Do you think is safe?

[L13]

Probably actually safer! You will be training in an environment much more like you will experience for the OW dives, while meeting all the requirements for confined water dives.

 

[SlugLife]

n holiday, i want to visit a friend. He invited me to start scuba diving so we can dive together!
I am worried about the training...there isn't a pool, the first part of training is in the harbour on a platform! He send me some photos, i'll post them to ask y

The location seems safe. My #1 question would be the qualifications and experience of the instructor. Does your friend have a certification from a known dive agency to be a scuba-instructor?

I'm getting the impression that your friend is probably a trained/certified diver, but not a trained/certified instructor. If correct, that is dangerous:

• If you have difficulties, he may not have the appropriate training and experience to recognize those difficulties and perform a rescue.
• While technically anyone can repeat what they learned in a class, that's like asking a college student to teach the college-course they just took.
• It's really easy to miss an important step in scuba-instruction, or not emphasize it enough. For example, if you held your breath at 3 feet and surfaced, you'd have a lung-injury. Scuba-divers get used to always breathing by habit, but it's one of those little things you might easily forget if you're an armature trying to instruct.
• There are many dangers in scuba, which are not intuitive or obvious. If he teaches you incorrectly or misses a step, you'll have no way of knowing.
• SCUBA absolutely can be safe. Even "dangerous" dives can become safe with appropriate and applicable training.

Anyway, if your friend is a certified scuba instructor, he should absolutely be able to show you an applicable certification-card without taking offense. It's not that you don't trust your friend, but rather that this is life-and-death.