Should Padi OW be called Resort Diver?

[Frosty]

Something has been ticking away at the back of my lil brain.
This ALL refers to freshly minted divers NOT guys who have their card cos they need it to do charter dives etc.
From what I've seen,experienced and heard the Padi open water dive course doesn't equip you to go out with your buddy and run your own dive. According to Padi it does but reality seems to be totally different.
Once someone has a few dives under their belt and/or have done the "advanced" course they have the skills needed to dive proficiently. Their weighting is about right,they have good Boyancy control etc.
On that basis I just wonder if the Padi OW shouldn't be called resort diver and you dive with a dive master as a minimum.
Maybee I'm overthinking this.

 

[Keith.M]

You're either overthinking it or just trying to start something.

 

[Scott]

Maybe it's just a regional thing or just your instructor.

 

[Kronek]

Every OW diver from freshly minted to dozens of dives have been prepared and I had them plan and lead the dive. No drama yet. Well except that one guy who couldn't equalize but that's because he didn't tell me about a cold he had.

 

[SubZeroScuba]

I´ve had over 100 dives before I took my AOW. Most in cold water with dry-suit, all in the ocean. I believe I was capable of diving without a DM.

It dosn´t matter whether you´re a OW, AOW or RD. What matters is what you actually know. The plastic is just proof of that knowledge and experience.

 

[robertarak]

My PADI Open Water divers are perfectly able to plan their dive with their buddy and dive that plan safely. I would not certify them as Open Water divers if they did not have that ability.

 

[Nick A]

Its all about the instructors interpretation/perception of skills mastery. If all the skills and knowledge are in fact mastered, the OW diver should have no problem diving on his/her own without aid.

 

[boulderjohn]

Following a DM around is not even mentioned in the PADI course. If a diver is not trained to plan dives independently, then the instructor has violated standards. Does that happen? Yes, but it is a violation if it does. When people are certified, they of course have to do their open water dives wherever they are certified. many people are certified in resort areas. They are taught that when they dive under conditions different from where they were certified, they should seek advice on local conditions. If someone is certified in Cancun, they should certainly seek some help before plopping into the ocean water off Alaska. On the other hand, some people are trained diving in dry suits off of the waters of Alaska. Next week I will be doing OW dives in a high altitude, low visibility lake. You have to dive in local conditons; you can't import different conditions to wherever you are.

There are a couple of die hard "I hate PADI" people who post absurdly incorrect information regularly and repeatedly on ScbuaBord. Don't be snowed by them.

 

[BDSC]

Changing the name won't matter. Someone will still complain that it doesn't prepare you when in fact it will be the instructor that has failed you and not the course. And God forbid that it might just be possible that some people aren't meant to dive.

 

[TMHeimer]

"Resort Diver" in my mind refers to those who get OW certified and maybe do 10 dives a year on a tropical trip. I ran into one of them once on the only trip of that sort I have done. But many refer to these divers on SB. If properly trained a brand new OW diver that dives fairly regularly locally (or anywhere) will smooth things out after a few dives. I always advise new divers to try to buddy with experienced ones (but not at all necessarily DMs) at first. So from my experiences no, I would not change the PADI OW cert. to Resort Diver.