DevonDiver
N/A
specialities really are more of a prestige then anything as MOST of them are things you can realy learn with a good dive partner.
I agree. But the process of self-tuition is longer and less efficient.
But at the cost the courses come in it is not exactlt cost effective...
It depends on the cost of the course. Many of the courses can be priced at little more than the cost of dives alone; just allowing for the certification fee and the cost of the manual.
Now Boat diver is one I still scratch my head on as why would I pay some one 150 dollars to let me go to a remote location with the emphasis on the boat dives themselves when I can spend that same money on a boat dive that the focus is a spectacular wall dive or coral dive?????
It is a tricky one to justify... especially as most divers are taught from a boat anyway.
However, there is a considerable proportion of divers who might do their OW training in a fresh-water environment. They might benefit from learning how to keep their gear together and tidy on a boat, how to safely exit via a ladder... the different procedures and routines used on dayboats and liveaboards...
I've also seen them run (at small cost) in the UK, to help divers become familiar with the specific skills and drills needed for safe diving from a RIB.
As I mentioned earlier... Boat Diver is definitely a course that shouldn't cost much more than simply going diving. Small extra cost, small benefit.
Fish ID is one that I am shocked at even charging remotely the price asked as in most cases you can buy a good book on fish and do the same in your leasure.
I know a few instructors who are qualified marine biologists. Their Fish ID courses are truly excellent. They look beyond the 'ID' and further into the marine ecosystem, identifying predator/prey relationships, behavioural habits, mating rituals, symbiosis, parastitic behaviours etc.... fascinating stuff, that really brings the underwater world 'alive' for the diver.
As you say... buy a good book. Would the Fish ID manual count as a good book?
This is a course that's value depends entirely on the motivation and knowledge of the instructor who provides it.
I haven't taught any Fish ID spec courses, although I have provided many AOW Fish ID elective dives. I go beyond the training requirements... showing divers how to research and identify fish using online/internet resources, fish databases, the use of species, sub-species and genus names, how to effectively search using known information etc etc Basically, to me... it is a research course, rather than an underwater course.
I have yet to figure out ones like... Peak performance buoyancy
I love teaching PPB. It's a course that can make a real difference for many divers. Yes, any diver will develop their buoyancy, weight, trim and propulsion over time... but why suffer the distractions of perfecting that on your pleasure dives.
I find that my PPB students generally come in three catagories and these are reflected in the way that I tailor my courses to them:
1) Remedial. Students who were badly taught in the first instance, and 'graduate' OW training with little comprehension of proper weighting, finning or buoyancy control.
2) Development. Students who have good basic buoyancy control, but wish to take it to a perfected level. This is really taught as a clinic, with lots of analysis and feedback. Student is videoed. By the end, their are at perfect weighting, can hover horizontally, they understand trim...and have their kit properly configured to enable that... and the use of breath control is understood and becomes an ingrained function.
3) Advanced. Students who already possess good basic skills, but wish to learn specific skills that relate to more advanced diving practices. The PPB course would include; alternative finning techniques (modified flutter, frog kick), precision control techniques (helicopter turn, back kick), fine control bouyancy (i.e. horizontal hover +/- 1m for 10 mins and horizontal ascents). The students will alse be assisted to determine their ideal weighting and trim (especially useful for new BP&W users).
As you can see, my 'advanced' PPB is very simular to certain elements of a 'Fundies' course. It's good for novice wreck divers or future tech divers.
I have masterd buoyancy and yet never spent a dime on the cert other then the one dive given to me in AOW.
That is very true. My point, however, is that you have hundreds of dives experience....how much dollar value would you have put on having that same level of mastered buoyancy when you were still a novice with 20 dives?