In the midst of getting OW Certified...

[littleg182]

Here's how my first half went of the certification...
Alright so me and a few friends are getting Open water certified and we are doing the weekend course. The first day, saturday, we were in the class room from 8am-4pm going through the PADI book and taking the knowledge reviews and tests. This part went ok. The next day we did the pool session which was suppose to be 8am - 4pm but only lasted until 1:30 or so. This was something I had a problem with. Not only that but as soon as we got to the pool we had to swim 4 laps (8 pool Lengths!) and not even a minute later she says we have to tread water for 15 minutes(although she only had us tread water for like 1-2 minutes). It couldv'e been done, but It was so exhausting I fault sick the rest of the course.

In the beginning the skills were going alright because the instructor and the other DM would perform the skill then have each of us do the skill. Well, after about 3 or 4 skill tests they kind of stopped showing us what to do. We would pop out of the water and the instructor would say a few things then we would go under and she would expect us to do whatever she told us. It started to seem as if she was rushing us because towards the end people didn't even know what we were suppose to be doing. The instructor was trying to explain things underwater. Not very fun being confused about what were suppose to do.... I wish we would have gotten more time in the pool to actually feel comfortable with what we're doing!

Anyways our class time was 8 hours - 1 hour lunch and our pool time was 4-5 hours - 30 minutes lunch. Now, this coming weekend we do our 4 checkout dives in the keys. I hope I'm ready! Also it wasn't really explained too well about what we are going to be doing during the checkout dives. What is the normal routine for the checkout dives?

 

[stargazer61]

If this is a serious post - you need to get your money back and sign up with another operator. No alternative. You need to get proficient at each of the skills, not just more or less manage to do it once. The checkout dives "should" have you repeating these skills at open water depths and then you "should" be OK to dive without professional supervision.

 

[fisherdvm]

8 x 25 = 200 yards. Maybe they skimped on the treading water, but perhaps they wanted to spend more time on skills.

Perhaps communication is lacking. Perhaps someone didn't tell the dm and instructor they were not quite ready. I would make certain you tell them your weakness, and they might add you to the next pool session to work on your skill first.

I believe it is your responsibility to let them know your discomfort, before an accident can happen at the OW.

 

[Shellshocked]

Littleg,
I did my certification dive in Key Largo. The keys are relatively shallow so I suspect you will do a boat dive (5-10 minute ride) to an area just off shore. I am SSI certified and we had to perform all of our skills on the first dive with the instructor. We actually did our first dive in Crystal River on the way to Key Largo. It was cold and there was nothing to see. We did our first dive in very shallow water 10-20 feet. The remaining dives were done in the Keys and we went to around 40-50 on the last dive. It was very low key and fun. The key is to just relax, follow the instructor and enjoy. Regarding feeling really comfortable in the pool I never did either. In the beginning you are so focused on getting your equipment set-up, trying to adjust your bouyancy etc... and it is exhausting. After a few dives you get that part down and can focus on enjoying the dive. If you are like me and my family seeing the underwater world will hook you for life.

 

[H2Andy]

to answer your question, the OW dives are repeats of your pool dives: you do the same things, only in OW

sounds like you are confused and not quite sure what skills you are doing, or how to do them

i would put on the brakes right now and discuss this with your instructor

like fisherdvm says, you need to raise a red flag right now and discuss your readiness

 

[diver 85]

Everything you did in the pool-assuming you did anything in the pool...What agency are you using???? and...., I would record, as in depth as you can remember, what exactly transpired the 2nd day(pool day)..


Good luck, you'll probably be just fine but I would NOT use that ticket to make any 'tuff' dives right off the bat.............It sounds like you're going to need some time to practice things a bit........These 'long resort courses' are for the birds IMO........

 

[littleg182]

Thats what I thought too. Even though I performed all of the skills without a problem, I wish we would have gone over them more. It would give me much more security. The instructor was even getting mad at some of us for no reason, she said she was going to seperate me and my buddy just because "I" told my buddy to put her weight belt on the other way while we were in the water.

 

[H2Andy]

sounds like a pretty crappy instructor

 

[trtldvr]

First of all welcome to scuba diving and to scuba board.

Second, Although I generally give my students a couple of minutes between the two, it is not unreasonable to expect you to tread water for a full ten minutes after the swim. The last minute of the tread should be with 1 arm up waving. You are entering a physical activity in a water environment.

Third, You did not say if your instructor was using hand signals or not but even if she was it would seem that she did not explain them to you. So I would think your instructor needs to work on thier communication skills.

As far as your checkout dives, you will be expected to demonstrate skills that you should have mastered in confined water. PADI has a specific order for which skills you will be asked to do on which dive (I am NAUI and I don't remember the order , sorry). You said that you will be doing your checkout dives in the Keys, Is this with your instructor or are you being referred to another?

Lastly, scuba diving is supposed to be fun, this includes the classes. If it is not, you may want to find another instructor.

 

[diver 85]

First of all welcome to scuba diving and to scuba board.

Second, Although I generally give my students a couple of minutes between the two, it is not unreasonable to expect you to tread water for a full ten minutes after the swim. The last minute of the tread should be with 1 arm up waving. You are entering a physical activity in a water environment.

Third, You did not say if your instructor was using hand signals or not but even if she was it would seem that she did not explain them to you. So I would think your instructor needs to work on thier communication skills.

As far as your checkout dives, you will be expected to demonstrate skills that you should have mastered in confined water. PADI has a specific order for which skills you will be asked to do on which dive (I am NAUI and I don't remember the order , sorry). You said that you will be doing your checkout dives in the Keys, Is this with your instructor or are you being referred to another?

Lastly, scuba diving is supposed to be fun, this includes the classes. If it is not, you may want to find another instructor.

I've heard that time & again, ie 'you may want to get another instructor'.....So what happpens money wise in this exact case???....The student is wanting out(probably paid the entire course fee), the instructor nows gives a refund???...partial ie prorated or total-- hit the road jack & watch out for the door knob thing???....My vote is for the student in this case, NOTHING on his/her side was done wrong......