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I would never participate in such a "class," nor would I permit any member of my family to do so, nor would I encourage or advise anyone else to do so.
Discover Scuba safe?
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I did a discover scuba dive earlier this year and really enjoyed it. There were 5 of us on the course that day - the instructor took 2 down while the rest of us snorkelled. When it was my turn, we were underwater for maybe 20-30 minutes and to a maximum depth of 5m.
I thought it was a well drilled operation and everyone had a good time.
I thought it was a well drilled operation and everyone had a good time.
My wife and I did it locally at different times. In each case it was a benign open water site, 1:1 with the instructor and maxed out around 10 feet. The preferred site had a significant surface swim to deeper water so that would not have added to the experience and still beat doing it in a pool as it's often done. With a comfortable student a somewhat deeper dept is certainly appropriate. Warm clear water is also a plus. I'm sure agencies have standards but those are so frequently violated it's academic.
The objective is to demonstrate to yourself that you might like diving enough to embark on a full scale course. It's also a good confidence builder since you walk in the door knowing you fundamentally can do it.
Be wary of dive masters or instructors willing to take you on an adventure. You are untrained and they are not super heroes. Sometimes they want to make the dive interesting for themselves or give you an over the top experience in hope of a big tip.
Pete
The objective is to demonstrate to yourself that you might like diving enough to embark on a full scale course. It's also a good confidence builder since you walk in the door knowing you fundamentally can do it.
Be wary of dive masters or instructors willing to take you on an adventure. You are untrained and they are not super heroes. Sometimes they want to make the dive interesting for themselves or give you an over the top experience in hope of a big tip.
Pete
My favorite way to start the OW class is with an Intro Dive. I am a big fan of Dive Today.
Not everyone who learned to dive in the '60's learned it by reading books. My dad and his friends taught me and supervised me in such a way that diving from age 7 to age 13 all I needed to remember were three things; continuous breathing, j-valve, not faster than the bubbles.
The physical act of warm water recreational diving is pretty damn easy. Put me in the evolutionary camp as well; monkey see monkey do. Then, once I've shown you turtles and eels you might actually pay attention to some of the book and DVD.
Not everyone who learned to dive in the '60's learned it by reading books. My dad and his friends taught me and supervised me in such a way that diving from age 7 to age 13 all I needed to remember were three things; continuous breathing, j-valve, not faster than the bubbles.
The physical act of warm water recreational diving is pretty damn easy. Put me in the evolutionary camp as well; monkey see monkey do. Then, once I've shown you turtles and eels you might actually pay attention to some of the book and DVD.
Why?
I have carried out numerous DSD's, both pool only sessions and also pool and OW session.
For some people, they decide that diving is not for them, for the majority, it is the final confirmation that they want to be certified.
To the OP:
It depends on the instructor guiding you and giving you the crash course before you go out on scuba.
There so much variability between instructors, simply because they're human. This is why there's a large span of opinions on whether Discover Scuba is safe.
The instructor you stated may be safe, or he may be overconfident. 30mins of verbal instruction then out to the ocean doesn't sound like a wise choice. But I'm sure he's done this drill more than you can count. Scuba diving is a real lucky sport. There's so many things that can go wrong, yet very often they don't. What makes accidents and incidents less likely is the training you receive to prevent problems. Discover scuba more often than not trains you on how to deal with problems, where as a Basic OW course will train you how to prevent AND deal with problems.
[-]Of all the scuba accidents I've heard of though, I've never heard of one happening during a Discover Scuba class.[/-]I stand corrected. See next post below.
As a example though, my first experience in the water on scuba was during a Discover Scuba Dive in Cancun. My Dad and I spent around 30mins in the pool learning a single reg recover and a mask clear. That's all we were told. I was not told to never hold my breath or to ascent slower than my bubbles. None of that, just the 2 skills. Then it was off on a boat dive the next day.
During the dive I got separated from the group in clear viz. No one in sight, I remember standing on the sandy bottom, looking up and around; not a single bubble or person in sight. I was alone for at least a solid minute. I didn't have the knowledge to know that I had a computer or a gauge (I don't even know which one I had that day), I didn't know what depth I was at, I didn't know how to use my inflator to control my buoyancy, I didn't know anything to tell the truth. Not once did I even know to check my air; I was never told how to do that.
I decided to swim a bit and found the group; I made contact with the instructor, not the other way around.
The dive was completed safely but once again I had no idea what was going on besides swim and breath.
Looking back I realize there's so much they don't tell you in Discover scuba.
- Do I think it's safe?
____Yes because most instructors are competent or deadly afraid of liability that they'll take care of you.
- Would I personally recommend it?
____No, because it's essentially a trust me dive, something most members will agree is something all certified divers should NOT partake in.
It depends on the instructor guiding you and giving you the crash course before you go out on scuba.
There so much variability between instructors, simply because they're human. This is why there's a large span of opinions on whether Discover Scuba is safe.
The instructor you stated may be safe, or he may be overconfident. 30mins of verbal instruction then out to the ocean doesn't sound like a wise choice. But I'm sure he's done this drill more than you can count. Scuba diving is a real lucky sport. There's so many things that can go wrong, yet very often they don't. What makes accidents and incidents less likely is the training you receive to prevent problems. Discover scuba more often than not trains you on how to deal with problems, where as a Basic OW course will train you how to prevent AND deal with problems.
[-]Of all the scuba accidents I've heard of though, I've never heard of one happening during a Discover Scuba class.[/-]I stand corrected. See next post below.
As a example though, my first experience in the water on scuba was during a Discover Scuba Dive in Cancun. My Dad and I spent around 30mins in the pool learning a single reg recover and a mask clear. That's all we were told. I was not told to never hold my breath or to ascent slower than my bubbles. None of that, just the 2 skills. Then it was off on a boat dive the next day.
During the dive I got separated from the group in clear viz. No one in sight, I remember standing on the sandy bottom, looking up and around; not a single bubble or person in sight. I was alone for at least a solid minute. I didn't have the knowledge to know that I had a computer or a gauge (I don't even know which one I had that day), I didn't know what depth I was at, I didn't know how to use my inflator to control my buoyancy, I didn't know anything to tell the truth. Not once did I even know to check my air; I was never told how to do that.
I decided to swim a bit and found the group; I made contact with the instructor, not the other way around.
The dive was completed safely but once again I had no idea what was going on besides swim and breath.
Looking back I realize there's so much they don't tell you in Discover scuba.
- Do I think it's safe?
____Yes because most instructors are competent or deadly afraid of liability that they'll take care of you.
- Would I personally recommend it?
____No, because it's essentially a trust me dive, something most members will agree is something all certified divers should NOT partake in.
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Accident in Bali Sunday 5th October 08
Resort Course diver on his first open water dive.
Tourist dies in New Caledonia during a "Discovery Scuba" dive
Post 9 of this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/172475-basic-certification.html
Those just took me a few seconds to find, there are many, many more.
Questions answered?
I also feel that the DSD program does not provide enough information to meet what I feel is a requirement for the would-be-diver to be able to provide informed consent to be subjected to a hyperbaric environment. That I feel is immoral.
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I would have thought someone with your wealth of knowledge would have found better links.
First 2 are the same incident - doesn't say if it was a DSD or not
Third link - so you have never seen certified divers panic at the surface? I have, from numerous agencies.
Fourth link - Interesting quote from someone. I can't find where in the PADI standards it says "instructors will inflate and deflate bcd's for DSD participants".
I take it not a single person has ever been injured that has trained through your agency.
First 2 are the same incident - doesn't say if it was a DSD or not
Third link - so you have never seen certified divers panic at the surface? I have, from numerous agencies.
Fourth link - Interesting quote from someone. I can't find where in the PADI standards it says "instructors will inflate and deflate bcd's for DSD participants".
I take it not a single person has ever been injured that has trained through your agency.
craig107
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I had a DSD in May whilst in Mexico. Two of us on the day, had thirty mins or so theory and DVD and then around forty five mins in the pool. Here we practiced reg and mask clearence, reg recovery, buddy air share and pressure equalisation, which to be honest was difficult as we never went deep enough to feel any significant changes.
After the theory and practical instruction we went out to a reef, whilst on the boat out the instructor knelt infront of myself and explained the dive whilst showing me a map of the reef. I believe its what he called a drift dive, where the current took us along. At no point did I feel uncomfortable before, during or after the dive in the safety the instructor/s shown on this experience. Even to the point of returning to the diveshop, another insructor who was with a group of three on their first OW PADI dives, came and checked my BCD was inflated before getting off the boat.
To sum up. I believe I had a very good experience instruction wise, (the dive is another story). So much so I have embarked on training with a local BSAC club. My first meeting is this coming week as the whole club have been away an a diving trip. Go for it but with the pool training included as practice is required for your safety and of those around you.
Craig
After the theory and practical instruction we went out to a reef, whilst on the boat out the instructor knelt infront of myself and explained the dive whilst showing me a map of the reef. I believe its what he called a drift dive, where the current took us along. At no point did I feel uncomfortable before, during or after the dive in the safety the instructor/s shown on this experience. Even to the point of returning to the diveshop, another insructor who was with a group of three on their first OW PADI dives, came and checked my BCD was inflated before getting off the boat.
To sum up. I believe I had a very good experience instruction wise, (the dive is another story). So much so I have embarked on training with a local BSAC club. My first meeting is this coming week as the whole club have been away an a diving trip. Go for it but with the pool training included as practice is required for your safety and of those around you.
Craig
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