Do you think computers encourage risky diving in new/ young divers?

[formernuke]

I also teach them to have a bottle/jug of water to dump on their heads once they get their dry suit on. That helps quite a bit before getting into the water if it is warm+ out.

Nice trick, if shore diving sometimes I'll walk down and dunk in the ocean.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Nice trick, if shore diving sometimes I'll walk down and dunk in the ocean.

Parking lot to the water can be a bit of a walk.

 

[KenGordon]

Yes, but it seems (as I am not intimately familiar with it) that BSAC's open water course (called Sports Divers) is far more extensive than most mainstream agencies' open water courses. Give the model for quick and dirty for the bulk of the market (not judging, just reality), I am not sure that agencies are keen to adopt more thorough training. I'm not saying that as a critique of BSAC. Far from it. I just live with the reality of low standards and how to add to create safe(r), competent, and confident divers for my local area. Due to agency constraints, I can't teach open water divers to plan decompression dives.

Sports Diver is a second level course approximately equivalent to Rescue Diver with Deco Procedures, although not as in depth as those on their individual details. In includes doing deco dives.

Ocean Diver is the OW equivalent and more or less the same as it content wise. It includes tables and a bit of ‘white squares are ok, yellow ones are not’ regarding no stop dives.

The main difference is actually after qualification. Mostly people learn in a club setting and so getting qualified is just a step. Post qualification divers will be looked after and get to mentally match their training with the real world while supervised by experienced divers.

 

[Edward3c]

Sports Diver is a second level course approximately equivalent to Rescue Diver with Deco Procedures, although not as in depth as those on their individual details. In includes doing deco dives.

Ocean Diver is the OW equivalent and more or less the same as it content wise. It includes tables and a bit of ‘white squares are ok, yellow ones are not’ regarding no stop dives.

The main difference is actually after qualification. Mostly people learn in a club setting and so getting qualified is just a step. Post qualification divers will be looked after and get to mentally match their training with the real world while supervised by experienced divers.

In addition, a Sports Diver has been introduced to DSMB deploy, navigation, Dive Site Management, Nitrox and line-laying. By the time they qualify they should be familiar with shore and boat dives. After getting the qualification depth progression can be done certifying them to 35m.

 

[Blackcrusader]

What if you blow a LP hose, or a BC fails and you have to kick yourself to the the surface?

You can use your SMB for lift if your BC fails.

There is nothing technical about teaching BSAC Sports Divers how to plan and conduct dives with mandatory deco obligations. It’s part of the core syllabus.

Yup I did the BSAC sports diving courses back in 1986 - 1988 and that was before dive computers were readily available or affordable. Also you were required to have I think 20 certified dives before you could go from the basic course to the next course and so on requiring even more dives.
Not like Monday I start an OW Padi Course and by Friday I am AOW. See this a lot with dive centers and divers who want to get the certs as fast as possible.

I now just do recreational diving and will often dive with people with not a lot of experience. Many OW divers and even some AOW divers do not own dive computers. When they ask me what gear they should buy I advise that a mask snorkel and dive computer are the things to buy first. An OW diver doing say a max depth of 18m ( even to 20m) would not stay at that depth the whole dive and would often be at 15m or less. They really are not going to run into NDL issues on a 50 - 60 minute dive. Usually they get low on air first and a good guide will keep them shallow enough to finish the dive with 40 bar. It's good to discuss with them prior to the dive what they know about NDL if they do have a dive computer. The dive centers I dive with ask that if I am with AOW or OW buddy to keep them to 5 minutes to NDL or more. That is their policy.

 

[Blackcrusader]

One fundamental difference between BSAC and most agencies is we will dive with our students post qualification. We have no commercial pressure to pass or sign off skills if the competence level isn’t achieved.

Yup I dived in a BSAC club. So you dived with your instructors and you also had other social events with them outside of diving.
Most new divers and those with not a lot of experience do recreational dives where they have a guide that is responsible for keeping them within NDL. These divers get used to not using their own training but become dependent on others.

Once with a DM guide I had not dived with before I asked him for his air around 20 minutes into the dive. He looked at me in surprise, he had stuck his SPG into his BCD pocket. He said I was the first diver that had asked to check his air. I replied I don't know your capability. I rarely see a vacation diver ask their guide about their air. They just assume the guide has it all under control.

For those that do have computers I find they know what NDL is. Some people have recently qualified and also recently got their dive computer. They just strap on and go diving and unless they are using Nitrox rarely ever check the setup of their dive computer. Some will not know everything their computer tells them.

 

[CT-Rich]

I also teach them to have a bottle/jug of water to dump on their heads once they get their dry suit on. That helps quite a bit before getting into the water if it is warm+ out.

I bring a gallon jug of hot water for my daughter, who dives wet, better to have warm water that cools than cool water that warms. On really warm days I’ll pour water inside my shell (fusion suit) to keep cool while suiting up.

 

[kelemvor]

Sports Diver is a second level course approximately equivalent to Rescue Diver with Deco Procedures, although not as in depth as those on their individual details. In includes doing deco dives.

Ocean Diver is the OW equivalent and more or less the same as it content wise. It includes tables and a bit of ‘white squares are ok, yellow ones are not’ regarding no stop dives.

The main difference is actually after qualification. Mostly people learn in a club setting and so getting qualified is just a step. Post qualification divers will be looked after and get to mentally match their training with the real world while supervised by experienced divers.

The whole BSAC club concept sounds really nice from my perspective. Pity we don't have anything like that in these parts.

 

[KenGordon]

The whole BSAC club concept sounds really nice from my perspective. Pity we don't have anything like that in these parts.

Maybe it is time to embrace communism?

 

[kelemvor]

Maybe it is time to embrace communism?

pass.