Is this really OW diving???

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The pictures just don't lend enough context to the situation. I'll have to stick with my guess about a DSD.

Depending on water clarity, environment, and student, I may want to be hands on as well.
 
Rich,

Without knowing the context it's very hard to pass judgement on those photos. Obviously if the diver is a certified OW diver then it's unacceptable. If it's a DSD then this may be the first time they have ever dived on scuba...... The DM holding the tank is indicative of a DSD. The depth is a concern. We do DSD's in a pool but I know that DSD's are sometimes done (for me) relatively deep in shallow bays.

I think we need more verifiable details than we have here. You suggested in the thread title that the diver was OW certified but it turns out you're not sure about that at all.....

It think it's very good and very helpful to be critical of the quality of training but let's first be sure that we're looking at divers who have received training!

R..
 
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These pics do look awkward... but I agree it's hard to pass judgment without knowing the context. The "student" looks to me to be youngish. I also suspect it's a DSD.

I recall my first DSD, which I did with my husband in Cozumel. I was so scared I refused to descend. My husband and instructor descended to 20 feet or so and I was just bopping on the surface in full scuba gear, breathing through the regulator and looking at them and seeing what they were doing under the water. That was enough for me that day. Then I bumped into a bunch of snorkellers who I'm sure were scratching their heads, wondering what on earth was I doing snorkelling with full scuba gear. Funny now that I think about it.
 
Could it be some sort of adaptive scuba dive?

Or maybe he was some rich dude getting some fish pictures for his miniature giraffe and the "dive master" was there so that he would not exert himself by swimming like the other peasants on the boat.
 
This circles back to the lack of diver preparation in modern day cert courses. We only have ourselves to thank for divers like this. As a community of divers we need to insist that the bar be raised by orgs such as PADI and SDI in their OW courses.
 
This circles back to the lack of diver preparation in modern day cert courses. We only have ourselves to thank for divers like this. As a community of divers we need to insist that the bar be raised by orgs such as PADI and SDI in their OW courses.

There isn't enough context in those photos to even assume that this has something to do with how any organization conducts their OW courses.

No instructor I know would do something like what you can see in the photo unless it was a DSD, or possibly if a student was having trouble. Or, perhaps if visibility was very poor.
 
Saw this on a guided dive in Cancun. There were 3 of us plus guide. Two of us were fairly experienced. One was less so. After about 20 minutes number 3 indicated to DM that they were getting low on air. DM put the other diver on his air and had him relax. They cruised along with him being supported by the DM for a while and not doing any work. When we got near the end of the dive the DM put number 3 back on his own air and a few minutes later we all did an assent to the surface together. Number 3 was capable of doing the dive he just sucked air. So DM did the rest of us a favor to lengthen the dive out.
 
Context would be important.

Could be special needs, a DSD or a certified diver's personal preference.

Some of us use DPV, maybe this is the human powered version. I've seen some divers wanting this help at the end of a dive, allowing them to relax and enjoy the view rather than focus on the technical aspects of diving.

Would have been interesting to learn the reason behind the behaviour you observed.

Regards,
Cameron
 
I watched an instructor hang onto my girlfriend for two entire Discover Scuba dives so that's what it looks like to me too. It was probably easier to just hang onto the diver rather than trying to teach neutral buoyancy during a safety stop :wink:
 
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