Disturbing trend in diving?

[NothingClever]

Have you actually seen the PADI OW book?

Instructor materials? No.

Student materials? Yes.

 

[dmaziuk]

Student materials? Yes.

And which part of that is not split into bite-sized chunks with "goals and objectives" up front and a quiz at the end of each chunk, just like the "mastery learning" ordered?
I know: the index

 

[Leatherboot69]

Yes, politely … speak to the DM privately … not using the words above … but making it clear that you want to do a longer/deeper dive with a more experienced group.

If they refuse, call the dive and ask for a refund for the dive.

My LDS once mentioned me as ‘third in command’ after the instructor and his DMT on a dive with a bunch of novices, first time in cold water and low visibility (I was an in date DM with them, but off duty). I had to do some shepherding because the DMT was out of their comfort zone, and the dive had to be called after half an hour. They gave me a credit for another dive. I like them, there’s a bit of give and take, I’ll be back.

 

[Diver-Drex]

Dunno I never got OW e learning.

I had a break of several years a while back and completely bypassed the refresher training and dives because it was going to be $150-$200, opting instead to just go with a pretty accomplished buddy. Not ideal and easily preventable. I would have payed $30-$50 for a 30-60min review session.

You should have the books or elearning access. I know the crew pack hologram got push back but a big part of that was to make sure you had your own materials to review whenever you wanted.

When I do a Reactivate, it includes a pool session and/or a dive. The elearning is listed at $81. Getting a card includes in water work and has to cost more to cover my costs, $150 total. I have been to many dive ops where a dive within the last year is required. That is where getting the card comes in. You get a dive or two, with an instructor, to get you ready and to meet the recent dive requirement.

You could just go over your books and book a dive with an op that doesn’t ask or you can tell them whatever you want. If you had access to local diving, that’s running you $130. So you’re saving $20, is it worth the risk?

I’ll add that in my experience, Reactivate seekers come in three flavors. Retirees who haven’t dove in a long time. A lot has changed like computers, bcds and their bodies. Parents with teenagers who are getting certified. They are generally fine in the water but rusty. And the last is younger people who were certified at a resort somewhere and probably should not have been issued a card. For each of those, a reread of their book wasn’t going to make much of a difference.

 

[boulderjohn]

But, SOBs certainly are!

Spoiler

Same Ocean Diver!

That doesn't work when each group is supposed to have a dive flag. Reach the surface with no flag 15 minutes after your group got on the boat and people will not be happy. In a case where that happened years ago (with the same operation I was just using) another boat picked up the SOB, published a video on YouTube claiming the boat had lost its diver, and started a smug ScubaBoard thread. That created such a Hell of a problem, with a threatened lawsuit, that it is one of only a couple of cases I know of in which ScubaBoard deleted a thread in its entirety.

 

[scubadada]

In many cases, all it requires is a DM who cares. I related earlier a story about what has happened to me several times on a dive operation here in Florida. Solo diving is not allowed, and as a single diver I had to be assigned to someone else. In each case, the DM, knowing dull well that I am an advanced diver, asked an instructor and young (early teens) diver to take me as a buddy. What am I going to say? "I don't want to dive with them?" Any other group would have been perfectly fine with me, but in each of these cases, the dives were predictably short. In the last dive (last week), I reached the surface with about 2,000 PSI.

I would happily choose another operator, but there is little choice where I am presently.

Hi @boulderjohn

I believe you do your Florida diving down in Pompano or nearby. Do you have to do the wrecks or are nice reefs OK? Have you done any diving in Boynton Beach (no guide) or Palm Beach (guide)? The dives here are all an hour.

 

[boulderjohn]

Hi @boulderjohn

I believe you do your Florida diving down in Pompano or nearby. Do you have to do the wrecks or are nice reefs OK? Have you done any diving in Boynton Beach (no guide) or Palm Beach (guide)? The dives here are all an hour.

Right now I do just about anything. I have a transportation issue going that far north. My wife and I share one car.

 

[scubadada]

Right now I do just about anything. I have a transportation issue going that far north. My wife and I share one car.

Of course, depends on the wife. My wife does not dive with me in the late fall, winter, or early spring. She is content with riding her bike, including to the beach, or relaxing in our townhouse just north of Boynton, when I drive up to Palm Beach or Jupiter. She will drive me and pick me up from Boynton, only 3 miles, if she wants the car.

You might want to expand your horizons, the diving in SE FL is quite good. I am aware that the dive options south of me have become more limited.

 

[tekkydiver]

So, lately I've seen some things posted that have me raising my eyebrows a bit.
There have been a few stories posted about people relying completely on the divemasters or guides for their bottom times, NDL status, basic dive profiles. This seems to be in Mexico from what I gather but it might include some other locations.
The trend seems to be that these divers in question don't have computers or depth gauges/any kind of timing device and rely 100% on the divemasters to take care of them and keep them safe.
Is this a thing?

In my neck of the woods, or more appropriately ocean.... we dive the 1st reef --- 50 to 60 feet. With 34% nitrox we can stay down an hour and including 3 minute safety stop. Which is about what we get out of one tank. In this situation a computer in isn't really needed. I have a one but only using when diving the 2nd and 3rd reef. In that case it's helpful to keep out of deco

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I read that comment from @Leatherboot69 as a reference to what PADI says in its blog about its history...



Not so much that PADI changed something internally to make it more modular, but basically the difference between the PADI system and what was previously then common training from NAUI, BSAC and others which seems to have been more classroom time, more theory, more "linear" instruction.

All way before my scuba time (and I was still a pre-teen in 1978), and possibly I am misunderstanding either leatherboot's comment or yours - but that was how I took it...

Thank Dennis Graver, my NAUI ITC course supervisor. He did some really revolutionary things with dive instruction. But during our NAUI ITC in1973, he made us do actual mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration on our buddy through 200 yards of surf in California.

SeaRat