Is it worth it?

[Diving Dubai]

Why don't you all move this on, rather than argue over semantics?

From my perspective, I'm very disallousioned with PADI, I should get around to rescue, but I switched to BSAC (joining a club with BSAC Instructors, rather than a concerted decision)

I still maintain with all the training agencies (although happy to be corrected) that it's too easy to go from one cert to another. I don't want to deprive anyone of training, but feel strongly that their should be a period of consolidation to put what you've learned into practice. Let's say 20 logged hrs underwater as a number. Let's face it who left OW with good buoyancy and trim? Yet they allow people to go straight to AOW get a card and be no further along with their skills. That person could go to Indonesia on that cert, dive currents with a DM far beyond their achieved skill level, at best scare the crap out of themselves, at worse...

in some ways I like BSAC where sports diver (AOW) build on everything you learn at the basic level and adds more skills (like smb deployment). You may disagree on the need to get into deco diving early like BSAC but, heck why not?They even teach some rescue straight off the bat. I understand however that PADI rescue is more complete but that's a different matter.


Anyway as as a challenge ....
If YOU could design a course where you had 3 levels under Pro, what would you teach in each
How many dives for the course, how many hours
How much time/dives if any between courses,
Any other caveats? Ie should training in a quarry allow you to do the next step in an ocean without further experience?


over to you

 

[TMHeimer]

Diving Dubai, These are old arguements, but you make good points. I do think a lot of this depends on the individual. No, my buoyancy and trim right after OW was not great, but it didn't take 20 dives for me to get it pretty good. PADI AOW right after OW is probably not advisable, but again, it's not really supposed to mean you're advanced, just a continuation. You get more skills, spend time diving with an instructor, etc. Rescue--again, as soon as your diving is comfortable enough--the skills can always be practiced after the course and you know them. But if you're bouncing up and down and still have to think about gearing up it's too soon. Depends on the individual.

 

[kafkaland]

To make any training a success, three things have to align:

1. the student's skills and interests
2. the course curriculum
3. the instructor's ability to teach the course in a framework suitable for the student.

If you have a good match, the student will learn and everyone will be happy, if you don't, then the course is doomed from the beginning, no matter which portion of the alphabet soup the course is associated with.

 

[T.C.]

That they're saying it, or that it's true?

They view it as true that SSI is going downhill, and are upset that it is.

As the local shop said, he affiliated with SSI because they were viewed as having a higher standard.

 

[flots am]

They view it as true that SSI is going downhill, and are upset that it is.

As the local shop said, he affiliated with SSI because they were viewed as having a higher standard.

Yeah, that sounds about right . . .

 

[MMM]

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[Timmyjoe]

Was just talking with the owner of the shop I frequent. He was telling me he has a group of students (I think three of them) who are doing their Open Water with one of his instructors the weekend of May 24th & 25th and their Advanced Open Water with another of his instructors May 31st and June 1st. I was like, "Don't you think that's a little quick?" His reasoning was that it gave them five more dives where they were supervised by a dive instructor before they go off diving on their own. Not sure if I agree with that or not.

Best,
-Tim

 

[flots am]

Was just talking with the owner of the shop I frequent. He was telling me he has a group of students (I think three of them) who are doing their Open Water with one of his instructors the weekend of May 24th & 25th and their Advanced Open Water with another of his instructors May 31st and June 1st. I was like, "Don't you think that's a little quick?" His reasoning was that it gave them five more dives where they were supervised by a dive instructor before they go off diving on their own. Not sure if I agree with that or not.

It should be embarassing, since it's an admission that the OW class was insufficient.

Someone who needs "5 more dives with an instructor", needed them in the pool.

flots.

 

[Redshift]

It's a recognition that PADI OW if done to the minimum standards does not prepare a diver to be independent. Unless the new divers choose carefully their first dives in very easy and benign situations, they can easily find themselves way over their heads.
And the 5 extra dives, as beneficial as they can be, can cause extra problems as they will also give those divers a certification that will enable them to get even more into trouble.

 

[TMHeimer]

It's a recognition that PADI OW if done to the minimum standards does not prepare a diver to be independent. Unless the new divers choose carefully their first dives in very easy and benign situations, they can easily find themselves way over their heads.
And the 5 extra dives, as beneficial as they can be, can cause extra problems as they will also give those divers a certification that will enable them to get even more into trouble.

These are old points and good ones. But a new diver has to use his head and not get into situations
that push their limits, whether OW or AOW certified. Gotta just use common sense and take it easy for a while.