Couldn't complete OWD, distraught & lost all confidence

[oly5050user]

@aquacat8 Thank you for your encouragement, I have the desire to finish. I am still waiting for the shop to call me back with available dates, but now am reconsidering whether I should finish with them or not. I am not sure if the skills can be transferred from SSI to PADI? All the other shops in my area are PADI.

skills are same except for a few that PADI requires. I suggest getting your money back, if they refuse tell them you are contacting SSI and making a complaint for failure to follow standards. A complaint of this type, failure to complete 10 minute tread, conducting skills in open water that are supposed to be done first in pool (weight remove/replace, disconnect inflator hose, no mask swim, failure to assemble and disassemble scuba unit required number of times, failure to failure to complete all required skills in confined water . I say this as all skills cannot be done in a 1 hour pool session, there are about 24 separate skills and to do a proper briefing on each , a demonstration then have you do it cannot possibly done in that time frame , done properly it usually takes several pool sessions and a minimum time of 5 hours of confined water, (pool time )
in a one to one private schedule to as much as 8 hours in a group schedule. There are most likely a few more violations, can cause this facility to be expelled from SSI as well.

 

[The Chairman]

But you also need to realize that you are somewhat prone to anxiety and even panic and this is something you need to deal with.

I didn't get that at all. Not even a tiny bit. Expecting anyone to master comfort, a modicum of control and all the necessary skills in one hour is stupidly unrealistic. I started this thread to deal with those kind of issues: Unacceptable Instructor Behaviors...

 

[Neilwood]

I didn't get that at all. Not even a tiny bit. Expecting anyone to master comfort, a modicum of control and all the necessary skills in one hour is stupidly unrealistic. I started this thread to deal with those kind of issues: Unacceptable Instructor Behaviors...

Agreed - as far as I am concerned, it is up to the instructor to work with the student, work out what might be causing anxiety and work through the problem.

That might be something as simple as reminding the student to pause and breathe slowly while UW or it might be having a chat above water prior to diving. Learning and teaching is a process that needs to engage both parties to be really successful.

 

[lowflyer]

You may not need any further suggestions, but here is what I would do, assuming there are other training shops available. It appears obvious that you are not going to get good training from current shop which means you will not have a good experience diving:

1. follow @oly5050user suggestion of trying to get your money back from current shop
2. pay a visit to all other shops in your area and have a long talk with the people in them. Make small talk, inquire about what their training schedule is, determine if they are flexible in their training, how big are their classes, etc. See what vibes you get.
3. if you get a good feeling from a shop, go with it

You will have to start over with a new shop, but that is a good thing considering the lousy training experience you have had so far. You above all want to be well trained and confident as a diver.
Forget your melt-down on the OW dive. Was totally understandable.

 

[boulderjohn]

for those who don't know SSI standards, they are part of the WRSTC, and the WRSTC minimum standards are public. oly5050user summed it up nicely--this experience was a standards nightmare. If that is how they were as a PADI shop, it is no wonder PADI expelled them. The true wonder is how they remain active in SSI.

When I was certified a couple decades ago, it went much better than you describe, but I learned much later when I became a professional myself that my course included MANY standards violations. The shop was able to get away with it, I assume, because no one knew enough to report them for those violations. You now know that this was a real horror show.

Right now SSI is in a transition of sorts. They were sold a couple of years ago, and when that happened, there were a lot of changes at the leadership level. I know and used to work with at least one of the people who is now at a very high level working Internationally, and I am sure he would be outraged to learn about this.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

This just sounds like one of those cattle shops to me, run as many through as possible in the shortest time frame, maxed out student to instructor ratio. How many dive masters were there assisting? Pardon me, “dive cons”...yeah you were conned alright.
I’ll bet if you were in a regular class you would have done fine. I personally would report the shop for not teaching to full standards and not being thorough. Way to much of this crap goes on and the results are symptomatic with everything that’s wrong with the industry. You get what you pay for too. If it was a screaming good deal then the shop would need to make up the shortfall of money on volume + reduced time frames.
I would definitely go to another shop and start over or at least finish up. I would also strongly request to get you money back from the first shop. Remind them that they did not teach to full standards by eliminating part of the skills. You have leverage.

 

[Gareth J]

One of the strengths AND weaknesses of the BSAC system, is that it is generally slow.

This is because most branches teach one module a week. i,e. One Theory lesson, one pool lesson.
In the case of Ocean Diver (PADI OW equivalent). There are;
6 Theory lessons, generally of one hour. Although the lesson covering tables, decompression, gases, and Nitrox is really two one hour lessons in my opinion.
5 Sheltered water modules.
4 Open water modules.

So using the 1 theory lesson, and sheltered water lesson a week, its 7 weeks before you move to open water. Then probably two days open water.

As I said, the disadvantage is that it takes time. The advantage is that the students seem to absorb the lessons better. Especially the practical elements. As an example thats 5 times kit is assembled and disassembled, with the advantage that students have to remember what they did the week before.
Having taught over two weekends (compressed course), and the weekly approach. It is very noticeable that students have better retention and confidence if they did the longer duration course. I am certain this is down to the repetition, and the requirement to attempt to remember what they did the previous week.

In addition, because the instructor base in the branches is volunteer based, rather than a commercial. Instructors (and branches) aren't so bothered if they have to spend time on one skill. In addition, the instructors are teaching future buddies, and potentially future instructors. The people diving with the students will often be the instructors themselves over the following years. So the instructors want to ensure the students are competent.

This slow approach can be inconvenient for some students. Especially if you have a deadline (planned honeymoon or holiday). My branch has been known to refer potential students to dive schools when the student is time poor. Its not a loss, because they often join the branch once they have completed there first qualification. We get a trained diver .... granted we have to teach them how to dive properly , when they join us [1].

Gareth

[1] That is a joke! Although our acronyms are different to PADI - BAR, SEEDS, REAP etc.

 

[purbeast]

While I'm still a noob and haven't done my OW certification class or dives yet, an hour in the pool seems VERY little. I've done SCUBA twice. Once was in Cancun where we did a crash course in the pool for like 20 minutes then a 1 tank dive, and the other was a Discover SCUBA down in the Florida Keys where we spent nearly 2 hours in the pool, took a break for lunch, then went out on 2 1-tank dive. Spending more time in the pool in a Discover SCUBA course than you did on your actual OW course seems very odd.

I went to the orientation of the OW course I'm going to be taking. It's a classroom course with pool work. I chose classroom because I know I learn better in that environment and I like being able to have a back/forth with the instructor. The classroom is 2 days from 9-5:30 with an hour break for lunch. After that is the pool session which is scheduled for 4 hours each day, for a total of 8 hours. He said some people need less time, some need more, it's all up to how quickly you get it. But 8 hours is the minimum time spent in the pool if need be.

The time spent in the classroom and pool is one of the major reasons I am going with this company. And I really liked the instructor at orientation as well as the communication we've had over email since then.

Personally I'd go find another dive shop where you feel more comfortable.

 

[caydiver]

I guess that if the shop does produce happy divers on a regular basis their system works for some but obviously not for everyone. Scuba should be fun but as said you are in a totally alien environment and asking your body to do some things your brain doesn't accept. For some people this is not an issue, for others who are a bit anxious etc., it can be major. I would find a one on one instructor. Expect to be asked to repeat your skills again and again. It is to make sure you are comfortable doing them. If your instructor sees anything they don't accept in the way you are doing it, they will have you continue. It is not to make you feel bad, but also keep in mind that they not you are the judge on whether or not you are doing the task correctly. I did my NAUI check out dives on a boat with other guests. They all got their gear on and got in the water. The "students" were not part of that group and were merely taking a ride out with the others. Seeing groups form and getting everyone in the water might have seemed chaotic and could well have been . . . however, perhaps it was only to the untrained eye. My training was twice a week for 2 hours in a classroom and 2 hours in a pool for 10 weeks in the dead of winter in New York and then my check out dives in Cayman. Most folks just don't want to do that anymore and for many especially those who have a good comfort level in the water are just with e-learning and skills and then check out dives, but you shouldn't feel bad if you are not one of those. I just think you will get yourself more worked up if you keep rehashing the whole experience. After many years and many courses, the one thing I know for sure now is how little I actually know! Quite truthfully at least for me, I was in no position to make a judgement call on my skills or any one else's until I got more than a few dives under my belt. Find a new instructor and leave the past in the past. I also feel that being comfortable doing your skills correctly when you are bit stressed will prepare you for when the time comes that something stressful happens in the water -- whether it is an out of air, mask strap breaking, hose leaking, blocked ear, whatever. You will be confident enough in your skills to master your anxiety and be able to deal with the situation in a really positive way. Good luck and happy diving!

 

[TMHeimer]

I agree with what John, oly and Eric say. Maybe you can get your money back. Reminds me of when I was on a cruise 19 years ago and noticed divers in the ship's pool. Guy said that they do about an hour in the pool then drop you down in the ocean. Not for me. But this was Discover Scuba (if they called it that then), not an OW course....