Looking for info for new presentation. Intro/Try/Discover Scuba

[Jim Lapenta]

I have a new project I am working on for a presentation to be done in mid March, I am looking for first hand accounts of those who have done a "Discover" or "Intro to Scuba" program.

Either in a pool, open water, or combination of both. Looking for details on how it was done, number of people in the water, number of instructors, and how you felt it was conducted.

I am also looking for details on the conditions and depths to which you were taken if this was done in open water.

How well was the equipment explained to you?

What kind of attention was paid to getting your weights set?

Did they conduct an actual buoyancy check (if you know what that is) or did they just hand you a belt with some lead on it or BC with lead in the pockets?

Did they explain buoyancy and trim in any way and why they were important?

Was the instructor/instructors within arm's reach of all participants at all times?

Were you ever left alone (alone also defined as with another untrained person and the instructor/designated assistant not immediately adjacent to you)?

What risks did they tell you were involved with scuba diving and do you feel that you fully understood them?

Did you observe any people having problems and if so how were they responded to?

How much time was spent going over the safety procedures, equipment, buoyancy, diving risks, and how graphic were they in describing them?

I would like to have the information by February 1st in order to coordinate the responses and draw some conclusions. Thanks in advance for your help.

Please note that I would prefer that you NOT identify the agency that this was done through or the specific shop/instructor. Region/country is ok.

I am looking to keep this as agency neutral as possible to draw some conclusions for general advice and direction for selecting a program.

Once it is done and I have presented the material I will make it freely available to anyone who asks like I do with most of my other materials in the form of a word document/power point.

If you prefer you may send the info to me privately via my email below in my signature line. SB PM's are also ok but the email method is preferred. It is easier for me to check that than PM's during the day and respond where required. My normal daytime location has very bad signal and connecting to SB is a pain in the butt. Emails usually work better.

I will be monitoring this thread but not likely to respond unless it's to clarify a question. Though I see them all as pretty clear to begin with. I am not interested in getting into any debates with anyone or defending the reasons I am doing this.

If someone feels it's some kind of attack on them personally or on their agency, shop, resort, etc.- don't participate.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[TMHeimer]

Great idea. We all have heard stories. Hope many respond.

 

[cannon fodder]

I have a new project I am working on for a presentation to be done in mid March, I am looking for first hand accounts of those who have done a "Discover" or "Intro to Scuba" program.

Either in a pool, open water, or combination of both. Looking for details on how it was done, number of people in the water, number of instructors, and how you felt it was conducted.

I did my first discover scuba in Tortola 5 or 6 years ago. It took me a couple of years, but I did get certified after it. It was four of five of us and one instructor.

I am also looking for details on the conditions and depths to which you were taken if this was done in open water.

We did the skills portion off a beach in a shallow cove. Very “pool like” conditions and the dive was in about 40 feet of water. I recall the instructor saying the max depth was 37 feet.

How well was the equipment explained to you?

The regulator and mask skills were done in depth. The BCD and inflator, not so much. I recall not touching the inflator on the BCD because I was not sure what it did or how to use it.

What kind of attention was paid to getting your weights set?

They strapped a weight belt on me and that was it.

Did they conduct an actual buoyancy check (if you know what that is) or did they just hand you a belt with some lead on it or BC with lead in the pockets?

See above.

Did they explain buoyancy and trim in any way and why they were important?

No mention of either.

Was the instructor/instructors within arm's reach of all participants at all times?

Yes, on the way down I scraped my knee on some barnacles growing on the descent line. I spit the regulator out of my mouth in shock and the instructor was inches from me within seconds, checking on me. I managed to recover the regulator and start breathing on my own quickly. He did a good job on the skills portion.

immediately adjacent to you?[/QUOTE])

Nope, see above.

What risks did they tell you were involved with scuba diving and do you feel that you fully understood them?

They did a lecture and explained the risks. I can’t claim that I fully understood all of them, but I think I got the basic, keep breathing and don’t rush to the surface points.

Did you observe any people having problems and if so how were they responded to?

Not any people, me, and the instructor responded promptly and safely, see above.

How much time was spent going over the safety procedures, equipment, buoyancy, diving risks, and how graphic were they in describing them?

At least an hour, maybe more. I don’t recall how graphic they were. The instructor was a real sticker for the regulator recover and mask skills. That probably saved my life, but I have no way of knowing, see above.

you NOT identify the agency that this was done through or the specific shop/instructor. Region/country is ok.

Cruise ship stop in Tortola, BVI. I have both PADI and NAUI certifications at this point and the discover scuba was the first step.

 

[Roatan Joe]

You're asking for people's perceptions and mental recall of something that could have and most likely happened many years ago! I can't remember any details to answer 99% of your questions honestly..

 

[TMHeimer]

You're asking for people's perceptions and mental recall of something that could have and most likely happened many years ago! I can't remember any details to answer 99% of your questions honestly..

Good point. Heck I can't clearly recall a whole lot from my OW course in 2005. Hopefully those who very recently took DSD, etc. will reply.

 

[tbone1004]

Didn't take one, but have worked with them. Unfortunately these are done in a bit different environment than most, but I feel like it works very well. It is a 2 ish hour pool try-dive experience meant to encourage students to take the full semesters long class. Helps give them a bit of light at the end of the tunnel before they go through hell to survive the swimming and skin diving portion of the class.

This is being written by my fiance who took one of them.

Equipment explained as much as necessary. This is how the regulators reduce pressure to breathable, this is how the second stages function. This is how you add and dump air as necessary. Not terribly involved, but was explained as it was being assembled.

None needed, use steel BP/W's with STA in a warm fresh water pool.

See above

Most of the people are/were college engineers, so basic explanation of displacement and how to change buoyancy is done, but we all had a fundamental understanding of buoyancy already so anything more wasn't needed. Trim was discussed, but this was more of a pool experience, so wasn't emphasized terribly much. We saw a video of what we were supposed to look like and could see ourselves in the mirrors on the wall so it helped.

No, we were in a 3' section of the pool where we could stand up the whole time. Volunteers and instructors were in the pool at all times but rarely within arms reach. Always watched, and within about 2m, but they gave us a bit of leeway to move around freely.

They explained embolism and obviously drowning as the primary risks that we could encounter, but briefly mentioned the other major risks associated with diving.

Didn't see any problems, most of the others were very proficient in the water, and issues are apparently very rare. All of the volunteers are CPR/First Aid/O2 certified rescue divers or higher, and there were 2 lifeguards at that end of the pool.

About half of the time was spent on the risks and safety procedures involved including setting gear up, then about 30-40 minutes in the water, and then breaking equipment down.



Back to me
Again, this is a very different experience because this is done at a university with a bunch of experience technical/cave divers running the whole thing. Very much not indicative of how it works in the rest of the world, and is not formally sanctioned by the training agency obviously, but it has worked for a long long time.

 

[kerrycorcoran]

I have a new project I am working on for a presentation to be done in mid March, I am looking for first hand accounts of those who have done a "Discover" or "Intro to Scuba" program.

Either in a pool, open water, or combination of both. Looking for details on how it was done, number of people in the water, number of instructors, and how you felt it was conducted.

Did a Discover Scuba while on my honeymoon with my wife in 2011; Cancun. Watched a video (15min) and hopped in the pool with the Instructor. We swam around for about 25 minutes getting aclimated ot the gear and breathing under water. I didn't feel I was ready to go out, however I went anyway.

I am also looking for details on the conditions and depths to which you were taken if this was done in open water.

Little rough on the surface and excellent visibility below; I believe we were down 40'

How well was the equipment explained to you?

Fairly well description of how the gear worked. Although I should note while in the ocean the instructors handled all our buoyancy

What kind of attention was paid to getting your weights set?

They weighted us on the boat and adjusted once down

Did they conduct an actual buoyancy check (if you know what that is) or did they just hand you a belt with some lead on it or BC with lead in the pockets?

Performed a buoyancy check

Did they explain buoyancy and trim in any way and why they were important?

Covered in the video and again (limited) while in the pool

Was the instructor/instructors within arm's reach of all participants at all times?

Yes

Were you ever left alone (alone also defined as with another untrained person and the instructor/designated assistant not immediately adjacent to you)?

No

What risks did they tell you were involved with scuba diving and do you feel that you fully understood them?

That if you performed the skills taught the risk was less, however it could be a dangerous sport.

Did you observe any people having problems and if so how were they responded to?

My wife had issues descending and they were patient to assist her to drop slowly after adjusting her ears.

How much time was spent going over the safety procedures, equipment, buoyancy, diving risks, and how graphic were they in describing them?

Limited discussion after the video while in the pool. Small review on the boat before dropping in.

 

[freewillie]

I'm doing this on an iPad so please forgive me if there are a lot of typos.

My DS class was two people, me and me wife. After signing a bunch of paperwork we want to a small room and watched a video for about 30-40 minutes. It went over all the gear, buoyancy, and trim, etc. The had several times mentioned barotrauma and repeatedly had someone demonstrate always blow small bubbles even if regulator is not in your mouth.

after the video then we went to a pool. Gear was set up for us and the instructor was always within arms reach of both of us. We went through some skills like mask clearing and regulator recovery. After demonstrating skills we started breathing off a regulator. One of the drills was to lie on the pool floor to practice a fin pivot. Once we did that we swam around a little in the pool.

from the pool we went to the boat. Giant stride off the boat and went just the two of us with a bunch of snorkelers to a snorkel site. Was about 40ish feet or so and the instructor was always close by. I had so much fun went home and became certified. Wife didn't enjoy it and won't certify but always says she has tried it once.

---------- Post added December 27th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ----------

My daughter did one at a Caribbean resort. There were about 4-5 diver including my daughter. Procedure was about the same. Video first. They did skills in about 6 ft water and had two instructors in the pool with a few others nearby. Open water was about 25-30 feet and the students were all kept together as a group by a single instructor. He wasn't necessarily arm's reach for all but very close to all. It was allowed to tag along with a friend as we were both certified with understanding to follow the group but not get in the way. Were were also told that we would essentially on our own since they couldn't keep an eye on us during the DSD. The site they were taken to was calm enough for any beginner and I would have believed it if they said it was easy and protected for "confined" dives it was so calm.

my daughter had such a good time she and her best friend spent the rest of the vacation completing their certification.

 

[KevinNM]

I took some form of this many years ago, in Maui. I was in my 20s. At this point I don't remember much of the pertinent details. I know we were on a reef and it was a lot of fun. I have no idea of what if any instruction I got. Nothing went wrong so I can't answer those questions either. I remember the instructor down with me, but it's all very vague. I know I wanted to do a real course after, but we didn't have enough time before we left.

 

[scubadiver888]

Did my first Discover Scuba Diving in a pool.

There was very little explanation of the equipment.
Absolutely no attention to proper weighting.
No buoyancy check. Just handed me a weight belt with no much weight on it.
No explanation of buoyancy, at all.
The instructor was within arms reach most the time.
After the initial training the instructor spent his time flirting with a girl and I just swam around the pool with the gear on.
Didn't explain any of the risks. Don't remember him telling me to never hold my breath.
Didn't see anyone having problems.
Little if any time spent on safety procedures. The whole thing was sold as lots of fun with absolutely no worries.

After the initial DSD they told us for $35 we could go diving in open water. I took them up on that. A bus picked up people from multiple resorts and took us as one big group to the beach. While waiting for the boats to pick us up I started talking to other people from different resorts. Together we realized that we had all been taught different things. Together we figured out enough to keep us safe. No one mentioned never hold your breath. The whole experience ended VERY badly and I thought scuba diving was not for me. I never considered scuba diving again for 2 years. One woman required medical attention.

Two years later I was at a super all-inclusive resort. Scuba diving was completely free. Started in the pool and ended with a swim in open water.

Instructor went over the equipment at length. Answered any questions we had.
Instructor gave us weights and adjusted as necessary but didn't tell us what he was doing.
He did some buoyancy checking but not traditional. Just seemed to have a knack for getting us in the right weights.
Did not explain buoyancy or trim until I took the OW class.
Instructor was always within arms reach. Kept the class down to 4 people plus me (I was a solo diver).
Never left alone.
Before we went to the pool and the equipment the instructor took us to a place we could not even see the pool.
He then talked at length about safety, equipment, diving risks, etc.
He wanted to make sure we felt completely in control and could take care of ourselves if we needed to.
Saw one woman having trouble with mask clearing. He got another instructor to work with the class while he did a one on one with the woman. She decided it wasn't for her.
He always took everything slow and made me feel calm and safe. He was the reason I decided to give scuba diving a second try.

Same agency in both cases. It really was all about the instructor.