To those considering an OW class...

[tee_jay]

tee jay, you can buy OW texts for all the agencies on the net. If you can't remember how to set up your equipment, you need at least a refresher, if not taking the entire course again. I have never heard of teaching OW without the student having the book. Did you get a certification card? Your class sounds terrible.

Sorry mate, I probably made it sound worse then it is. I can remember how to set it all up, but I would just like an instructor to check it all over to make sure I've done it right. Simply because it's been a long time, and I would prefer not to make a silly little mistake. Nothing to do with my course, because they explained it great, but just because my memory is bound to forget something.
As for the book, I had it for a couple of days before the course and during it, but was told it wasn't essential to have a copy. At the time I didn't buy a copy because I didn't realise just how much was involved, but now I will probably buy a copy. And yeah, I got a cert card.

 

[Noviz]

My two cents... I took a YMCA OWD course that incorporated what was supposed to be 15 hours of classroom with 15 hours of pool. Nobody told us the 15 hours of pool didn't include swimming laps and more laps, just to warm up. We did skills, we did drills. Out of air, out of air with no mask, out or air with no mask and an entangled BC, ditch-and-don, and bailouts. Then relax by treading water for 15 minutes (no gear). And then we swam some more. By the time the checkout dives came along, I was READY... I thought. My instructor, however, did not agree. While I performed each of the requires skills, he "didn't like the way looked." So the son-of-a-so-and-so held back my C-card. And made me repeat the pool excersizes with his next class... another 20 something hours! Ya know what? It was the best thing that could have happened. I am comfortable and confident, I know my limits, and I love diving. And that instructor is now a friend. I help out with the classes, and I'm as demanding as he was. There IS a reason.

 

[Thalassamania]

My two cents... There IS a reason.

You've got it! You've really got it!

 

[dreams4divers]

I,m afraid I,ve only read the first page and not the other 42 but I agree very much with the first post,
I often certify new divers who have limited time with the scuba diver rating.
Giving them a licence but reducing the risk of them diving without good guidence and possibly getting themselves in situations beyond their training.
I think more instructors working in the busy pack em in churn em out areas should start to do this.
Most people have no problem with this as alot of new divers want to have a dm or instructor with them anyway.

 

[rrostie]

I just finished what must be the shortest (PADI) OW course. Saturday we spent 9 - 5 doing book work, and at the end we did equipment familiarization. The second day was at the pool from 8am till about noon.
The only issue I had on Sunday was that he would give the instructions for the next 4 or 5 excercises we were going to do before we went underwater, and it wasn't easy to remember everything he said. Other than that I was always comfortable underwater.
I am going down to Arkansas on September 30th for the checkout dives with the same dive shop. Hopefully I will have time that weekend to get more proficient at all the basic stuff. There won't be many other divers at least, because most of the other people in my class are going down this weekend.

 

[plot]

I just finished what must be the shortest (PADI) OW course. Saturday we spent 9 - 5 doing book work, and at the end we did equipment familiarization. The second day was at the pool from 8am till about noon.
The only issue I had on Sunday was that he would give the instructions for the next 4 or 5 excercises we were going to do before we went underwater, and it wasn't easy to remember everything he said. Other than that I was always comfortable underwater.
I am going down to Arkansas on September 30th for the checkout dives with the same dive shop. Hopefully I will have time that weekend to get more proficient at all the basic stuff. There won't be many other divers at least, because most of the other people in my class are going down this weekend.

Where are you from and what dive shop was it? I think I went to the same one

2 days of class/pool then a weekend at beaver lake to get certified (SSI OW). The people that have problems aren't cattled on through, but at times it does seem like if you pay, they'll let you play.

I've seen a few people taking the AOW (and they actually failed), that have no business being AOW. Not saying they wont ever get there, they just need more experience in the water to feel more comfortable... yet the shop will take there money every time.

 

[rrostie]

Where are you from and what dive shop was it? I think I went to the same one

2 days of class/pool then a weekend at beaver lake to get certified (SSI OW). The people that have problems aren't cattled on through, but at times it does seem like if you pay, they'll let you play.

I've seen a few people taking the AOW (and they actually failed), that have no business being AOW. Not saying they wont ever get there, they just need more experience in the water to feel more comfortable... yet the shop will take there money every time.

Kansas City area, probably not the same shop because this was a PADI course, not SSI.
The few people that had problems were given extra help, including a 10 year old kid. I'd be curious to know if the kid passed or not.

 

[plot]

Kansas City area, probably not the same shop because this was a PADI course, not SSI.
The few people that had problems were given extra help, including a 10 year old kid. I'd be curious to know if the kid passed or not.

I'm in the Kansas City area too, out of a shop on 75th street near I-35. They offer both PADI and SSI, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was the same place. Both courses are very similar in the way they are taught, 2 days of pool/class and a weekend at Beaver.

It's a great shop, friendly place, and they will put the effort to work with you and will fail you if they think you need more practice. A guy I know that failed his AOW was sent down on another weekend for free to finish it, and he failed it again. He needs to go down about 5 times as a fun diver before trying it again... he gets freaked out everytime they try to take him down to 60 feet.

 

[Jibeho]

I just finished what must be the shortest (PADI) OW course. Saturday we spent 9 - 5 doing book work, and at the end we did equipment familiarization. The second day was at the pool from 8am till about noon.
The only issue I had on Sunday was that he would give the instructions for the next 4 or 5 excercises we were going to do before we went underwater, and it wasn't easy to remember everything he said. Other than that I was always comfortable underwater.
I am going down to Arkansas on September 30th for the checkout dives with the same dive shop. Hopefully I will have time that weekend to get more proficient at all the basic stuff. There won't be many other divers at least, because most of the other people in my class are going down this weekend.

Sounds like one of those MCSE Boot Camps were they tell you you will be a Microsoft Engineer in 1 week. In all honestly I don't remember much about my OW class. What I do remember was it was

It was in the fall of 1985 John Kaiser (PADI)was my instructor.

It was held at the Towson YMCA

My buddy an I got a kick out of swimming behind a woman in an ill fitting swim suit

The check out dives were in Willow Springs in late November where the water was warmer then the air.

From what I have read here my 1985 PADI class and instruction was much more in depth then what they are selling now.

 

[rhadamantus]

i had mine for about 6 days. and since ive read the book before then, and since my DM/instructor was just training me alone (i was lucky!), we were able to limit our classroom classes to watching the video and taking the tests which was really short. the rest we spent in the pool and the open water!