So what is NOT covered in open water cert that should be?

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I was reading a thread about a guys whose buddy’s bc inflator hose free flowed and sent her to the surface. I would like to think that I might be sharp enough to pull a dump and hold it open, but I don’t think it would have occurred to me until sometime later that the correct way to deal with this is to unhook the hose from the bc.

In and emergency, you will likely have to respond so fast that you won’t have time to figure out all the options and select the best one. Your best hope is to fall back on good training.

Well this thread that I mentioned above got me to thinking. I wonder what else is routinely left out of basic open water certification that really should be or used to be included?

My list so far:
Dealing with stuck inflator
Carrying cutting devices and freeing oneself from an underwater entanglement (I tied myself up on accident after OW and shared it on a thread here.

So what else would the seasoned salts among us add to the list??
Leah

 

[D_B]

Those were covered in my OW class
... there is only so much you can cover, and expect a student to retain, with all of it being new and slightly overwhelming (I remember how it was ... I am one)) but those two sound petty basic to me
.. I will watch this thread with interest

 

[edjohnson66]

The nice thing about teaching through NAUI is items can be added more than what is required to be taught. Since in New Jersey most of the diving is wreck diving we do teach having an extra emphsasis on things you would see diving in New Jersey. But all those points you brought up should be taught. Disconnecting the low pressure inflator hose is on both Naui and Padi's instructor slates.

 

[Ben_ca]

I don't think there's enough server space...

 

[Meister481]

I don't think there's enough server space...

Very true! I guess that's the reason I'm going to stop at DM. I'm a little hesitant to send people trained in a quarry out into the ocean or great lakes without some additional help.

It's a tough call, people are too short sighted in our society, if it takes too long to learn they will not take the course. The diving industry is built on getting divers in the water. The minimum training is done to facilitate this.

This is purely my opinion.

 

[maged_mmh]

i think OW and AOW should be clubbed together

 

[D_B]

I think so too, in fact I took them back to back .. best way to gain confidence
PADI AOW is called Adventures in Diving and that is what it is, a continuation of your exposure and education in diving, many of which would be covered in OW if the class was not so short or limited .

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

It is my premise in this thread that OW training is lacking and things are commonly left out. I want to know specifically how it is lacking.

I want to know common things that are left out so that from your post. I can then compare it to what I have learned and if it was not taught I can then seek to fill that gap with actual knowledge that will help me be a better diver.

I do not know what I do not know. I am hoping you can help me figure it out. I read posts all the time about how OW sucks and is almost criminal. I am looking for people to put up actual info that will back up that claim.

Thanks

 

[Davetul]

While impossible to quantify...

The danger imposed by going underwater, coupled with the tendency of all things mechanical to fail at the most inopportune time (like when you first actually NEED them), while maintaining the desire to actually dive.

Caring for underwater life, instead of taking it up to show everyone what you found.

The guy that covers the most distance on a dive isn't the one who sees the most stuff.

More depth doesn't mean more stuff (or deeper isn't always better) (yeah, I know deep dives give more bragging rights blah blah, but some of my funnest dives were at 30' in Guam).

Thumbs up means 'we're done', not 'I'm done, I'll see you when you get to the top'.

And my personal favorite

It's much calmer below the surface.

I certified SSI 12 years ago, and continued through DM with PADI more recently, and I think in both 'schools' OW classes, the knowledge necessary to become a safe diver is well presented and verified. The untenable information is harder to teach, and isn't always taught in the standard quantity over quality type courses.

It's impossible to teach everything in one course. I can read up for years on something, but until I actually go out and do it, I'm no more knowledgeable about it than I was when I started reading about it. With experience comes familiarity, and with familiarity comes competence, and with competence comes the understanding of your limits. When you understand your limits, then you can start to expand them.

 

[BigWhiteSquare]

Gas planning!