Aow=bs

[almitywife]

That's not how I read what he said, and it's definitely not how I felt at the end of my OW class. I took AOW for the same reason he did; I was afraid to get in the water with anyone but an instructor. With reason.

i remember my OW when at the end, my instructor said "so who is ready to go hire gear and go for a dive next weekend"

my answer was not me. at the time, i didnt feel prepared enough to take the solo responsiblity of looking after myself and my buddy

now why didnt i feel prepared enough? i completed all the skills, i was competant at them but for my well being i wanted to be diving with someone who was more experienced than i was

 

[seaducer]

That's ok. He can call me Dopie. What he doesn't realize is that us luscuious chicks can see him coming a mile away. Sorry I didn't have the opportunity to have him "saddle up and help me with my gear". That would have been rather amusing for me. Of course I would have been too busy helping other divers while he was trying to control his fifth appendage...

 

[nmdiveboy]

Was out in Key Largo about two weeks ago. There was an instructor with a student doing an OW checkout dive.

4-6ft seas. Current was ripping.

The instructor was about the biggest jack%?* I've seen so far diving.

Here's what he told his student when reboarding the dive boat...
1) Grab the ladder
2) Now take of your fins
3) Hand them up
4) And drop your weight belt.

So guess what the student (who must've been in his 50s) did?
26 pounds of weight crashing onto the corals below.

Oh, and about 3 seconds later a waved carried the students face square into the ladder busting his nose open. Blood everywhere.

The instructor was a jerk about it.

So the previous comments about certification not necessarily equaling knowledge/skill - dead on.

 

[Dive Junky]

But some hairy-assed guy from NJ? Not a chance.

Hey whats wrong with hairy-assed guys from Jersey?

 

[bfw]

i remember my OW when at the end, my instructor said "so who is ready to go hire gear and go for a dive next weekend"

As far as I'm concerned, that should be the criteria for issuing a certification that enables one to buy or rent gear or book a charter.

 

[bfw]

Which begs two questions ...

- Why didn't you want to go into the water without further instruction?
- What did you learn from AOW?

If you had that little confidence in your ability to dive without an instructor after OW, then your OW instructor did not meet the objectives of the class ... or he certified you even though you didn't.

Actually, at least one major agency no longer holds that as an objective of OW - and they don't actually come out and say ANY of their classes prepare one to dive without supervision.

 

[The_DivePirate]

Was out in Key Largo about two weeks ago. There was an instructor with a student doing an OW checkout dive.

4-6ft seas. Current was ripping.

The instructor was about the biggest jack%?* I've seen so far diving.

Here's what he told his student when reboarding the dive boat...
1) Grab the ladder
2) Now take of your fins
3) Hand them up
4) And drop your weight belt.

So guess what the student (who must've been in his 50s) did?
26 pounds of weight crashing onto the corals below.

Oh, and about 3 seconds later a waved carried the students face square into the ladder busting his nose open. Blood everywhere.

The instructor was a jerk about it.

So the previous comments about certification not necessarily equaling knowledge/skill - dead on.

I think when instances like that are witnessed they should be reported to the instructors agency, from both the student themselves and the bystanding witnesses.
With most agencies OW certs they come with a magazine subscription, maybe they should send a questionaire with that on how the student felt about their class. Maybe they could ask a few Q's like, How proffesional, did you feel safe, content, things like that. It could be ranked 1-10 or maybe, not at all, kinda sorta, for the most part, seemed ok, over and above. Too make sure the students get it, the agencies could make it mandatory to get the addresses of the students before the cert cards are issued. That way the agencies could keep records on their instructors other than the overall stats of certs. I mean heck, PADI still sends me crap and I haven't been in a PADI course in nearly 3yrs. Maybe that way instructors would be held accountable for their actions and content during their classes.

Joe

Just a thought

 

[bfw]

Sometimes ... other times you're gonna need to have those hands free and available, and fins on your wrist are gonna get in the way.

Mine don't, and it's not like I'm a surgeon or concert pianist. Just regular dexterity. I was able to put them back on and subsequently climb a ladder with them on my wrists with my hands barely operable after a small man'o'war drifted into the ladder in a flag current and stung both hands, but as for that line you place so much stock in, there was no way I could have gripped it tightly enough to resist the current.

And the crew of those boats are hardly strangers

Work the metaphor a little. There is a level beyond which one does not abdicate responsibility for one's own safety. When exiting the water, one should remain equipped to deal with the aquatic environment until safely on board and retain responsibility for doing so, not depend upon others. A good buddy will also retain control of mask and fins until his/her buddy is safely on board.

 

[bfw]

Let's just say that you and I have very different ideas as to the objectives of an OW class. To my concern, if someone completes the class lacking the confidence to get in the water without further instruction, you've failed to meet the objectives of the class.

Evaluating the ability of the student to dive is part of the instructor's job ... and should be a prerequisite to handing them a C-card ...

I agree completely, unfortunately, the people making the decisions for the industry often seem to disagree.

 

[bfw]

Hey whats wrong with hairy-assed guys from Jersey?

What is, Nothing a good wax job can't solve?