General question about genuineness of OW & AOW tests in Phuket?

[Diver_City Boys]

I am having this assumption that most diving outfits in phuket don't realy bother if one can complete 200 meters and understand theories, since it's not considered pro level certifcation and can't be put to any commerical use alone

The reason i am saying this is for two reasons:

1- I went to two differnet dive shops, and they recommand me taking OW course, without asking if i could swim (they didn't even told me i had to swim 200 meters) and if had enough time to read through Thick text book? I said i don't have time to prepare within a week since i was doing my holiday, they said don't worry, it's not hard :06: What could happen, if i had joined the course, and couldn't pass the test? Would they had passed me?

P.s Also they told me that "dive is a dive", no matter where you do your dive, Is that mean they will take me on boat dive very close to phuket like 15-30 minutes?


2-when i did my first dive (discover scuab diving) in racha-yai for 3,300 Bhat, I wasn't taken to swiming pool first day, and never even asked if i could swim at all (i couldn't swim even 50 mters in S.pool) or had dived ever before?
When we went to racha-yai, i just took one dive and skipped my second dive, because i was almost sea sick before doing first dive (taken 2 tablets) and later i had taken too much of sea water coming through my mask (i had mostache), so i was badly vomiting later
A diver friend of mine in Dubai says, I could complain about them to Padi? Was it considered kind of unsound bussiness practice in diving?

 

[stevenl]

As far as I know, most diving outfits here have their students do the swimming/snorkeling and floating. I know we do for sure.

I think it was not mentioned at the diveshops is because it is harldy ever an issue, there is no timelimit for the snorkeling/swimming, and most people who can not swim would not even think of going diving. I had once a student who really could not swim, since we did the swim test on the first day we noticed it early on in the course, and we decided he had better do something else with his holiday.

I really do presume that if you don't pass the test they would not have certified you. It is not difficult however, and if somebody does not pass the test (happens very rarely) there is always a retest.

True, a dive is a dive (provided you have reached a minimum depth/air consumption to be allowed to count the dive as a training dive), but here on Phuket most of the training dives for open water are done at Racha Yai, is the high season also from the beach or by longtail boat, and year round also at Phi Phi. I have even seen people doing open water dives at King Cruiser, but would not recommend that.

Discover Scuba Diving does not have to be done at a pool, the description is 'Confined Water', so also open water with pool like conditions regarding depth, current, visibility etc. is allowed. A pool is easier for a lot of people, but not required.

 

[MoonWrasse]

OW checkout dives at KC? That's crazyness. Current can be strong, too much to injure oneself on, etc, etc.

The big thing about the swim test for OW is to see if you are comfortable in open water, and have some modicom of swimming abilities. I imagine some instructors can discern this just by observation of the students in water.

 

[stevenl]

I imagine some instructors can discern this just by observation of the students in water.

Maybe, but not allowed, they have to swim/snorkel and float.

OW checkout dives at KC? That's crazyness.

Totally agree, and if things go wrong, the instructor/operator would be in a lot of trouble explaining what they were doing at King Cruiser. Only thing to do is talk to the instructor/operator (was waste of time) and/or report to PADI if witnessed.

 

[paolov]

do you still want to learn SCUBA diving?

.

 

[dreams4divers]

Which two dive shops?
There are both very good and not so good here in Phuket.
To me it sounds like you went to a shop employing the bottom end of the food chain dive instructors, If you find an instructor who is passionate about teaching diving, your experience of the shop may well have been different.
Alot of the instructors here see instructing as a way of finacing there party time rather than a vocation to really help people learn to dive. Its not so much the shop as the individuals you delt with maybe see if you can talk to the shop owners and see how they feel about your comments.
You are right not dealing with anyone who makes you feel that they wont provide the best possible service. Dont let it discourage you as diving is awesome,
Drop me an email if your still looking and I might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Quero]

Diver City Boys--so sorry to hear that your first experience with diving here in Phuket was unhappy. I beleive this is probably a combination of a lot of things, and not necessarily a lack of professionalism on the part of the dive ops you had dealings with.

First of all, you should know that it's entirely within PADI standards (rules for instructors) to do Discover Scuba Diving from a boat in the sea as long as the water at the dive site is no deeper than 6 meters, the sea conditions are calm, and the water is fairly clear. Koh Racha Yai meets all of these standards. This is called "confined water"; a swimming pool also offers "confined water" conditions, but most people would rather see a natural place on their Discover Scuba dive rather than ceramic pool tiles. DCB, you are probably one of those who would have benefitted from a pool session first.

Secondly, although it *is* required that a student complete a swimming test in order to do an Open Water course, it is *NOT* required for Discover Scuba Diving. If you had decided to go on to do the Open Water course, it's almost certain that you would have been asked to demonstrate your swimming abilities, and if you couldn't swim, DCB, you wouldn't have passed! There are two different waterskills tests: treading water/floating for 10 minutes, and swimming. There are two options for the swimming: a 200 meter surface swim, or a 300 meter swim with mask, snorkel, and fins. Swimming 300 meters with fins, mask/snorkel is not terribly hard because you don't have to worry about breathing technique, plus with fins you simply don't need to be a strong swimmer. Also, as stevenl notes, it's not a race, so you can take as long as you like to finish.

Finally, since you had so much difficulty that you actually skipped your second Discover Scuba dive, you were clearly not very comfortable with your first dive. This a natural reaction, DCB, and it's very likely your discomfort on your first dive had something to do with your own stress at being in the ocean when you know you can't swim, being disturbed at having water in your mask, and feeling seasick from the boat ride.

I have gone back to read your previous postings from January when you first asked about the path to becoming a DM, so it seems that you are quite motivated to learn to dive. And in re-reading your postings asking about swimming videos, appropriate fins and mask, and looking for a pool buddy in Bangkok, it's clear that you are aware that your swimming skills need to improve. I know when I began my Open Water course I had very high expectations, and it would have been hard suffer the kind of disappointment you experienced on your Discover Scuba dive. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the dive shop or the instructor were unprofessional.

DCB, it sounds to me like you would be a good candidate for one-on-one training (after you improve you swimming, that is). Now that it is low season on Phuket, you could easily get that kind of attention. Any one of us here on Phuket who have replied to this post of yours could probably help you find the right instructor. Just ask.

 

[Diver_City Boys]

I think it was not mentioned at the diveshops is because it is harldy ever an issue, there is no timelimit for the snorkeling/swimming,
Well, i think it's an issue for non-swimmer, and it takes nearly 3-6 months training with right style for middle age person to do 200 meters.

and most people who can not swim would not even think of going diving.
I think many people get intersted or push themselves to learn swimming for the sake of futher exploring under water world

I really do presume that if you don't pass the test they would not have certified you. It is not difficult however, and if somebody does not pass the test (happens very rarely) there is always a retest.

Thank you for info, i didn't knew you could re-take the test, is there a time limit where you can return to do your test again? say like 6 months or so?

Discover Scuba Diving does not have to be done at a pool, the description is 'Confined Water', so also open water with pool like conditions regarding depth, current, visibility etc. is allowed. A pool is easier for a lot of people, but not required
Are you saying a person never dived, shouldn't be taken to swimming pool before going to somewhere like Racha-yai? i don't believe so, simply many dive outfit don't like to do it because of the cost and time consumption for doing doing extra day Swimming pool training

 

[Diver_City Boys]

do you still want to learn SCUBA diving?

.

Sure, I can swim freestyle 140 meters non-stop as of today only. I did 2 months
learning drills only, still i need to improve my style and balance

I'm not sure when i can do 400 meters, may be 12 months practice ( i'm reading some TI materails now), also my stamina is very low due to doing past 10 years crappy office works

 

[MoonWrasse]

Sure, I can swim freestyle 140 meters non-stop as of today only. I did 2 months
learning drills only, still i need to improve my style and balance

I'm not sure when i can do 400 meters, may be 12 months practice ( i'm reading some TI materails now), also my stamina is very low due to doing past 10 years crappy office works

To go from 140 meters to 200 should be faily easy for you. That's only about 40% further, if you increase your distance 10% each time you go to the pool you're only 4 swims away from your goal.

Find an instructor who will work with you - be honest with your abilities and wants up front and you'll likely be pleased with the result.