Discover scuba from hell

[simbrooks]

Well, I had to go back and read my post and all the ones leading up to it since it was posted in September of last year.

After all that, I thought my post explained pretty well why I think that. In short it's because I view what they were doing as dangerous. In fact, with at least 2 agencies that I know of it's a blatant standards violation. And it probably is with the other also it's just that I don't know their standards.


Do you have a more specific question?

Mike,

reading other ScubaKevDM's posts, and having PM'd the guy about trips etc, i think i can safely say he has a sarcastic sense of humour. Maybe a smiley would have gone down well, what would you say if i wrote
"I'm sorry why do you think this?" would have shown the humour. Easy mistake to make when you cant hear tone or see expressions. Because truly from your original post and the nightmare discover scuba thing it was obvious that you werent running to have a go at it yourself

 

[MikeFerrara]

Mike,

reading other ScubaKevDM's posts, and having PM'd the guy about trips etc, i think i can safely say he has a sarcastic sense of humour. Maybe a smiley would have gone down well, what would you say if i wrote
"I'm sorry why do you think this?" would have shown the humour. Easy mistake to make when you cant hear tone or see expressions. Because truly from your original post and the nightmare discover scuba thing it was obvious that you werent running to have a go at it yourself

Shoot, are you trying to tell me that I built up steam all day just to run over my own foot?

 

[Turtleguy9]

Aloha, sorry you had a not so great experience. I have worked as a full time dive instructor on Oahu for 10 years now.
It sounds as if you got taken out on what most of us call the scuba Barge. The japanese you saw most likely purchased a package deal. $200 for a jet ski ride, a parasail, and a scuba dive. Some of the companies doing these activities, hire japanese instructors to run the show, and they can be a bit brutal, compared to what a US instructor would do. It might be part of the culture, I have seen instructors, drag the divers under the surface to calm them down.
But yes, they do the discover scuba type course, get loads of divers down, show them the pile of starfish and shortspine sea urchins, let them hold somthing, and drag them around the reef for 20m minutes. This is the cheapo type of deal, and you get what you pay for. Diving at KoKo Craters, is for beginners, with no bouyancy control, and students or intros.
Next time, try booking one of the excellent wreck dives, or a great reef.
A cheap boat charter might be cheap for a reason.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Well, I had to go back and read my post and all the ones leading up to it since it was posted in September of last year.

After all that, I thought my post explained pretty well why I think that. In short it's because I view what they were doing as dangerous. In fact, with at least 2 agencies that I know of it's a blatant standards violation. And it probably is with the other also it's just that I don't know their standards.


Do you have a more specific question?

Well, I guess specifically, I was just trying to figure out how you had reached your conclusion that the instructors were non-diving idiots, or whatever you wrote. I read the thread from the first post, but was unable to find any information about the classroom or pool sessions because I guess the guy wasn't doing the dicover course, we was just doing a boat dive on the same boat as the discover group. So I couldn't tell if they were keeping paniced divers from popping up by holding them down or what. I guess also I wondered if maybe its the whole discover program that you were talking about, since you said that you wouldn't teach it because it doesn't cover bouyancy control, and that they were non-diving idiots just for teaching it. Now that you throw the whole standards violation thing in there you've really lost me.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Well, I guess specifically, I was just trying to figure out how you had reached your conclusion that the instructors were non-diving idiots, or whatever you wrote. I read the thread from the first post, but was unable to find any information about the classroom or pool sessions because I guess the guy wasn't doing the dicover course, we was just doing a boat dive on the same boat as the discover group. So I couldn't tell if they were keeping paniced divers from popping up by holding them down or what. I guess also I wondered if maybe its the whole discover program that you were talking about, since you said that you wouldn't teach it because it doesn't cover bouyancy control, and that they were non-diving idiots just for teaching it. Now that you throw the whole standards violation thing in there you've really lost me.

I guess you think they were doing just fine. I don't, so I think I'll give up trying to explain it ok?

 

[Scubakevdm]

I guess you think they were doing just fine. I don't, so I think I'll give up trying to explain it ok?

Ok, but for the record, I don't know if they were doing just fine or not, there wasn't enough information for me to reach a conclusion.

 

[Mako Mark]

IMO, the instructors at this place arent experts they are non-diving idiots and it's only a matter of time till they get some one killed.

C'mon Mike I think that is a little strong m8.

Teaching DSD is probably one of the hardest jobs in the dive industry, you are basically taking non divers diving.

Im not saying that bmuise experience sounded like the ideal one, but I see it every day. I work for a "cattle boat" marina that does 25,000 resort divers a year, and we dont kill anyone. In the seven years that I have been here, the four deaths were three heart attacks and one propeller injury (and that was a DM).

I know seeing resort divers on the reef makes us all cringe, but we had our first dive once, and sure as hell I wasnt an expert diver on mine!

Let me know when you are teaching that high priest of diving course, I want to sign up!

 

[MikeFerrara]

Let me know when you are teaching that high priest of diving course, I want to sign up!

I don't teach a high priest diving course.

I do however stay in confined water with students until they are comfortable with the basics and can do basic skills while controling their position in the water.

Once we get to OW we stay shallow and in a confined are (like over a training platform or similar thing) untill students are weighted, trimmed for the extra exposure protection.

then we start diving.

On dive 1 while they certainly aren't experts yet they are diving. If I dropped dead of a heart attack 10 minutes into dive one, I have no doubt that each buddy team could comfortably and safely end the dive on their own.

Just because I prefer to teach the mechanics of diving in confined water and use the real OW environment to provide experience doesn't mean that you have to do it that way.

By all means do what you want but I don't have to like it do I?

 

[MikeFerrara]

Teaching DSD is probably one of the hardest jobs in the dive industry, you are basically taking non divers diving.

I agree. It's very hard to take some one diving before they learn basics like buoyancy control. In fact, I woldn't consider doing it because it doesn't make any sense to me.

Im not saying that bmuise experience sounded like the ideal one, but I see it every day.

I don't see it every day and I don't want to.

I know seeing resort divers on the reef makes us all cringe,

It does make me cring so I avoid it.

 

[Mako Mark]

I don't teach a high priest diving course.

Well someone around here has to be able, I am dying to get that card!

I do however stay in confined water with students until they are comfortable with the basics and can do basic skills while controling their position in the water.

This meets the performance objectives of just about every resort type introduction dive I have seen from any agancy.

Once we get to OW we stay shallow and in a confined are (like over a training platform or similar thing) untill students are weighted, trimmed for the extra exposure protection.

That is the whole idea, a shallow enjoyable experience that shows non divers what diving is all about. Dispelling myths like diving is dangerous, diving is difficult, gurls cant do it, it is deep dark and cold, sharks are evil, you need to breathe differently. etc etc.

How many of the follow up comments to this original post said that "I had a great DSD in "(wherever)" and I am no a dedicated diver.

I know that hte cattle boats dont look pretty, but I think that the more people that poke their heads under water even if it is just once in their life, the better.

Nobody cared about fluffy seals in Newfoundland until they saw pictures of them being skinned on the ice.

If I can put half a million snorklers and divers on a limited patch of reef a year, I think that maybe, somehow, hopefully most of them whill care about is as much as they care about fluffy seals and the forests the Sarawak and Amazon.

Will there be some damage to the reef? Yes. Will there be half a million expert divers/snorklers? NO, do I care? NO.

If it saves the other 3000 km of reef is it worth it?

YES, YES, YES.

Resort divers, you gotta love em; they are the experts of tomorrow.