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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.
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Dive Today is a philosophy that addresses the biggest perceptual obstacle to becoming a diver: that it takes a lot of time before you even get to dive.
The philosophy is to begin student learning by diving in confined water and open water as early as possible. This not only accomplishes a marketing objective, but assists course educational goals by bolstering student interest and motivation.
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.
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.
Accident in Bali Sunday 5th October 08To 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.
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. (Thal's note: that is to say this post).
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.
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.