Panic

[Walter]

the instructor could have done better , however he might have been under a lot of pressure from the center, so instead of looking for a new instructor, you might want to look for another center.

He might have been, but he might be an independent. Either way, so what? There's no excuse. I do agree it's a terrible idea to do any training with anyone affiliated with this mess.

But one person's rush is another person's crawl.

True, but the student's readiness is all that counts. This student wasn't ready.

One pool session and got all that done.

It's hard to imagine anyone not considering this "rushed."

Sorry, but with all due respect, I can't let this excuse slide by. The instructor is the one with final responsibility for training, and cannot let anyone pressure him into violating his own or the agency's standards.

BINGO. It's all about ethics and self respect.

 

[boulderjohn]

I am just going to pile on all the comments that are saying you are being short changed in your instruction. It was not for many years after my own instuction that I learned what is supposed to happen and realized how far short the OW instruction I received fell. If what you describe is at all accurate, then I got a lot more than you did.

 

[nelia1978]

WOW... This would freak me out as well. I just finished my confined pool dives, and only on the second day was I fully comfortable in the pool. For the certification dives he is actually going to take us on 5 dives, 4 of which are to show the skills and the 5th just to enjoy the dive around an old wooden shipwreck.
To have 4 dives combined to two dives, thats just wrong because it takes away from your experience, and this should be a great thing for you instead they have taken that away from you but u need to take it back. Just practice more.... dont just give up... Good Luck

 

[asimpkinsjr]

Am I the only one that thinks this is terribly strange and unusual.... first off it almost sounds like all 4 dives where being done the same day and I thought the max was two dives per day/session....

addly it seems obvious they where being rushed through and that in and of itself is worrysome...if you are rushing through you are not comprehending but more importantly retaining...hell I took the PADI online for my open water and it took me 3 days to get through all the material presentations, videos and the 6 or so written exams....one day?

 

[diver 85]

Am I the only one that thinks this is terribly strange and unusual.... first off it almost sounds like all 4 dives where being done the same day and I thought the max was two dives per day/session....

addly it seems obvious they where being rushed through and that in and of itself is worrysome...if you are rushing through you are not comprehending but more importantly retaining...hell I took the PADI online for my open water and it took me 3 days to get through all the material presentations, videos and the 6 or so written exams....one day?

Read my reponse on page 2, I think it is....I'll go on & say it now---I think he has a SOB for an instructor.....

 

[RonFrank]

You have two options, continue the path you are on, or get a referral from the agency, and repeat the OW certification portion of the class.

I would report this instructor once you have finished, or have decided to get certified elsewhere. If your description is accurate, this instructor has violated a number of rules by any agency standards. The classes are jammed enough as it is. To cram this all into even less time IMO is criminal, and possibly actionable.

 

[Walter]

Am I the only one that thinks this is terribly strange and unusual.... first off it almost sounds like all 4 dives where being done the same day

Almost, but not quite. It was two dives done the same day and they were calling them four dives. An even bigger standards violation than you thought.

get a referral from the agency, and repeat the OW certification portion of the class.

He could do that, but he's still not ready to be in open water. He needs lots more pool time.

 

[roughie]

Thank you for all of the quick replies!

As for the instructor not that I know much (or anything really!) about this but things were going well to this point, although I suppose it was probably a matter of time. It was just my wife and I so it wasn't a big class, apparently why it was compacted time wise.

I have talked with him today and we are just going to take a step back and slow down.

Anyways I do thank you for all of your responses. The confidence was more than just a little low last night but it should be back up after a few more sessions. I just couldn't see jumping back in the ocean, going deep and doing the last couple of tasks. Not that they couldn't be done but also that I definately wouldn't be ready to dive on my own with my wife.

Thanks!!

 

[offthewall1]

Hi all,

I started my open water training last week. We had rushed through everything, did one classroom session and wrote the exam, One pool session and got all that done. Then we were scheduled to do the ocean dives, we we're supposed to combine the four dives into two. Anyways well not ideal it was going well until the last open water dive (technically dives three and four).

When I had to take off my mask and put it back on I accidentaly kncoked the regulator out of my mouth. I couldn't get it back in and ended up surfacing, not thinking at all until it was all done (we we're at about 30 feet). The instructor had me descend again right away and do it over. Now I did get it done and continued on with the dive but called it off about half an hour later, feeling a little uneasy. Now technically I only have half a dive left to be certified. The problem is I am very uneasy about how this went down and am just wondering if anyone can give any advice. This happened three days ago, I haven't scheduled a date to finish the certification yet. Personally I'm not in a rush to get this done and am tossing around the idea of not completing, having said that my wife ended up getting certified that day so....The reason for the rush was due to the instructor not being able to get us in over the summer (we live in a tourist town), I know this isn't an excuse but up until this point it seemed all good.....

Thanks in advance for any advice and thoughts.

Simply put... rushing SCUBA training is not a good idea.

Thank you for your post. It is yet another demonstration of what happens when training is rushed. Be it a one day class, a weekend class or even a week long class... it is not enough time to adequately prepare for Open Water diving.

We discourage this type of training. The industry and the major agencies have dumbed the training down so far that greedy dive shops are charging higher prices and providing a rushed and by extension inferior training.

An analogy to the housing market is this; Wanting something (in this case a SCUBA certification) without earning it is just the same as buying a house you haven't earned... only far more dangerous. I liken these scandelous dive shop owners and operators to unscrupulous mortgage brokers writing loans people couldn't afford.

Of course just as much blame lies on the greedy Americans... who want SCUBA training fast, with minimal effort. If it were cheap... I'd say you got what you paid for. The fact however is that shop's are charging just as much or more today... for less training. Not only is the consumer being ripped off... they're placing themselves in danger... quite simply, being handed c-cards without being ready to dive.

No matter which way you twist it... it is virtually impossible to become proficient in diving without a bare minimum of 28 hours of training. 9 learning the academics, 9 in pool learning skills and 2 - 5 hour days of checkout dives. This should not be crammed into a weekend course or all in one day... or for that matter a week. It should be spread out over time to give individuals a chance to digest that which they learn.

There will always be those willing to take your money and provide you with nothing and there will always be those willing to throw their money away for nothing in return.

I encourage you to slow down... take a deep breath... and find someone to work with you that is not rushing you. You'll end up a happier, safer and self sufficient diver.

Cheers... and Happy Diving... Welcome to the Underwater World.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thank you for all of the quick replies!

As for the instructor not that I know much (or anything really!) about this but things were going well to this point, although I suppose it was probably a matter of time. It was just my wife and I so it wasn't a big class, apparently why it was compacted time wise.

Just to give you a little perspective, our shop has been teaching SCUBA since the 50's, and in the time it took your current instructor to take you from "walking in the door" to "open water", we would have found you fins and a mask that fit you well, worked on mask and snorkel clearing in the shallow end of the pool, showed you how to stop it from fogging, and if things were going well, maybe some snorkeling in the deep end. An average class is 7 or 8 weeks of class and pool, although the actual length is "as long as it takes"

You have nothing to gain and everything to lose with a fast class. Your instructor has everything to gain and (assuming you don't get hurt while he's watching) nothing to lose. It's actually an adversarial relationship.

Terry