cdiver2
Contributor
From Undercurrent, The Guardian, BBC, and other sources.
Training courses for scuba divers were branded as "madness" by scuba experts in early August as a coroner heard how three divers died in separate accidents off the British coast.
Dr. Pholip Bryson said he was amazed that divers could call themselves "Advanced" after fewer than 10 sessions in open water. He singled out PADI for particular criticism. He said its methods had forced others to streamline there training programs.
Bryson head of the Diving Diseases Research Center said; "people want to be advanced divers. They want that certificate and they are willing to pay for it.
We have people presently in diving who feel they are advanced but have no experience whatsoever. The diving community needs to be totally re-educated".
A police diver, Peter Tapper, told the hearing that "the process moves far too quickly because there is an element of money". Concerns are mounting that the certificates are to easy to obtain and that some divers are being caught up in the rugged conditions around the UK after learning to dive in the less harsh Mediterranean or Caribbean.
Mark Jackson, 41 who died last year, had learned to dive in the Mediterranean and had limited experience. He embolized. His diving buddy, who ran short of air, had made only a hand full of dives and was frightened and disorientated because she had never come across currents and swells before. Jackson had seen his Dr about high blood pressure, obesity, asthma and depression___but declared none of these on his PADI medical form. He had drunk a bottle of wine and several Vodkas the night before and had complained of sweatiness and indigestion just before the dive.
Novice diver Albert Tyhecott, 65 died in June, after coming to the surface too quickly from 21 meters. Christopher Sidgwick, 40, was wreck diving with friends. He became confused and breathed from his smaller back-up-tank___which was empty when he was brought to the surface___rather than his main tank that remained full. He had completed a wreck diving course at a lake two weeks before.
Bryson said British training agencies had to streamline there courses to compete with PADI. He said "PADI has brought that reduction in training down and they claim they have done it with valid data and that there are very few problems. Other UK based diving groups that had longer training regimes have had to come into line, "I do not believe that someone with eight dives should be classified as an advanced diver; That is madness, end of conversation."
In fact the minimum number of open water dives for an advanced open water certificate is nine. Mark Caney, a PADI VP, said the system was tried and tested.
"We have a lot of data about the efficacy of our system and the vast majority are out there diving quite happily. But accidents do occur. In nearly every case, there is at least one instance where a main diving rule was flouted and that is nearly always the cause of the accidents.
Training courses for scuba divers were branded as "madness" by scuba experts in early August as a coroner heard how three divers died in separate accidents off the British coast.
Dr. Pholip Bryson said he was amazed that divers could call themselves "Advanced" after fewer than 10 sessions in open water. He singled out PADI for particular criticism. He said its methods had forced others to streamline there training programs.
Bryson head of the Diving Diseases Research Center said; "people want to be advanced divers. They want that certificate and they are willing to pay for it.
We have people presently in diving who feel they are advanced but have no experience whatsoever. The diving community needs to be totally re-educated".
A police diver, Peter Tapper, told the hearing that "the process moves far too quickly because there is an element of money". Concerns are mounting that the certificates are to easy to obtain and that some divers are being caught up in the rugged conditions around the UK after learning to dive in the less harsh Mediterranean or Caribbean.
Mark Jackson, 41 who died last year, had learned to dive in the Mediterranean and had limited experience. He embolized. His diving buddy, who ran short of air, had made only a hand full of dives and was frightened and disorientated because she had never come across currents and swells before. Jackson had seen his Dr about high blood pressure, obesity, asthma and depression___but declared none of these on his PADI medical form. He had drunk a bottle of wine and several Vodkas the night before and had complained of sweatiness and indigestion just before the dive.
Novice diver Albert Tyhecott, 65 died in June, after coming to the surface too quickly from 21 meters. Christopher Sidgwick, 40, was wreck diving with friends. He became confused and breathed from his smaller back-up-tank___which was empty when he was brought to the surface___rather than his main tank that remained full. He had completed a wreck diving course at a lake two weeks before.
Bryson said British training agencies had to streamline there courses to compete with PADI. He said "PADI has brought that reduction in training down and they claim they have done it with valid data and that there are very few problems. Other UK based diving groups that had longer training regimes have had to come into line, "I do not believe that someone with eight dives should be classified as an advanced diver; That is madness, end of conversation."
In fact the minimum number of open water dives for an advanced open water certificate is nine. Mark Caney, a PADI VP, said the system was tried and tested.
"We have a lot of data about the efficacy of our system and the vast majority are out there diving quite happily. But accidents do occur. In nearly every case, there is at least one instance where a main diving rule was flouted and that is nearly always the cause of the accidents.