Dear instructor ......

[chrpai]

One thing you miss though is a redundant check from a different set of eyes; whether you find that advantageous or not. I certainly appreciate it.

Buddies can be like Spare Airs, or they can be like Pony Bottles. Some are more useful than others.

Not always true. I frequently have other people on the boat or at the dive site who I'll ask for a double check if I think they are squared away divers.

Consider BWRAF.

B - ever have a buddy actually test your inflator? Mine has been tested atleast 3 times. At home, on assembly and before entry. Even if I had a total failure, I can swim it up.

W - If I'm with a buddy, I tell them I don't have ditchable weights. If I'm alone, well nothing to talk about here.

R - I pass on shoulder clips, cumberbund, waist / chest clips. 2" webbing. If it's twisted, I'll know cause it feels way too tight. I run my fingers along my rig to verify. If I'm with a buddy I explain my system to them and how to get me out of it; including using my shears to cut me out if needed without me being angry because it's cheap to replace.

A - My system has been visually and orally inspected a couple of times already. I can reach my own valve to confirm that my gas is on. If I somehow screw all of this up, I have an AL40 slung on my left that is standing by to give me gas.

F - I can do my own final check or as someone on the boat to assist.


I'm all for BWRAF, but maybe there should be more emphasis on what you can do for yourself.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So far, I've gone for 3 courses and will be due for a good few more before the end of the year. The instructors were nice people and willing to answer questions BUT (there's always a BUT ) I wish that they could have done certain things to help beginners / students understand better and become more well prepared divers so here goes.

Dear instructor, I wish that you :-

1. Had stressed the importance of equipment / buddy check and gone through it meticulously so that I would develop the habit of doing it for the rest of my diving days instead of just taking uninterested left and right glances, tugging a few things in a nonchalant manner and then giving me the thumbs up

2. Pointed out the dangers of the environment in which we're in because how real the dangers are depends on how you made them out to be. Noticed that nobody highlighted the dangers of animals like sea urchins. Granted that you're not supposed to touch anything but beginners with poor buoyancy control usually do not end up where they'd like to which means there's a good chance they'll come into contact with corals or marine life

3. Made me repeat skills which I didn't show confidence in, seemed to have performed successfully by chance or failed to perform successfully because all of the 3 might have resulted in me having an accident one day which I didn't know how to get out of although it was covered in the manual

I've been alright so far thanks to information from the learned and experienced divers on this forum and the Internet plus I rereading the manuals which are left in the toilet where they provide good reading material in 'utter times of need' so I know certain portions really well by now.

Good instructors do those things. As an instructor, my response to your three items ...

1. Buddy checks matter ... even though you'll commonly see them skipped altogether in the "real world" of vacation diving, divers who are responsible and safety-conscious don't skip them. I've seen instructors actually ridicule divers for doing them outside of class. You don't want that kind of instructor ... because they cut too many corners. Setting up your equipment is a routine thing. Sometimes if you get interrupted during the routine you can neglect something that's important, but easy to overlook until you're in the water ... like turning on your air, connecting a hose, or forgetting your gauges (if they're not on a console). Buddy checks catch those things. I use a "head to toe" method, where buddies face each other, one calls out the equipment ... starting at the head and working their way down, and each buddy visually inspects the other to make sure it's properly donned and/or connected. Air checks involve taking a couple breaths from both secondaries ... because you want to verify that they're both working. Test your BCD inflator and purge buttons ... and the valve on your drysuit if you're wearing one. Look at hose routings and make sure that nothing is trapped under a BCD strap or cummerbund ... in other words, if you need to deploy that octopus, you want to make sure before you start the dive that you will be able to. Finally, once in the water, do a quick bubble check by checking each other's first stage for leaks. Seems a bit much, but just keep in mind that problems are best managed at the surface ... preferably before the dive begins. A couple minutes of care does a lot for your confidence once the dive's underway.

2. Usually the most dangerous animal you're going to encounter underwater is going to be another diver ... because you can never tell what they're going to do. Animals generally won't bother you unless you approach them in a way that makes them feel threatened. Urchins can hurt if you bump into one ... as will stuff like fire coral, fire worms, and a few other things ... but those will fall more into the nuisance category, and with reasonable buoyancy control you can avoid them. Work on your awareness ... that's the best way to avoid dangerous situations underwater. Learn the "skill" of looking around every so often. We're too used to having peripheral vision ... which is removed when we don a scuba mask ... and we have to teach ourselves the "skill" of turning our head to see what's going on around us. Teach yourself that skill by making a conscious effort to look around regularly ... before you know it you'll be doing it without even thinking about it. Knowing what's going on around you is the very best way to avoid objects and situations that can hurt you.

3. Your instructor is supposed to allow you sufficient practice during OW class to perform skills comfortably and repeatably ... if he didn't do that, then he failed to follow the training standards of his agency. Fortunately, this is something you have some control over now that you're out of class. Get with a friend, go to a pool or shallow diving area and practice your basic skills until they're as natural as walking. You want to be able to do simple things like clearing a mask like it ain't no big whoop ... because it ain't.

Reading is all well and good, but there's a big difference between knowledge and skill ... the latter comes with practice. Now that you have your "learner's permit" take some time during each dive to practice. An especially good time for it is during your safety stop ... since they're done shallow and often while stationary. Whether at the beginning or end of the dive, spend a portion of each dive practicing skills till they're so automatic you don't need to think about them. Then ... and to my concern only then ... you'll be ready for the next class ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Progen]

...
Reading is all well and good, but there's a big difference between knowledge and skill ... the latter comes with practice. ...

That's very true, Bob. I'm luckier than most recreational divers since I had a headstart even before getting my Open Water certification because I already had a full set of new gear and had done a few practice dives before going out to sea. I still dive at least once a week practicing skills in swimming pools.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Progen, I think your comments are excellent and insightful. I hope the many many instructors here on SB will read them and learn from them.
DivemasterDennis

 

[boulderjohn]

As for BWRAF.....

I have not run into a predive safety check acronym that I am thrilled with, and I have seen a bunch. I have tried to come up with one I like myself, and I can't do it. I use a hybrid system myself to make sure I cover all bases.

One of the flaws of BWRAF is it leaves out the equipment most likely to be overlooked by a diver preparing for the dive--the instrument(s) that will be used to measure it. If it is a watch or a computer that is worn on the wrist, it is the last thing to be put on, after the wet suit or dry suit, and it is easy to forget. If it is a computer, either on the wrist or on a console, it is easy to forget to set it to the proper mix if using nitrox. That can be a deadly mistake.

I therefore add an "I" for "Instruments" to BWRAF when I teach OW students, making it BWRAIF. The mnemonic I use with it is Bruce Willis Ruins Another Independent Film.

 

[MattJ]

Jeez, John - my students are trying to take the written exam and I'm sitting here laughing!

 

[elmer fudd]

What I see with OW classes are students who are grossly overweighted and have their octopus' dangling at knee level. I also see them with no computers or watches.

To me this just seems half-assed. If I showed up for a real dive with those same instructors with my gear configured like their OW students they'd look at me like I was a fool. So why are you teaching your students this way?

I understand that you're going to weight beginners a little on the heavy side so they can do things on their knees in shallow water, but I've seen divers remove 20 lbs of lead and still be negative and IMO, an octo is useless if you can't find it when you need it and it's full of mud because you've been dragging it across the bottom.

 

[RJP]

As for BWRAF.....

I have not run into a predive safety check acronym that I am thrilled with, and I have seen a bunch. I have tried to come up with one I like myself, and I can't do it. I use a hybrid system myself to make sure I cover all bases.

One of the flaws of BWRAF is it leaves out the equipment most likely to be overlooked by a diver preparing for the dive--the instrument(s) that will be used to measure it. If it is a watch or a computer that is worn on the wrist, it is the last thing to be put on, after the wet suit or dry suit, and it is easy to forget. If it is a computer, either on the wrist or on a console, it is easy to forget to set it to the proper mix if using nitrox. That can be a deadly mistake.

I therefore add an "I" for "Instruments" to BWRAF when I teach OW students, making it BWRAIF. The mnemonic I use with it is Bruce Willis Ruins Another Independent Film.

Isn't your "I" really just part of "A"? That's where I was taught to check "I", and where I teach it.

 

[Hawkwood]

Isn't your "I" really just part of "A"? That's where I was taught to check "I", and where I teach it.

We do it as part of "F"....computer "on", etc. Of course, if it is an enriched air blend or an air-integrated computer it all comes out in "A" as part of the air check.

 

[RJP]

We do it as part of "F"....computer "on",

I once include "F" as part of the giant stride - "F*** where's my computer!"

---------- Post added April 21st, 2013 at 02:26 PM ----------

I once include "F" as part of the giant stride - "F*** where's my computer!"

In fact, once I performed this check at about 1/2-way down the descent to the San Francisco Maru. Good thing I realized I didn't leave my computers back on the boat. I merely left them both attached to my manifold. Wasn't too hard to get them off during the decent... but when we ended the dive everyone wanted to know why I was practicing a valve drill on the way down.