Blue Springs Conditions

[crpntr133]

Right off the dock on the back side I know 50-55 is easy to hit. With the waters up I think 60 would be possible. Anybody up for a dive Saturday?..yes I'm serious.

BTW, somebody tell those at the LDS that it should be possible to the deep cert for AOW at BS.

 

[cyjeffries]

I hope you were teasing about the deep cert... nothing like doing the minimum, I guess.

Nice pictures! (good cell phone, I haven't tried to put any cell phone pix on the computer, but I doubt they would look that clear!) I'm surprised my other half didn't mention the high water. Of course, he's had a couple of late scuba nights recently and we don't get a lot of time to discuss things in the mornings (he is not an early morning person).

 

[crpntr133]

I hope you were teasing about the deep cert... nothing like doing the minimum, I guess.

Nice pictures! (good cell phone, I haven't tried to put any cell phone pix on the computer, but I doubt they would look that clear!) I'm surprised my other half didn't mention the high water. Of course, he's had a couple of late scuba nights recently and we don't get a lot of time to discuss things in the mornings (he is not an early morning person).

Kinda joking but not. I know of several shops that did their AOW at BS. Cold water adds in 10' if I am thinking right.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Kinda joking but not. I know of several shops that did their AOW at BS. Cold water adds in 10' if I am thinking right.

Yup .. I did mine there. Of course I had about the worst instructor around, but that's another topic entirely.

 

[rakkis]

That add 10' thing gets taken out of context too often.

The intent is strictly for a nitrogen-absorption/release perspective. The thinking is... cold temperature affects blood flow and distribution in your body, consequently affecting baseline off-gasing. A dive doesn't become 10' deeper just because it's cold. You limit your bottom time as though you were diving 10' deeper as a safety factor. The actual depth remains the same, the dive still gets logged accurately.

I certainly hope you were joking about doing any "deep" dives at BS. That's absolute laziness in part of an instructor. A student gains nothing from being at 62' that he hasn't experienced at 55'. Any kind of honest, deep-training has to hit 80' IMNSHO. Otherwise you shortchange the student. And yes I realize deep is subjective, but water column pressure and proper dive planning is the guts of the class. It's silly to use less-than-stellar viz and cold as cop outs.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I certainly hope you were joking about doing any "deep" dives at BS. That's absolute laziness in part of an instructor. A student gains nothing from being at 62' that he hasn't experienced at 55'. Any kind of honest, deep-training has to hit 80' IMNSHO. Otherwise you shortchange the student. And yes I realize deep is subjective, but water column pressure and proper dive planning is the guts of the class. It's silly to use less-than-stellar viz and cold as cop outs.

My AOW was done 100% at Blue Springs. It was with a shop located in central Indiana. Not one that you or I are (were I guess for you since you're back in God's country!) affiliated with. Laziness on the part of the instructor ... YES. Shortchanging the student ... YES. I'm still mad at myself for not making a big deal about it, but I was a new diver and I was still in the "I just want to get the AOW card" mindset. As a student you do what your instructor tells you to do, you finish the course, you get the card. I approach the training I pay for much differently now.

 

[Hoosier]

YES. I'm still mad at myself for not making a big deal about it.

Making a big deal?

I tried.... A LDS owner asked me to go down to FL to complete a deep diving. It was about $500 extra charge as I recall. Sure, I refused it and had to end up a relationship with them.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Making a big deal?

I tried.... A LDS owner asked me to go down to FL to complete a deep diving. It was about $500 extra charge as I recall. Sure, I refused it and had to end up a relationship with them.

That's an option for local shops if the student wants to bundle AOW with a Florida trip. However, I would have been perfectly happy with a trip to Haigh. But then that would have meant the instructor would have had to get cold and they weren't too keen on that idea.

 

[Hoosier]

That's an option for local shops if the student wants to bundle AOW with a Florida trip. However, I would have been perfectly happy with a trip to Haigh. But then that would have meant the instructor would have had to get cold and they weren't too keen on that idea.

It must be an option, not a mandatory trip. They didn't said it upfront until we completed everything on AOW except a deep diving portion. Actually, I had to ask first when I could have a deep diving check out. :no They answered, I had to go down FL to complete AOW.

Anyway, I was bugging them to arrange a local deep diving check out as they advertized and agreed on the contract (I still keep all record on this issue). This is the same LDS where I got a nitrox card from without having one min. class time. What I did was to buy a textbook and DVD (mandntory) and take an exam. They said, "it is a self study certification." I learned that an scuba instructor job must be much easier to make money than a professor job in the major university at that time. On the contray, for a nitrox card, Min had to go through all text material with an instructor at Indy shop where you know very well.


The LDS didn't have a solid local diving group, so most customers are all warm water divers. So, they got used to force FL trip later as a part of diving traning. I can see that this way of business has worked very well and they were good at it, but NOT me.

As I recall, Wally's old LDS also used to complete a deep portion at BS (Don't quote me on this).

OK ... I am off my soapbox for now.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

It must be an option, not a mandatory trip. They didn't said it upfront until we completed everything on AOW except a deep diving portion. Actually, I had to ask first when I could have a deep diving check out. :no They answered, I had to go down FL to complete AOW.

It either should be optional or clearly made known up front that the completion of the course would require a trip to Florida. To spring this on students without advance notice and without any other option is fraud IMO.