Diver-Drex
Contributor
I
I think it has more to do with the shop, where it is located and what diving they are expecting you to do. My initial training was in NJ with the expectation that I was diving in NJ. Travel for diving was something common folk couldn’t afford. In 1999 when I did my PADI Advanced it was in the Red Sea. Navigation, limitted vis, drift, multi-level (using the wheel) and deep (to 35m) were all done in open water. When I restarted diving in 2012 it was with a NAUI shop on the Jersey shore. Check out dives were again done in the ocean. My NAUI Advanced was done with an expectation that I would dive in the Atlantic. My last two Advanced dives were done at 100fsw plus on NC wrecks.
This was apropriate for the diving I enjoy doing. Is it appropriate for my wife who will only dive in water over 75 deg with 50’+ vis?
I think it is acceptable, and inevitable, that dive training will be tailored to the local environment and influenced by the diving that a student will do after their training. This can be achieved while maintaining standards. Dive travel is far more common than it was 30 years ago. People getting certs in NJ are more likely to travel to better dive conditions than they are to go out on local boats. Would they be better divers if they do their cert dives off the coast? Maybe. Is it nescessary? No. And in the case with my wife, splashing in NJ waters would likely have turned her off to diving before she ever really got started.
I think that we can extend the driver’s license analogy with different countries to training agencies. Countries like Finland and Germany require extensive training to receive a license while United States , not so much.
I think it has more to do with the shop, where it is located and what diving they are expecting you to do. My initial training was in NJ with the expectation that I was diving in NJ. Travel for diving was something common folk couldn’t afford. In 1999 when I did my PADI Advanced it was in the Red Sea. Navigation, limitted vis, drift, multi-level (using the wheel) and deep (to 35m) were all done in open water. When I restarted diving in 2012 it was with a NAUI shop on the Jersey shore. Check out dives were again done in the ocean. My NAUI Advanced was done with an expectation that I would dive in the Atlantic. My last two Advanced dives were done at 100fsw plus on NC wrecks.
This was apropriate for the diving I enjoy doing. Is it appropriate for my wife who will only dive in water over 75 deg with 50’+ vis?
I think it is acceptable, and inevitable, that dive training will be tailored to the local environment and influenced by the diving that a student will do after their training. This can be achieved while maintaining standards. Dive travel is far more common than it was 30 years ago. People getting certs in NJ are more likely to travel to better dive conditions than they are to go out on local boats. Would they be better divers if they do their cert dives off the coast? Maybe. Is it nescessary? No. And in the case with my wife, splashing in NJ waters would likely have turned her off to diving before she ever really got started.