How to ensure my safety when there is no guide dive with me?

[rstofer]

It is never my intent to blast anyone. Unless it is the 1000th posting about buying at LeisurePro or overfilling tanks.

New divers have a lot of issues. It doesn't help that the classes are so short. In a perfect world the OW course would be much longer and graduates would be much more comfortable in the water. But it isn't a perfect world and students are rushed through in an attempt to increase equipment sales. The training isn't about creating good divers, it's about selling product. Soon!

I think most divers can help themselves by thinking through the issues that concern them and coming up with a plan. I also believe that more supervised dives is the answer.

Last summer my grandson turned 10 and he wanted to dive. Before he started I paid to get his father certified. Then we decided he should take AOW and Rescue. My wife tagged along for both (she was certified in '94). Along the way my grandson took Jr OW. Since then my wife and son-in-law have taken a couple of specialties (Nitrox, Deep, Navigation) and are scheduled to take Altitude and Peak Performance Buoyancy. All of this training in support of my grandson who will probably also take Altitude and PPB. I wanted his father to be a well trained buddy.

I do understand the difficulties of the new diver. But when I say more education is the answer, I back it up by funding this entire program including all the equipment. I am absolutely serious about the idea that if you're going to dive you need to know how to do it properly.

Richard

 

[DRsharky]

I dove in Asia ( Philippine, Malaysia) , Jamaica and United States for several times.

I found a major difference for scuba diving in United States than in Asia is that DM in United States won't get into the water take care of divers. All the divers in United States are asked to get into the water by themselves, no DM would take care of the divers underwater and lead the team.

But in Asia, u will see DM and instructors lead the team all the time, in case of anyone get lost or any emergence happen. In Jamaica, there were always 3 DMs take care of divers, one in the front of the team, another in the middle, while the last DM follow the last two divers.

Asia or wherever in the world you were diving - I am assuming that those were vacation spots = you pay for diving including the guide. In US and Canada you dive with dive clubs mostly (at least I did) = diving with dive buddies. Very different then at some vacation destinations.

I guess the US dive operators assume that the diver has been trained to dive without a guide. Just like a driver's education class. Once you get your license you can drive a car without the instructor sitting next to you telling you where to go and what to do. However, if you're not comfortable driving a car by yourself, for $120.00 I will lead you around.

Most folks get into diving for exploration, not tours, IMNSHO. However, if you want more time being trained to feel comfortable, there's nothing wrong with that. You just may have to pay for it.

Yes, it's true that as a certified OW diver you should be able to go diving yourself, but you don't have the experience to do so. The best is to join a scuba club in your area, or wherever you took your course and go diving with them. That's what I did when I started diving. I learned from the experienced, met new buddies to go diving with and had fun.

A DM is not guaranty that you will be safe in all situations. Even a good DM can make a mistake or overlook your mistake. You safety is first of all in your hands.
Study hard, dive a lot, practice your skills, get a good buddy, invest in good equipment, study more and dive more.

Living in a touristy place like this I've seen so many so called DMs or even instructors, that didn't have a clue about the safety in some situations.

Dive as much as you can, improve your skills, maybe take advance or even rescue course to learn more. And compass - won't hurt to have one. It's more accurate then any guide in the world - if you know how to use it