After your ow course, were you able to dive without Dm/instr?

[happy-diver]

This is where I went and may go again, by myself, many times

Took another diver once, we even jumped in on the more benign side, left, and without submerging he got out
and journeyed his gear a hundred metres up and more than a kilometre back to the car
Hey he came back and carried my weight belt and the abalone up

Can't find a decent sherpa these days

aint no place for divers, the surface

Saw my first shark here

 

[BikerBecca]

My friend was there the day I got certified. The ink was not even dry on my temporary OW C-Card and the two of us went for a dive. It was amazing, and fun, and one of the best days of my life.

It was like oh so very many years ago when I got my pilot's license. The ink wasn't even dry on that and I went from the FAA examiner's office to my friend's Super Decathlon and began learning aerobatics.

I'm the sort of person that if I find something I love look out world! LOL.

 

[rhwestfall]

It wasn't until after about 20 years of diving that I had my first experience with diving with a DM... All the diving I did was just me and a buddy. Charters here do not put a DM in the water.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

My first two dives after OW were without a DM or instructor. They were intentionally very easy dives in calm conditions (a quarry), to keep things relatively simple. The first of which was solo. I set the parameters for the dive to be easy (ex. Straight line from shore on a single course to the training platform) so that even a caveman could do it. The dive was fairly shallow and I just focused on a few basic things (ex. buoyancy, monitor air consumption, and depth) for 20 minutes, did a safety stop, and headed for shore.

After those two dives, my next 10+ dives were with a DM or instructor. Some of which were with inexperienced vacation divers. I have no idea how many dives a couple of the people had, but they were all over the place (depth and direction) and had zero situational awareness of that fact, how much air they had, or basic group diving etiquette. ex. Don't go 40'+ off on your own when you're doing a guided dive.

As far as whether or not I'd want to dive without an instructor or DM again, I would say that it's location dependent. If I already conducted dives at a location and/or I was buddied up with someone that knew the location well, I would be just fine going without a DM or instructor.

 

[tbone1004]

The open water diver course is officially designed to let divers dive as autonomous divers, so able to dive without supervision with at least another open water diver.

But was you able to dive without supervision?
Did you feel I need more practise?
When was you ready? After ow, or after aow, or have you never done any dive without supervision?

My course gave me a solid base, I started diving couple of times a week and we build up our own experience in nightdiving and deep diving before starting the aow course without any problems. I see not a lot of divers get such a solid base. A lot get a cert, and then are afraid of diving on their own.
I know not all divers learn in the time and some need more time. Some are talented and naturals, others don't. But the ow course is designed to learn you enough basics?
Or not?
Tell me your own experience about how capable you felt after the course.

I came out of the same program that I currently teach with.
DURING open water, the divers are acting as independent dive teams. They are under indirect supervision, but only there to intervene if a safety issue comes up. The divers are responsible for their own navigation, own limits, etc etc. Exception to the norm

 

[NaCl H2O]

I was a teenager, couldn't keep me out of the water. Knew everything and was invincible too!

Always amazed at how gaining more knowledge actually increases what you don't know.....

 

[MrBigfins]

After OW check out dives,I buddied up with a friend and did another dive at same location. Atlantic side boat dive off DR.

We then did a 2 tank trip out to Catalina island and it was a dm in water but teams went as they pleased. Next I dove fresh water for first time and buddied with an instructor, first time in low vis and cold freshwater. Then I did my advanced in low vis, cold freshwater. Buddied up during and after to do dives with no DM. Was far more confident after AOW to dive without guidance, but I'm not afraid to ask or pay for it if I find myself in a situation or conditions that I am not familiar with. I am trying to learn by diving a variety of conditions, locations, types of dives etc so that I have varied experience as a base for all my future diving. So part of my confidence stems from the fact that I now have exposure to diving conditions ranging from 2' vis to 200', 40 degree to 85 degree water, fresh and salt, surge and no flow, quarry and cavern, shore diving and 20 miles off shore, glass calm water and surfacing to 5' seas. So my answer would be yes I was, but with the caveat to know your own limitations.

 

[Marie13]

First dives after cert were with more experienced buddies. Then with other divers of about same experience level at local quarry. There are generally no DMs in the water up here.

 

[maj2]

My experience is the same as that of @Marie13.

When I am diving an unfamiliar site, I may well seek out a buddy who is experienced there. That person need not be a DM. While a DM can be a guide, a guide does not need to be a DM.

Around here, DMs tend to primarily assist with instruction. Once the course is finished, their DM role is finished and I go back to diving with them as friends and dive buddies.

Never understood why some feel that a DM must be in the water with them at all times...

 

[Searcaigh]

From qualifying I always dived with just another buddy, some more experienced than me and sometimes not.

Two years ago I met two ladies on a boat, one a Rescue Diver and the other AOW, neither had dived without a DM since qualifying

Both my buddy and myself were taking photos and first off the boat and when we surfaced neither of the ladies had splashed at all and were waiting for a DM to appear on another boat before they dived!