Big G
Contributor
OK, I see this discussion was started more than five years ago, but I'd like to jump in (pun most certainly intended). I have also thought for years that standards for scuba certification have dropped way too low to be safe and the reason why obviously is money. A few years ago I worked a few months as a DM for a dive operator in a very popular U.S. dive destination. I saw it time and time again that "intro to scuba" divers would do OK in the pool in the morning (not with me, I worked on the boats) but then in the afternoon when they went out on the real ocean and got in, they suddenly realized they were in way over their head (pun again intended). Several times I had to go in and rescue them, because the instructor was herding several others at the time. That was OK, it was part of the job, but they really had no business being out there. But I don't blame them. They didn't know it until they tried, then they put themselves, and to a lesser degree, me, in harm's way.
But here's the part that really grinds my gears. After freaking out, those people naturally were embarrassed by the whole thing and would apologize to us hard. My attitude was to always try to soothe their hurt feelings and say, "well, you tried it and found out maybe it's just not your thing. It's not for everybody. Trust me, you'll never catch me on snow skis, so don't worry about it."
Now, the part that pissed me off is the boat captain wouldn't be as understanding and would tell them, nicely, that they should keep trying. It was pretty obvious he wanted to have another cash spending member in the diving family, when it truly is not for everyone. I'm sure it's purely coincidental, but that same captain had a couple of divers off his boat die within a year or so. Now, I'm not trying to say any of it was his fault and I really felt for him because he had been a friend and co-worker before I found a new job in my real chosen profession and I know those deaths had to hit him pretty hard.
Back to the spirit of the original poster, I was first certified in 1977 and it took several weeks to do it, one classroom and one pool session a week and when I was done I really knew how to dive. Now? Someone can go on vacation and be certified from rank beginner all the way up to DM or higher in just a couple of weeks! Corners are definitely being cut, people, and it's not a good thing.
But here's the part that really grinds my gears. After freaking out, those people naturally were embarrassed by the whole thing and would apologize to us hard. My attitude was to always try to soothe their hurt feelings and say, "well, you tried it and found out maybe it's just not your thing. It's not for everybody. Trust me, you'll never catch me on snow skis, so don't worry about it."
Now, the part that pissed me off is the boat captain wouldn't be as understanding and would tell them, nicely, that they should keep trying. It was pretty obvious he wanted to have another cash spending member in the diving family, when it truly is not for everyone. I'm sure it's purely coincidental, but that same captain had a couple of divers off his boat die within a year or so. Now, I'm not trying to say any of it was his fault and I really felt for him because he had been a friend and co-worker before I found a new job in my real chosen profession and I know those deaths had to hit him pretty hard.
Back to the spirit of the original poster, I was first certified in 1977 and it took several weeks to do it, one classroom and one pool session a week and when I was done I really knew how to dive. Now? Someone can go on vacation and be certified from rank beginner all the way up to DM or higher in just a couple of weeks! Corners are definitely being cut, people, and it's not a good thing.