Did you do a Discover Scuba?

[TSandM]

Wineaux, which class did you like better? The one I run is like your first example -- time in the classroom, watching a couple of videos, and then doing a few skills before spending the majority of the time swimming.

 

[Peter_C]

I did a Discover Scuba back around 1996 or so in Key West. We started in the pool performing the most basic skills of mask clearing and reg recovery. Then we were loaded onto a mixed boat of divers and snorkelers. Our dives were around 20 ft deep and I saw my first barracuda, and more importantly an angel fish my friend had in his fish tank. I was hooked!

 

[Wineaux]

I would prefer the first one that was more structured and we all did our OW classes (and I did my Advanced) with that shop. While it was fun to have more swimming around time in the less structured class since I had the basics already, I felt it wasn't really that safe to just throw some BCDs on us, put regs in our mouths and just let us go right off into the deep end.

 

[Quero]

Nope. Went straight into the certification course. But I doubt it would have made any difference. I did the course on a whim thinking it would be a fun way to pass the time once in a while. Never intended to go beyond the OW level in order to putter around in the shallows--sort of like glorified snorkeling. I'm pretty sure with the benefit of hindsight that even if I had done a Discover Scuba dive first, diving still would have taken over my life in a way I could not have possibly foreseen at all at the time.

 

[BluewaterSail]

I did a Discover Scuba on a coral reef in the Red Sea, because I was offered it for free as part of a package. I felt like I was visiting another world, which had a whole new set of plants, animals, and environment. The desire to visit this new world again was what lead me to get certified. I don't think that I would have had the same reaction in a pool.

I don't recall any particular wonder on being able to breath under water. I knew that was what the equipment was for, so why would it be a surprise? It was one-on-one, so I felt quite safe.

Linda

 

[TMHeimer]

I didn't even know DSD existed until taking the DM course. I wouldn't have taken it anyway, having snorkelled my whole life. I would've figured that scuba is simply a way to not have to come up for air. I would guess that it would be a good choice for someone who has had limited (or no) time around bodies of water. Particularly for someone who wants to take scuba and has no fairly decent stroke for swimming. But that's a whole other topic.

 

[pocky21]

I started out with a DSD program myself. Watched a video and filled out paperwork at the shop along with a wetsuit rental the day before, then met the instructor at a community pool the next day. Got a brief overview of equipment and did a few comfort skills - which we did so well the instructor had us try no mask breathing (face down, standing up). Then some fin pivots, shallow swimming, misc other skills and a slow move to the deep end, where we were pretty much turned loose to play around. The other woman who was in the DSD with me was having trouble bouncing through the water column, but he figured I was comfortable enough to go off and have fun. On the debrief we were told many of the skills we did weren't normally part of the session, but were a "see how you do" thing - and told that many open water divers exit the class with less comfort/control than we had shown.

From my green-as-grass instructor perspective, I think it was an utter lack of control - but at the time, I think it's part of what made me go on to the full OW cert. Not only did I feel confident, but I had a blast. When I went to OW - it a cakewalk, so much that I was actually told to stop doing skills ahead of time (like a perfect hover on CW2). I can't say I wouldn't have gotten into scuba diving had it not been for a DSD, but with the opportunities that followed I doubt I'd be nearly as hardcore about it as I have been.

 

[Ste Wart]

No.

I was backpacking and I wanted to get certified before I went to Australia; to save money (yes I know!). So after a few too many beers in Kata beach on Phuket, I staggered into a dive centre and booked my OW course.

 

[Johnsbadwheel]

Sure did. At the county fair in a four foot pool. I was 13 and my brother was 12. They had a drawing for a free OW certification, which my brother won, and decided to give me a free OW certification too! That was 20 years ago but I can still see the look on my mothers face when they pulled the winning ticket. She was a trooper though, and we have been diving ever since.

 

[Storker]

Nope. I took my cert where I live, and the LDSs here offer only full OW courses. At least AFAIK...

My first post-cert boat trip also convinced me that certifying in warm water on a vacation probably isn't the best idea if you're planning to dive in cold waters. I sat next to a couple of divers with vacation OW and AOW certs plus DS certs, and even recently OW certified myself I wasn't particularly impressed at their level of control&confidence in our green, cold, not-stunning-viz waters...