Completed Open Water course...I think

[knotical]

We only did one short pool session, and then four open water dives, although we only did skills in the first two,

One short pool session and no skills on dives 3 and 4 does not meet PADI standards for the Open Water Diver course. Perhaps your instructor certified you as a Scuba Diver, which is a lower level certification that qualifies you only to dive with a professional, and covers roughly half of the Open Water course. Check your certification card.

Also look near the end of chapters 3 and 5 in your PADI manual. You should find a list of the skills to be performed on each open water dive. If you didn’t have to demonstrate all of them in open water, consider an upgrade course, or a complete new course.

 

[String]

If you want to dive in britain learn in britain or take a refresher here. Its a LOT different to no current, clear warm, calm waters found abroad. If you stick with PADI try taking AOW here.

Or look for a BSAC club - they dont hate padi divers these days, most clubs have padi divers of various grades (ours has varying from AOW to dive master). You will have to do some other training especially regarding use of tables and so on but crossover is fairly painless. The main advantage of a club is you'll get regular local diving and experienced buddys to help adjust.

One other thing, if you believe the PADI training to be inadequate, tell them. They have quality control rules for this sort of thing.

 

[GrierHPharmD]

I'll have to chime in with Knotical about PADI standards. What sort of certification did you receive?

If it's Open Water Diver, I would suggest that you contact PADI directly to discuss this course. At very least, you might want to email the Fiji shop and suggest that you get a partial refund, as they did not meet the PADI training standards. You seem to be a conscientious, enthusiastic diver, and you deserve better. Nothing can take the place of good safety training.

You can reach PADI at www.padi.com.

Safe ascents,
Grier

 

[Li'l38]

I'll have to chime in with Knotical about PADI standards. What sort of certification did you receive?

If it's Open Water Diver, I would suggest that you contact PADI directly to discuss this course. At very least, you might want to email the Fiji shop and suggest that you get a partial refund, as they did not meet the PADI training standards. You seem to be a conscientious, enthusiastic diver, and you deserve better. Nothing can take the place of good safety training.

You can reach PADI at www.padi.com.

Safe ascents,
Grier

I totally agree with this. You didn't get the full training for OW. If you have any doubts about anything, practice more! Swimming pools make for great area to train and practice. Get yourself fairly comfortable with your skills. They will become more second nature with experience. Don't ignore doubts and always ask questions on anything you don't understand. Safety is the #1 concern. You need to know what you should do in any given situation- that's why you take classes and practice drills. If indeed you recieved OW certification, PADI should be notified of lack of instruction by this person. Others that recieve trianing from him are at risk as well. Keep us informed.... Be safe and happy diving!

 

[Bula!]

Well I checked the temporary card and it's definitely the Open Water qualification. I agree that PADI should be notified, but I've searched on their site for the resort, and it isn't listed in their directory.

The reason we chose to do the course at that resort in the first place was because it was the lowest price we could find, so I suppose I should have expected a less than perfect course. If the course wasn't so cheap I would be more concerned with asking for a refund, but I don't think it would be worth it. I should have known there was a reason it was the cheapest around, I won't make the same mistake again.

We weren't given a PADI manual, but I read through the whole PADI textbook the resort had while I was there, which is what made me realise what we had missed. As a result I'm confident with all of the theory and the exam was fine, so I'm hesitant to retake the entire course. I've found out from the PADI website now that a dive shop in a town pretty near me has an instructor, so I think I'll talk to them about teaching me some of the skills I haven't covered, which should hopefully be cheaper than redoing everything.

 

[scubafool]

You realize that you weren't getting taught everything that you need to know. The next student might not be so lucky. Go ahead & contact PADI about this.

 

[DORSETBOY]

If you have any queries, phone PADI in Bristol, UK. Ask to speak to someone in their customer support section, give them the name and numer of the instructor and dive centre. The website is www.padi.com and has all the contact details.

 

[DORSETBOY]

Unfortunately its not the only incident Ive heard of, I know of a dive shop which I reported for operating the rescue course over half a day!!!

 

[Wayward Son]

I would recomend that you simply take a full OW course again. Preferably from a local shop. Consider what you just did a prep class, you now have the basics down so should have no problems with a full class.

Find a good local instructor, don't worry about which agency they are. So long as it's one of the major ones that are recognized, your main concern is having a good instructor.

 

[Xanthro]

I don't know if you need to take the course over again, only you can tell your comfort level.

A refresher course might be nice, and joining a local diving club will introduce you to new dive buddies, and present the opportunity to learn as well.

Just be upfront and honest in your skill comfort level. There are almost always people willing to dive even with a newly certified diver.

Also, remember, that open water means you are qualified to dive without supervision. This means you are planning your dive, you are responsible for your own safety. While people in dives clubs will be happy to help you advance. You are responsible for yourself, they are not your protectors. If you do not feel comfortable with this, then a repeat of the course might be best.