water when wearing booties and to get any propulsion you must alter your "frog kick" to more of a "wedge kick." The benefit is that you get to move forward.<G>

 

[Prostar]

My instructor was getting ready to dive at some island resort a while back. They asked him to do a few skills in the pool just to show that he could. Once the "You gotta be kiddings" were out of the way, he dropped in, turned his back to the resort guy, put his mask back on, tightened the strap real good and turned back around with the mask on upside down and airtight. Resort guy flipped him the bird and said ok.

 

[talonraid]

I think I would actually like to see more places do "checkout" dives for a couple of reasons.
First, it gives me a last chance to check all the gear and weighting prior to follow on dives.
Second, the first dive my wife and I went on in Coz last year we were on a boat with two other certified divers who had trouble from the beginning. Despite all the talk about their "vast" experience on the way out to the reef. One entered the water without his reg, then couldn't find it behind his tank. The other wasn't weighted correctly and couldn't descend. Then they had various problems through the entire dive. They finally ascended due to air consumption and we finished the dive in relative peace after that. It cost us only a few minutes on the surface, but the entire dive I found myself watching them and waiting for the next problem to show up.

A checkout dive might have corrected this earlier.