A total lack of situational awareness.

[wKkaY]

The PADI AOW class now has a mandatory section beyond the five dives and associated Knowledge Reviews: Thinking Like a Diver. It is supposed to be addressed in each of the five dives, in briefings and debriefings. The Instructor Slate is here: View attachment 745728

These are thoughtful debrief questions! I've only encountered them in one course I've taken, and it cultivated our awareness during the dive as we knew we had questions to answer later.

 

[faze]

I dive independently with my family, one of my fondest memories was when we were shore diving out to the reef, a dive boat turned up and two of the depth charges landed on the bottom like ton weights before injecting huge amounts of air into their BCDs and achieving what was approaching neutral buoyancy.

They then proceeded to follow me and my family, gesticulating wildly as we got deeper off the reef before following us back to the shore and castigating me for taking them beyond their depth limit and getting them lost .

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

We sell them a GUE fundies like buoyancy course as our agency allows us to do so. PPB is designed to compensate for poor OW courses.

I was just being sarcastic.
I don’t think they need to be slammed into a fundies class, that’s a little extreme. Many people like their poodle jackets and air2’s/octos and may not want to go full DIR just to learn how to hover and stay flat. Good bouyancy skills can be taught in any gear by any agency. But I love the idea of teaching that first before any other skills

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I was just being sarcastic.

I know. Just playing along

I don’t think they need to be slammed into a fundies class, that’s a little extreme.

Agreed. It is just difficult, but possible, to find an instructor who teaches at that level for other agencies, but trains them in the equipment that they own/dive in. I get why GUE doesn't bend on that. I think RAID's course is probably the closest to it, but without the equipment requirements.

Many people like their poodle jackets and air2’s/octos and may not want to go full DIR just to learn how to hover and stay flat. Good bouyancy skills can be taught in any gear by any agency. But I love the idea of teaching that first before any other skills

I think requiring that all open water courses from the start, as some instructors do (unfortunately not the majority) neutrally buoyant and trim would solve a lot of problems. The overweighting issue would finally be consistently addressed. But that is beating a dead horse. We've been beating that poor horse's corpse for so long that all the flesh has decomposed and the bone is being pounded into dust.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I know. Just playing along

Agreed. It is just difficult, but possible, to find an instructor who teaches at that level for other agencies, but trains them in the equipment that they own/dive in. I get why GUE doesn't bend on that. I think RAID's course is probably the closest to it, but without the equipment requirements.

I think requiring that all open water courses from the start, as some instructors do (unfortunately not the majority) neutrally buoyant and trim would solve a lot of problems. The overweighting issue would finally be consistently addressed. But that is beating a dead horse. We've been beating that poor horse's corpse for so long that all the flesh has decomposed and the bone is being pounded into dust.

Yeah but it’s fun beating on dead things, and besides I need the exercise.