Dive op for a Discover Scuba?

[Christi]

Some of you really don’t give us any credit at all. You seem to forget that this is not a hobby to us. We are not weekend warriors. This is what we do - every single day. Granted, there are some bad apples out there that only have $$ in their sights - but that is the exception rather than the rule - at least here in Cozumel.

It is in our (Instructors and Dive ops) best interest to ensure that a student has a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience so that they want to continue with the sport AND to protect the safety and integrity of the sport. In fact, there is a large group
of reputable and legal operators working to guarantee this.

We don’t PUSH anyone and anyone who knows how we work for example, knows that. I can’t count the times I’ve had the talk with some parents, or a husband, or a wife, etc. that their loved one just isn’t ready and not to push them.

A good instructor can identify that kind of stress right off the bat just by talking to the student (ALONE) and can continue (or not) accordingly.

 

[Dogbowl]

You know, this is why I don't really like the idea of Discover SCUBA dives. In a true certification, you take your time learning all the ways you can die when diving (and very importantly, how not to), and your exposure to the mechanics of diving is likewise staged so that before you move on to the next step you have gotten the chance to be comfortable with all those which have preceded it.

But...DSDs are NOT certifications and not intended to be so. It is intended to give a curious person a chance to experience the feeling of diving in very controlled conditions. While some might complain about DSDs and how they are sometimes conducted in certain areas of the world, I think DSDs are great. Without it, you would get far fewer people signing up for the OW course. I did several DSDs before I was ready to commit. And I’m grateful that I got to do them. And I did all of them in Cozumel...it wasn’t planned but just ended up that way. Except for 1 DSD experience that we did not like (due to the instructor), all of the DSDs I did helped to seduce me into this addictive activity.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Hi all,

I was looking into coming down to Cozumel for a week with my girlfriend. I'm OW certified with ~25 dives, she's not.

She wants to try scuba, but her comments early in the relationship (eg. "You mean you purposely go underwater where you can't breathe if something goes wrong? Oh no.") make me worry she may end up being too nervous for it, and I'd hate to ruin the dive for others.

Is there an op on the island that takes DSDers separately from the rest of the boat, perhaps even in a pool for skills and/or from the shore for their first dive? An added bonus would be a shop that would give us the ability to book for the rest of the week if she ends up enjoying it - even if that means paying for her cert.

To put the cherry of a likely impossible situation on top, I'd love to be able to do it this coming week (21-25th or so) since our previous plans fell through. Though if it doesn't happen for this week, the information is still great to have. We work in a very flexible industry

My girlfriend did the DSD with Jose at Scuba Club and I got to tag along. We were separate from the rest of the group which meant I was free to do video without having to wait my turn to take a picture of a fish. It's amazing how many more critters you see when there aren't 20 other divers around. She was very satisfied with Jose but this was her second DSD. The first one she did at Playa del Carmen with Stein of Scuba Playa and was very happy with their operations too.

 

[Norrm]

Some of you really don’t give us any credit at all. You seem to forget that this is not a hobby to us.

I hate to argue with pretty blond women but I've seen tons of bad diving videos most of which are thought to be Discover Scuba videos- with divers all over the place, hitting the bottom, hitting the reefs, terrible skills, and poor supervision oftentimes because the groups are so large it's impossible for one instructor to properly deal with them if the instructor even cares- lots of these videos show the instructor doing nothing to assist or modify the divers exhibiting such poor behaviors.

 

[tcmstr]

Thanks for all the replies!

As far as the DSD program goes, I wouldn't have gotten my OWD had DSD not been an option. There was no way I was going to spend $500+ just to try something for the first time. Sure, some shops in some countries don't do a great job of the program, but that doesn't mean that it should be eliminated.

 

[Christi]

I hate to argue with pretty blond women but I've seen tons of bad diving videos most of which are thought to be Discover Scuba videos- with divers all over the place, hitting the bottom, hitting the reefs, terrible skills, and poor supervision oftentimes because the groups are so large it's impossible for one instructor to properly deal with them if the instructor even cares- lots of these videos show the instructor doing nothing to assist or modify the divers exhibiting such poor behaviors.

Well - if following standard, the ratio is 4 students to 1 instructor. But here in Cozumel, very few shops (other than those who are doing cruise ship DSD groups) do GROUP DSD's - they are one on one private courses. And we all started somewhere - of course DSD's are not going to be perfect divers - most new divers aren't, even with full OW certification - IMO, perfection never comes - and it takes experience and time to be a GOOD diver.

 

[cicopo]

I hate to argue with pretty blond women but I've seen tons of bad diving videos most of which are thought to be Discover Scuba videos- with divers all over the place, hitting the bottom, hitting the reefs, terrible skills, and poor supervision oftentimes because the groups are so large it's impossible for one instructor to properly deal with them if the instructor even cares- lots of these videos show the instructor doing nothing to assist or modify the divers exhibiting such poor behaviors.

And you actually want to believe that Youtube videos are a proper representation of what really goes on. You need to spend a bit of time with some of the more reputable dive ops making a living in Cozumel. That would be the majority of them. I personally have dove with 16 or 17 different ones over the years & would dive with all but 1 of them on future trips. I also pay very close attention to how those ops treat rookies by watching them more closely than those of us with considerable experience & would NEVER recommend a shop that met your description of what you've been watching in videoland.

 

[sefuchs]

My experience with watching 8-9 Coz dive ops performing DSD programs is in sync with Christi and Cicopo comments. The instructors were very much in tune with the anxieties of the student and didn’t ‘push’ the student out of thier comfort zone. Christi comments are right on ‘...give them some credit...’ after all they are the pros, most of us are the weekend warriors so our limited exposure to DSD programs doesn’t Carry much weight.

 

[JamesBon92007]

The Cozumel instructor who took my honey on the DSD held her hand the whole time and it was one-on-one, personal instruction. However, since it was not her first DSD and she already had about 5-6 dives he did take her down past 40 feet and through a couple of short swim-throughs since he was actually her third instructor he called it a "refresher dive" and told her to get it over with and get certified, which she did. Her approach was to take things gradually and it seems to have worked well for her.