Drills that should be taught in the OW class

[Amphiprion]

Nothing wrong with your tone, rather you're looking for really messed up things to do to divers to make them into REAL divers.
QUOTE]

Ok, how about learning to switch hoses on a regulator? Figuring out how much lead you need to be neutral with a nearly empty (300 psi) tank?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I think more time should be spent on discussing buddy diving...in particular, what makes a "good" buddy. Part of this discussion could entail visualizing a buddy separation scenario. What should the diver be thinking/feeling? What is the agreed upon procedure (hopefully discussed during pre-dive planning)? How long should each diver spend looking for the other? Should a safety stop be done? What techniques can be used so that separation doesn't happen in the first place? What kinds of things should be discussed with an insta-buddy on a local dive boat? How might environmental conditions change the way buddy diving should be approached? I hear lots of instructors warning against leaving one's buddy and what the "standard" protocol of the teaching agency is...but I think that's the extent of what's taught. More can and should be done. A nice article on the subject is Bob Bailey's "Hey! Where’d my buddy go?" piece.

This kind of visualization/discussion isn't a drill, per se, but I think it's no less important.

 

[idocsteve]

Nothing wrong with your tone, rather you're looking for really messed up things to do to divers to make them into REAL divers.
QUOTE]

Ok, how about learning to switch hoses on a regulator? Figuring out how much lead you need to be neutral with a nearly empty (300 psi) tank?

Much safer and responsible, but waaaay too boring.

I'd rather watch a class full of OW students getting pushed into the pool, having their air cut off at depth, dropped in a tank full of predatory marine creatures, and having their masks ripped off when breathing off of a near empty tank.

There's nothing on TV anymore.

Where's that ESPN producer guy when you need him?

Screw the show about golf balls, I think we're onto something here that people will actually watch.

 

[belairbrian]

If you want harrasment traing just take the Rescue Diver Course. You will get your mask grabbed, reg taken, pushed under.

When I took OW, our instructor stood us at one ned of the pool and took everyones mask. Dropped them in the deep end and told us ( in pairs) to go get amask and come back with it cleared. No surfacing.

 

[idocsteve]

When I took OW, our instructor stood us at one ned of the pool and took everyones mask. Dropped them in the deep end and told us ( in pairs) to go get amask and come back with it cleared. No surfacing.

I would have hopped up the ladder, walked around to the deep end, jumped in and grabbed a mask.

There's usually more than one way to solve a problem, the tricky part is choosing the BEST way.

 

[Wookie]

Open water class is not a place to scare potential new divers. I do agree, however, that other skills should be added. Like, the old Ditch and Don from NAUI, or the gear swap from DM class.

 

[PfcAJ]

How about how to really hover (not some mystical gene pose, but actually hover)....Then rip their mask off and punch them in the gut while turning their tank off... That'll make 'em men!

 

[idocsteve]

How about how to really hover (not some mystical gene pose, but actually hover)....Then rip their mask off and punch them in the gut while turning their tank off... That'll make 'em men!

LOL now you got the idea

BUT

This drill must be done only AFTER eating a big lunch.

 

[ScubaNurse758]

I agree that these are real world situations that do need to be addressed at some point, I would caution that you take a case-by-case basis when doing things like this. For a student who seems comfortable in the water and is learning quickly, go for it. However, a student who is nervous in the water and taking longer than usual in mastering basic skills might ultimately be scared away from diving if these tactics were used too early in training.

 

[Rhone Man]

Two basic skills that I learned which seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur (but I thought added to the sum of human knowledge):

• putting tank on via the old "ditch and don" technique
• forward roll entry

We could talk about buddy breathing, but that would serious hijack the thread.