PADI Holds The New World's Record for Fastest OW Class

[Web Monkey]

I'm pretty sure I've found a new record in "way-too-fast-OW-certification".

Princess now offers what appears to be a 1.5 day PADI OW class, with pretty much zero classroom time. According to the guy at the desk on the ship, it works like this:

• At home: Read book, watch video
• First day on ship: A couple hours in classroom and 2 dives in an 8' pool
• Second day on ship: 2 dives in an 8' pool
• First island: 2 OW dives
• Second island: 2 OW dives

You'll have to excuse my unbridled conservatism, but I just don't believe it's possible to learn to be even a moderately safe diver in 1 1/2 days.

Is there any limit to how low PADI's standards can drop? If this sounds like "PADI Bashing", it is. I don't know of any other agency with the b**** to certify someone after only one morning in a classroom.

I suspect they do cover the RSTC minimum standards, but there's a big difference between learning something well enough to spit it back out on a test 10 minutes after learning it, and learning it well enough to actually remember it and use it in the real world later on.

Terry

 

[jmani]

How is this different from the numerous courses that certify you in a weekend?

I am not saying it is right, but I have seen a number of courses from different orginizations that offer a weekend course. The cours goes like this...

Get study material before class. Complete all study material before first class, usually on a friday night. Do 4 pool sessions on saturday and do your open water dives as a open water referral some where else.

Again I am not saying it is right but it is not unique to PADI.

John

 

[Web Monkey]

I didn't know anybody else was doing it, but if they are, they're just as bad.

It's not good for the students, the underwater environment or diving in general. It's apparently only good for whoever gets to collect the money.

Terry

How is this different from the numerous courses that certify you in a weekend?

I am not saying it is right, but I have seen a number of courses from different orginizations that offer a weekend course. The cours goes like this...

Get study material before class. Complete all study material before first class, usually on a friday night. Do 4 pool sessions on saturday and do your open water dives as a open water referral some where else.

Again I am not saying it is right but it is not unique to PADI.

John

 

[boulderjohn]

Help me to understand how this is 1 1/2 days. It looks like four days to me.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

A few years ago my wifes padi course was much faster than that. Zero pool and class just right into the ocean for checkouts. Exam given after last dive

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

There are a lot that do it faster than that. Home study. One day in the pool. Then 2 days of OW dives. My brother was certified this way and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better diver. No matter how long you take, the class is just the beginning. Every diver must take it upon themselves to become safe and competent.

In all fairness, you are completely discounting the home study aspect. Some of us are very capable of learning the concepts from a book...I certainly didn't need classroom instruction for Nitrox, but I was forced to have it.

But I get it that you want to start yet another "shred PADI" thread. Have at it.

 

[Cap335]

I'm pretty sure I've found a new record in "way-too-fast-OW-certification".

Princess now offers what appears to be a 1.5 day PADI OW class, with pretty much zero classroom time. According to the guy at the desk on the ship, it works like this:

• At home: Read book, watch video
• First day on ship: A couple hours in classroom and 2 dives in an 8' pool
• Second day on ship: 2 dives in an 8' pool
• First island: 2 OW dives
• Second island: 2 OW dives

You'll have to excuse my unbridled conservatism, but I just don't believe it's possible to learn to be even a moderately safe diver in 1 1/2 days.

Is there any limit to how low PADI's standards can drop? If this sounds like "PADI Bashing", it is. I don't know of any other agency with the b**** to certify someone after only one morning in a classroom.

I suspect they do cover the RSTC minimum standards, but there's a big difference between learning something well enough to spit it back out on a test 10 minutes after learning it, and learning it well enough to actually remember it and use it in the real world later on.

Terry

PADI and others have been offering this for some time. The amount of learning depends on the Instructor and student. Some students come in prepared having read the book, watched the video and done the Knowlage reviews. After reviewing the materials, quizzes and test are given, if these are passed the student moves to water work which is the same water work that any other student would do. Some students come in who just skim the book and watch the video, this is usually found out fairly quickly and these students usually have to sit through the lectures anyway.

If the student is prepared when we come to the water work they usually do well in the water as well.

Randy

 

[Bruciebabe]

Just imagine the impact on the fragile reef ecosystem when graduates of this go fun diving with their digital cameras.

I'm pretty sure I've found a new record in "way-too-fast-OW-certification".

Princess now offers what appears to be a 1.5 day PADI OW class, with pretty much zero classroom time. According to the guy at the desk on the ship, it works like this:

• At home: Read book, watch video
• First day on ship: A couple hours in classroom and 2 dives in an 8' pool
• Second day on ship: 2 dives in an 8' pool
• First island: 2 OW dives
• Second island: 2 OW dives

You'll have to excuse my unbridled conservatism, but I just don't believe it's possible to learn to be even a moderately safe diver in 1 1/2 days.

Is there any limit to how low PADI's standards can drop? If this sounds like "PADI Bashing", it is. I don't know of any other agency with the b**** to certify someone after only one morning in a classroom.

I suspect they do cover the RSTC minimum standards, but there's a big difference between learning something well enough to spit it back out on a test 10 minutes after learning it, and learning it well enough to actually remember it and use it in the real world later on.

Terry

 

[Nemrod]

If PadI was the designer of college curriculum they would give you a BS degree in a week, an MS in a month and everyone would claim that it is not the school or degree that is important because it is just a beginning. OK, can I get a PHD in two weeks?

The good news is that the majority of these "add water and stir " instant divers never dive again so I hopefully think perhaps their impact upon the reef systems is minimal. I have seen an awfull lot of long time divers crushing the reef to get a camera angle on some fish. If I had an underwater electric cattle prod I would use it often. N

 

[Atticus]

While I'm not a huge PADI fan, I do hold some certs from them and am somewhat familiar with their standards.

It sounds like the program we're discussing offers 4 dives in a pool and 4 OW checkout dives (which probably include tours as well as skills).

This is very close to NAUI standards which would add only a required skindive or 5th scuba dive. The required skills are a slightly different, but that's not the topic in this thread. I'm not familiar with SSI's standards, but I would be surprised if they require more than 4 pool sessions and 4 or 5 OW dives for basic certification.

The other issue is academic requirements - PADI has decided that students are capable of learning by reading the text book themselves instead of having it read to them. I can't really fault them there.

Maybe you can be more specific about what you believe the problem with this operation is.

Caveats: If the OW dives are not conducted in conditions appropriate for checkout/skill review then that's a problem. If the OW dives allow unsupervised touring then that's a problem. If the OW dives don't follow reasonable instructor/student ratios then that's a problem. If the students don't read the text before hand, and they barely pass the exam, and there is no check and balance to actually teach them the material (ie: something better than someone saying the right answer is C for question 14) then that's a problem.