New Diver Certification: Shallow Water Diver

[1_T_Submariner]

Muddiver,
I realize this is kind of off topic but, what is this guy doing? Why is his tank mounted like a firefighter?
Just curious.

Shallow water diving Texas style!

 

[Thalassamania]

Muddiver,
I realize this is kind of off topic but, what is this guy doing? Why is his tank mounted like a firefighter?
Just curious.

Normal for bailout with a hat.

 

[DandyDon]

Off topic, but I can't help but ask. Was that 100 foot dive the third of the day? If so what depths were the earlier dives? Any DCS symptoms you can recall?

Nah, second. 3 dives over two days. Did the wreck around 40 ft or so and the deeper reef on the second day, and you can imagine how fast I blew thru my air - wasn't on the reef long.

No problems...

 

[dmdoss]

Oh great another cert. Well that should keep the scuba police busy making sure they dont go deeper.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I don't see what real value the course has but sever people have mentioned the possibility of divers exceeding the "limits" of the certification. We have that now at every level. The purpose of dive training should be to educate rather than to control. Let the diver respect recommended "limits" (or not) just like the rest of us do.

Unfortunately certification has become more of a means of control than of education. We buy certifications to gain access whether or not they have educational value.

 

[stargazer61]

It would be interesting to hear some of the reasons why people choose this course over the full OW. I can't imagine that very many are intending to dive to 60ft or more and have chosen this course because it is cheaper and shorter. There must be some valid reasons for the choice. What about someone that wants to use scuba to inspect and clean his boat hull?

 

[DavidPT40]

The value of this course becomes aparent to me when I think about the location of my hotel in Cozumel. In 10 to 15 feet of water was a vast field of coral heads, teaming with fish and all sort of amazing stuff. If I had been a non-diver, getting this shallow water cert in a day would have certainly made my trip 100% more enjoyable.

So yeah, its a resort cert. Most people will follow the rules and restrictions placed upon it. Some won't, but they probably wouldn't follow the rules and restrictions on any other dive cert either.

But, I can see the danger in it too. A masked kicked off, poorly learned mask clearing procedures, and rushing up from the bottom with a closed mouth and a lung full of air. Arterial Gas Embolism and frothy red bubbles.

Learning not to panic in the water is the skill I think that is most important. Mask clearing is probably the second.

 

[MikeFerrara]

It would be interesting to hear some of the reasons why people choose this course over the full OW. I can't imagine that very many are intending to dive to 60ft or more and have chosen this course because it is cheaper and shorter. There must be some valid reasons for the choice. What about someone that wants to use scuba to inspect and clean his boat hull?

I think that if resorts and charters allowed divers to dive with no certification that many would choose that. Lots of us dived for a long time before we were ever certified. It's an access thing. I had access to diving long before I had access to certification or a need for it. The agencies even seem to be doing less pretending that it has anything to do with education and treating it more like an access requirement. LOL you have to take the class and purchase the cert even though the class is only 6 minutes long and doesn't really teach anything.

We're getting someplace now that the agencies agree that very little or no formal training is needed...especially the way they teach it. Now all we need to do is to get folks to realize that if the training isn't needed then niether is the certification. Soon we may just be able to forget about the useless agencies. LOL

 

[Sea-Diver]

The most telling line in the article was the one by the instructor for a shop that offers the shallow course. He said that, in fact, he had never certified anyone in the shallow version. EVERY one who signed up for it, after the first classes and pool dive, opted to change to the full OW certification. In other words, it sounds like the shallow course is a good way to get folks in the door. I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with limiting the training that OW provides.
I don't have too much problem with resort courses (that's how I got introduced to this sport, after all, and I haven't looked back). The plus for those introductory dives is that they are guided, many times one-on-one (mine was) by a DM or AI. This shallow course turns folks loose to self-regulate with what I consider to be marginal training. I think all the agencies have cut their OW programs just about to the bones concerning content mastery. I am nervous about trimming back any further.
Just my $.02

Bingo!

The shallow water cert is designed to be a stepping stone toward full open water certification. All of the current scuba training requirements still apply. The main difference between the Shallow Cert and the Open Water Cert is that the Shallow Cert doesn't have decompression table training.

There have been some technological developments in scuba tanks over the last couple of years that make the use of lightweight scuba system for shallow water diving viable (less than 30').

The introduction of the compact aluminum 20 and the high pressure steel 30 have created an opportunity to package a scuba system that are lighter weight and less cumbersome then the traditional set up.

The dive industry promotes continuing education programs at every turn. The learning never stops and every diver has to start somewhere.

The shallow water cert is just another option for entry into the sport.

 

[covediver]

I can think of several socal beach dives and a few island dives that would meet these restrictions.

The FAA adopted a "sport certification" a few years ago that set different requirements than the traditional private pilot license. Many states now have restricted driver's licenses for teen that incorporate greater restrictions at the beginning and move toward full driving priviledges. The difference is that these are government-regulated activities, not that I am advocating government regulation of scuba. Quite the opposite, I think certification should be optional as the purpose of scuba certification is primarly protection from competition.