How many divers got hooked on scuba through Discover Scuba?

[L_A_S]

I loved my discover class when I was about 8 or 9, at a resort in the Netherlands. Too bad I didn't get a chance to really get into until I was 18, but I consider myself hooked since then.

 

[drbill]

They hadn't discovered Discover Scuba when I started out, but my son got hooked when he did his off Cabo san Lucas last year.

 

[selo]

Summer of 2006, on our 25th anniversary at Catalina Island, my wife suggested I try Discover Scuba. I went with Catalina Dive Shop, got the lecture about the basics, went in with my instructor, no deeper than 30 feet, and sure enough, saw a 300 lb giant sea bass. What a lucky first dive.

 

[Buoyant1]

Indirectly. It started with a glass bottom boat ride, then snorkelling, THEN two 'discover scuba' session in a pool, and one 'discover scuba diving' session in the Keys (pool session, then two reef dives)

I had three pool sessions and two reef dives before my first official dve class...

 

[D_B]

Mine was a discover dive in Roatan .. awesome!
... found my post on it ...

After reading of others that have had bad experiences, or have seen things done by others that have scared them, at Discover Diving courses, at resorts and on cruises, I thought I would say a couple of things
There are guidelines for Discover Scuba courses ... (PADI, no more than 4 in water with each instructor, 2 for a DM, no deeper than 40ft, etc.) do some research online ( http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/PDF/DSD.pdf ) , ask questions of the resort, cruise or operator, speak up if you see something that is unsafe, or different than your briefing.

I guess I am one of the fortunate ones that got good instruction in a Discover Scuba Diving course on a cruise (Carnival)
We did 75, or so minutes of classroom where I clearly remember it being stressed that you do not want to hold your breath and what could happen if you do, about what to do if you have any problems with your reg, to stay neutral in the water, don't worry if your mask floods, etc. we then walked into the water (beach at Anthony's Keys Resorts) and sat down while everyone went over again in how to clear a ask, and just getting comfortable breathing underwater, we then swam out, 4 to a instructor, and cruised the reef, gliding in the sandy bottomed coral canyons, no deeper than 38ft, peering under the ledges as we swam by, colorful fish all around us like a Nat Geo special and at the end of our dive we swam out of one canyon, out over deeper water, then swam back through a different one (I suspect now, that she did that at the end of our dive only after she was sure that the 4 of us had control of our buoyancy)

I don't know about others , the cruise was the best thing I have done, but my DSD was the most amazing experience of my life, and is why as soon as I got back I started my training .. even in cold, poor viz at times, So Cal

 

[Paco]

I started with a free pool dive while on vacation at the Iberostar on Cozumel, then to Chankanaab park for a resort course. Got certified first chance after getting back home.

 

[don Francisco]

Count me in. I was walking down the shore in Cozumel when someone called out "do you want to try scuba diving?" and not having a reason why not, I signed up. I honestly don't think I would have become a diver but for the discover diving program.

I think that resort dives, is right up there with introduced to diving by friend or spouse as a major source of new divers. It's an effective method of overcoming the high cost barrier of getting certified before even knowing what it's like.

As to any danger, that depends on the skill and diligence of the instructors involved. I know of many people turned off to Scuba by things like ear pain, or other bad experiences, but I'm not sure that it's much more than those who quit because of similar problems during training or on early dives.

Like everything else, done well it's a great program, and done poorly it's counter-porductive and possibly dangerous.

 

[SkipperJohn]

On the flip side, I know of two people (separate incidents) who were almost turned off completely by DSD. They did the discover scuba at resorts in the Caribbean and said they were rushed, didn't feel ready, both had issues once they were in the water and said they never wanted to do scuba EVER again.

Scuba diving is often a topic of conversation that comes up with me, that's how I heard these stories. I told both people that I didn't really care for DSD courses and that they should get OW certifications with an instructor that would take his time, teach them, reassure them (i.e. not some resort employee who just cared about when his next break is).

I think Scuba diving is serious stuff and it shouldn't be rushed through or glossed over. It should be taught in depth before people get 30 feet deep.

Just my person opinion.

Me.
I signed up for one around 20 years ago in St. Thomas. We did the 10 minutes of review, maybe 30 minutes in a pool. Everything was cool. Later on we headed out to a beach to do our dive. When we arrived gear was handed out and, unknown to me, I had a bum regulator. It felt sorta fine (not that I would have known) on the surface, but as soon as it got wet it parted with air like it cost money. I had to suck hard. I thought this was normal but found it unnerving to be sucking so hard for air under water. First we stopped off at 30 feet where fish were fed and we had a few laughs. I had my 16 y/o son with me. When it was time to go deeper, my son gave the sign thumbs up. He was panicking at the thought of going deeper. With my regulator I wasn't too keen either. 1 instructor stayed with us as we stayed with the fish at 30 feet & the rest of the group went further down. The 3 of us, understandably, were the first to exit the water and while there I tried my sons regulator just for the heck of it. I was shocked at how easy it was to draw. I explained my situation and the instructor tried it and commented that this regulator was supposed to go in for repairs yesterday. It was such a turn off that I never thought about it again for 20+ years.

 

[E.C.Hansen]

I looked at this thread because I'm about to go on vacation with some friends and one of them is doing a DSD dive with the same people I'm diving with down there. I'm trying to 'nudge' her into diving so I have a handy buddy
Anyway, while reading I remembered the first time I got to try Scuba... Even though I just got my OW last fall, It was over 20 years ago on vacation in VA Beach that I got my first introduction. My dad had a friend that was part of the Lynnhaven Dive Center and he wanted to stop in and say hi. While my dad and his friend caught up they sort of handed me off to his friends son and one of the shops instructors, who started putting gear on me, showing me how it worked and basically giving me a thorough DSD pool class before there was such a thing as PADI or most of their peers.
It took me a VERY long time to pursue diving after that, life can do that to ya sometimes, but I'll always remember that first feeling of weightless freedom that comes with diving, and now I enjoy it as often as I can.
It's about 20 years late, and I haven't been there since, but I really want to say thank you to Mr. Hillier and the Lynnhaven Dive Center for showing me the way into a whole `nother world.

Thanks,
Eric Hansen

 

[Walter]

I know lots of folks get hooked by resort courses, but lots of people are scared to death by them and never dive as a result. They are great for water people with lots of confidence in their abilities. I'm not convinced they are an overall positive factor in getting people excited about diving.