Deefstes
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I'm putting this in Advanced Scuba Discussions so that the "flame free" rules of the Basic Discussions forum don't apply and you are welcome to call me a stupid *insert expletive* moron if you feel like it.
When I decided to get certified of course I was faced with the choice of agencies. I had friends who are CMAS certified and they eventually convinced me to go the CMAS route. To be honest though, I probably opted for CMAS because it was more affordable than PADI. I was a little apprehensive though because just about everyone else seemed to be PADI certified and I was worried that we were making the wrong decision. Over the two years following our certification those worries were gradually allayed and now I've reached the point where I am honestly thankful that I did not get certified through PADI.
Of course there are numerous different schools and instructors under the PADI banner and not all of them are idiots. I'm sure this post will trigger a barrage of responses on how I'm judging the agency by a few individual instructors but let me explain why I just don't rate PADI anymore.
Scenario 1:
We're diving in Greece where the dives were conducted by a Swedish PADI instructor. In between dives we just make idle chat on all things diving and the topic of safety stops comes up. I mention that we do most of our safety stops for 3 minutes at 5m because that's what our computers (Suunto) prompts us to do even though we have been trained to stop for 1 minute at 3m. He then launches into a scathing attack on our training because "you actually off gas quicker at 5m than at 3m"
Now I'm sure there's room for debate on what depth is better for a safety stop but that you'd off gas quicker at 5m than you would at 3m is patently untrue and only a complete fool would use such a bull**** argument to attack another agency's training.
Scenario 2:
We're diving in Mozambique with a South African PADI instructor through who's shop we've booked the trip and another customer of his. On one of the dives, lead by another DM, the strangest thing happens. Seeing as the dive is lead by another DM, this instructor simply dives with the group for the sake of diving and to serve as buddy for the other customer of his shop. In other words, he is not leading the dive. In the pre dive briefing the DM explains that the site we'd be diving is 30m at the shallow end and then slopes down to 45m or such. Of course we'd be targeting the 30m side but there was a chance that the drop could be off target in which case we'd NOT go down all the way to the reef but just descend to 30m and then slowly ascend to the surface, looking for open water fish.
Sure enough, the drop is off target and when we hit 30m the entire group stops as if they've hit the floor, except for this instructor and his buddy (who is not even AOW and shouldn't even have done the 30m dive). They keep descending and no amount of tank banging from the DM succeeds in getting their attention. The DM then signals to the rest of the group to wait where we were while he swam down and literally tapped these two morons on the shoulder to call them back.
Between dives, the instructor takes us on a sight seeing tour of the area in his vehicle, during which he drives around with one hand constantly clutching a beer. Seems his understanding of driving safety is as flawed as his understanding of diving safety.
Scenario 3:
We're diving in Thailand where a British PADI instructor leads our dives. During the first dive briefing he discusses lost buddy procedure and mentions that, if you are separated from your buddy and the group, you ascend slightly, look around for one minute and if you still can't find the group you ascend to the surface, not forgetting to do your safety stop. I'm curious about this idea of a safety stop during diver separation procedure so I ask him about it to which he sternly replies that "you always do a safety stop, no matter what".
On another dive's pre-dive briefing (a drift dive) he impressed on us how important it is that everyone descends with the group on the anchor line and stay close to the wall throughout the dive because the current can easily grab you and swoop you away a kilometer in a minute. I guess he was exaggerating (1km/min = 60kmh or 32 knots!!!) but that's OK. I did ask him about the lost buddy procedure again though because I just don't consider it safe to do a "safety" stop of 3 minutes if you are separated from the group and you're being swept out to sea at a ridiculous speed like he says.
He then gets annoyed at my insolence for questioning his almighty authority and repeats "you always do a safety stop, no matter what". He also gets very precious about the 4500 dives that he has done, implying that my measly 100 and odd dives puts me in no position to have an opinion. Oh, and according to him he will be floating 4km away from the boat but alive while I will be floating dead on the surface.
Now I don't know what PADI teaches but I refuse to accept that it is safe protocol to hang below the surface for 3 minutes while you are being swept into the open sea and have no signaling device. And I also have serious concerns if someone's recreational diving is of such a nature that skipping a safety stop equates to floating dead on the surface. The way I see safety stops is that it is there to add an extra level of safety to your dive but if your diving is of such a nature that your safety stops become mandatory stops you are no longer involved in "recreational" diving.
Moreover, it just p*sses me off royally when someone is not willing to discuss the merits or demerits of a certain practice but simply expects me to bow to the superiority of his 4500 dives and follow his silly mantra of "always do a safety stop, no matter what".
OK, rant over. I understand that different divers and different agencies have different ways of doing things but these PADI instructors seriously rubbed me the wrong way and it will take a few exemplary PADI instructors to restore my opinion of their agency.
When I decided to get certified of course I was faced with the choice of agencies. I had friends who are CMAS certified and they eventually convinced me to go the CMAS route. To be honest though, I probably opted for CMAS because it was more affordable than PADI. I was a little apprehensive though because just about everyone else seemed to be PADI certified and I was worried that we were making the wrong decision. Over the two years following our certification those worries were gradually allayed and now I've reached the point where I am honestly thankful that I did not get certified through PADI.
Of course there are numerous different schools and instructors under the PADI banner and not all of them are idiots. I'm sure this post will trigger a barrage of responses on how I'm judging the agency by a few individual instructors but let me explain why I just don't rate PADI anymore.
Scenario 1:
We're diving in Greece where the dives were conducted by a Swedish PADI instructor. In between dives we just make idle chat on all things diving and the topic of safety stops comes up. I mention that we do most of our safety stops for 3 minutes at 5m because that's what our computers (Suunto) prompts us to do even though we have been trained to stop for 1 minute at 3m. He then launches into a scathing attack on our training because "you actually off gas quicker at 5m than at 3m"
Now I'm sure there's room for debate on what depth is better for a safety stop but that you'd off gas quicker at 5m than you would at 3m is patently untrue and only a complete fool would use such a bull**** argument to attack another agency's training.
Scenario 2:
We're diving in Mozambique with a South African PADI instructor through who's shop we've booked the trip and another customer of his. On one of the dives, lead by another DM, the strangest thing happens. Seeing as the dive is lead by another DM, this instructor simply dives with the group for the sake of diving and to serve as buddy for the other customer of his shop. In other words, he is not leading the dive. In the pre dive briefing the DM explains that the site we'd be diving is 30m at the shallow end and then slopes down to 45m or such. Of course we'd be targeting the 30m side but there was a chance that the drop could be off target in which case we'd NOT go down all the way to the reef but just descend to 30m and then slowly ascend to the surface, looking for open water fish.
Sure enough, the drop is off target and when we hit 30m the entire group stops as if they've hit the floor, except for this instructor and his buddy (who is not even AOW and shouldn't even have done the 30m dive). They keep descending and no amount of tank banging from the DM succeeds in getting their attention. The DM then signals to the rest of the group to wait where we were while he swam down and literally tapped these two morons on the shoulder to call them back.
Between dives, the instructor takes us on a sight seeing tour of the area in his vehicle, during which he drives around with one hand constantly clutching a beer. Seems his understanding of driving safety is as flawed as his understanding of diving safety.
Scenario 3:
We're diving in Thailand where a British PADI instructor leads our dives. During the first dive briefing he discusses lost buddy procedure and mentions that, if you are separated from your buddy and the group, you ascend slightly, look around for one minute and if you still can't find the group you ascend to the surface, not forgetting to do your safety stop. I'm curious about this idea of a safety stop during diver separation procedure so I ask him about it to which he sternly replies that "you always do a safety stop, no matter what".
On another dive's pre-dive briefing (a drift dive) he impressed on us how important it is that everyone descends with the group on the anchor line and stay close to the wall throughout the dive because the current can easily grab you and swoop you away a kilometer in a minute. I guess he was exaggerating (1km/min = 60kmh or 32 knots!!!) but that's OK. I did ask him about the lost buddy procedure again though because I just don't consider it safe to do a "safety" stop of 3 minutes if you are separated from the group and you're being swept out to sea at a ridiculous speed like he says.
He then gets annoyed at my insolence for questioning his almighty authority and repeats "you always do a safety stop, no matter what". He also gets very precious about the 4500 dives that he has done, implying that my measly 100 and odd dives puts me in no position to have an opinion. Oh, and according to him he will be floating 4km away from the boat but alive while I will be floating dead on the surface.
Now I don't know what PADI teaches but I refuse to accept that it is safe protocol to hang below the surface for 3 minutes while you are being swept into the open sea and have no signaling device. And I also have serious concerns if someone's recreational diving is of such a nature that skipping a safety stop equates to floating dead on the surface. The way I see safety stops is that it is there to add an extra level of safety to your dive but if your diving is of such a nature that your safety stops become mandatory stops you are no longer involved in "recreational" diving.
Moreover, it just p*sses me off royally when someone is not willing to discuss the merits or demerits of a certain practice but simply expects me to bow to the superiority of his 4500 dives and follow his silly mantra of "always do a safety stop, no matter what".
OK, rant over. I understand that different divers and different agencies have different ways of doing things but these PADI instructors seriously rubbed me the wrong way and it will take a few exemplary PADI instructors to restore my opinion of their agency.
