Questions about Discover Scuba classes

[sunshinecat]

I'm a certified diver who will be going on a trip with a non-certified diver this summer. She is interested in taking a Discover Scuba class and I'm hoping to get some advice about how these typically run and what to look for in a class. I called two dive shops and there seems to be a big difference between the two: they both said they follow PADI standards, but one said there is 2 hours of instruction and pool training prior to the ocean dive which goes to a max depth of 30 feet. The second shop said they show a 45 minute video and then take the divers into 8 feet of ocean water to practice the skills and then do a dive down to 40 feet max. It seems odd that they both follow the PADI course but the descriptions sounds quite different. Does PADI have a specific course outline and mandatory skills for the Discover Scuba class? Are there specific questions I should ask when trying to pick which class to choose? I just want to make sure that my friend will be prepared enough for her dive as she is already nervous about trying it.

Thanks!

 

[UrbanJungle1966]

I've done discover dives where you get kitted up and jump in waist deep water, get 5 minutes instruction and away you go. I have seen a person freak out though and not do it so her boyfriend stepped in and went .

At my LDS it takes 2 hours in a class, 2 hours in a pool before you go in and that is only to 5 metres in basically a fenced off bay. If you get through that they take you just out past the bay into 9 metres. If you want more they suggest you vertify.

I have been out with PADI places and it is able to clear mask, blow out bubbles when the reg is out and shown basic BCD skills. This puts air in this puts air out. That is it in a number of places. Also don't touch anything the instructor does it all is another one I have had. She was hot though so I made sure I let air out now and again so she came back and added air. Pretty much so I could check out her arse .

 

[Steve_C]

My first dive was a discover scuba in Hawaii. We had some sort of presentation. Cannot remember if oral or movie or what. Then we went into pool with equipment. Basically we sat at the bottom for a while so that they could make sure I was comfortable under water. May havae done a drill or two. We then broke for lunch. An hour or two later we did a shore dive. I could not bring a camera or the like but the guide/DM took some photos. There was a certified diver also with us. He was a total stroke but that is a different thread.

Was a lot of fun and sold me on scuba diving.

Since then I was in Cancun for a conference and doing some diving. Only option one afternoon was to come along on a discover scuba but as a certified diver. Not sure what they did before but the DM/Instructor brought them on a boat dive in shallow water. They stayed over the sand next to a reef (for the protection of the reef and the diver.) I swam over the reef keeping within view of the guide. (I should mention that I had dove with him several times before and was working on my DM at the time so he may have cut me extra slack plus it is mexico)

I have heard of dicover scubas that were limited to pool time. Not so interesting to me.

 

[D_B]

Mine was in 05 here is my post on the subject ......

Discover(ed) Scuba Diving in a cruise

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

Here is the PADI DSD Course Instructor Gude ... http://www.padi.com/english/common/c...ro/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

 

[grassgreen]

There are many ways in which a DSD can be done and still stay within the Padi standards.
one option is watch a video, 45mins, then answer a few questions to make sure you understood what the video said, then go to pool or pool like conditions, practice clear mask, clear reg, find reg, basics of reading SPG, hand signals and be able to inflate BCD at the surface. that's the minimum for skills, for me good idea to share air, and bit of buoyancy as well if you have time, will make the dive easier.

OR can be oral explination with the DSD flip chart covers the same as the video, then same questions, same skills.

OR can be either theory version then on a line 1 on 1 with instructor same skills straight into a dive.

How ever its done max depth can only to 12metres and has to be with and Instructor if its open water.

 

[LowDrag]

Why not have your friend do a DSD at your local LDS and then if she likes it she could do a certifying course with a referral to where ever it is you are both traveling too? That way she would know before going whether she liked to dive or not. My son did a DSD with my previous LDS in the pool while my wife and I were doing our OW cert class. He is now certified too.

 

[TMHeimer]

Why not have your friend do a DSD at your local LDS and then if she likes it she could do a certifying course with a referral to where ever it is you are both traveling too? That way she would know before going whether she liked to dive or not. My son did a DSD with my previous LDS in the pool while my wife and I were doing our OW cert class. He is now certified too.

Excellent idea. Then one way or another there is no vacation/trip time taken up, especially if it turns out she doesn't want to pursue it.

I have not taught or observed a course. From what I read DSD has the most cases of "incidents" of any PADI course. A big reason is someone getting separated and panicking. So I would check out the places and see what the ratio is instructor to student, and if there is a certified assistant (DM, etc.). One can imagine it could be tricky for an instructor to be within touching distance of a number of students.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

DSD is an "experience," not a certification class. It qualifies the participants for no credential. Sadly, the quality and thoroughness of instruction varies greatly. When I have led these experiences in Hawaii and in Mexico at different times ( I have a credential to do so, no more than 2 divers at a time) I brief them on the safety rules of scuba, the operation of the equipment, and the skills we will practice in the pool, those listed in the PADI standards. We then go to a pool or "Pool like conditions" in a sheltered area of the ocean and review and practice the skills as I evaluate the customer's comfort level. Then we go on a short dive, never deeper than 25 feet, for 20-30 minutes. Most people I have led have been "hooked" on scuba and end up getting certified. From greeting to final gear removal is usually about 2 and 1/2 hours more or less, depending on the student's comfort level (and mine).
DivemasterDennis

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

My dsd was a short video, taking out to a site, and taught how to clear your mask. then down on the mooring line to about 30ft no swimming around or anything. To start off I had a bad mask (had to argue with the boat crew for a few mins, said I wasn't clearing it right) every time a stuck my head under water it would flood. This made me against rental gear!! Now had I did this in a pool or a cold dark quarry, I would not be certified today. My advice to anyone that wants to try it is to try in the ocean where you would like to dive. That way you get to full effect and experience.

 

[boulderjohn]

There really isn't all that much diffrence between the two.

I called two dive shops and there seems to be a big difference between the two: they both said they follow PADI standards, but one said there is 2 hours of instruction and pool training prior to the ocean dive which goes to a max depth of 30 feet. The second shop said they show a 45 minute video and then take the divers into 8 feet of ocean water to practice the skills and then do a dive down to 40 feet max. It seems odd that they both follow the PADI course but the descriptions sounds quite different.

They both have classroom sessions as required. One specified that it uses a video as part of the classroom session. The other one might, too, but they might not.

Unless you wrote it inaccurately, the first one said its classroom and pool session together run 2 hours. The second one said there as a 45 minute video in the classroom before the pool session, but ti did not give you a combined classroom and pool time. They could both be identical in total length. (BTW, 2 hours total is pretty good.)

The PADI maximum depth for the dive is 40 feet. One of them said that is the maximum depth. They could mean they are not allowed to go deeper than that, but they might not get that deep. They might tell their instructors not to go below 30 feet just to be safe.

IN other words, the two programs could be absolutely identical and still be accurately described as they are in your summary.