Diving Uncertified !!!!

[Bobb]

Here is a question that I'm sure will cause some controversy >sp
I have been certified (OW) for a short time (approx. 30 dives) since getting my C-card in June of this year.. I have been diving about 2 - 2 1/2 years using a Hookah system. I started with a cd-rom course for my own safety and finally decided it was time to get certified...
Here's my question: I would like to hear your responses re: Me taking someone (my son) diving, who is Not certified. I've taught him the safety stuff he needs to know (No I'm not an instructor, but I've more of a vested interest in his safety)He just doesn't want to pay the money to become certified (although I'm sure at some point he will) because He knows that I'll watch over him.......ok, let's hear it...

 

[ckharlan66]

Bobb,

There are many problems with this.

Getting Equipment- dive shops shouldn't be willing to provide any equipment needed.

Locations- dive operators won't be willing to take the responsiblity of letting him dive.

Safty 1- with 30 dives in and no rescue diver training would you be qualified to handle an emergency. I realize that you have been diving with the hookah system but would 2+ years of that really qualify you to handle a diving emergency (that could be avoided if your son had proper training.

Safty 2- without training by a certified instructor would your son be able to help you if you had an emergency.

Liability= (I am not a lawyer)I would assume that if anything happened that as a certified diver you could be at risk of a negelence(sp) case for allowing a non certified diver to participate in the sport. I qualify this by saying that I am not sure if this is an issue or not but it would be a concern of mine.

I realize the first two could be overcome if you have equipment he could use or if you rent it for him and if you dive at a local lake. But the safty and the liability issues are harder to overcome.

I say this without trying to flame you. I hope that you take this as a strong suggestion and not as anything personal. I am not sure about you experience or how much hookah diving accually relates to scuba. I have seen the equipment but I have never been on a hookah dive.

I am sure the other fellows will weigh in on this thread soon.

Chad

 

[Lost Yooper]

Are you talking about allowing him to simply breath underwater in your backyard swimming pool or actually going out and doing a real dive?

Backyard swimming pool: Sure
Real dives: Eeek!

My opinions are often against the grain of most, but I'm not too sure it would be a good idea to take someone diving without formal OW training -- and I'm not a formal training kind of guy either. Keep in mind, if something goes just a little wrong, and he holds his breath and surfaces from just 20'-30', you're looking at a very likely embolism -- not good.

Take care.

Mike

 

[detroit diver]

I'll be more direct than Chad-are you nuts? This is your son you are talking about.

You don't have the training to teach him scuba diving. Hookah diving doesn't mean squat-it's compressed air from the surface-so you can take that 2+ years and throw them out the window.

What have you got left-30 dives since your OW? Let me see what my instructor had to go thru- OW, AOW, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Instructor (I'm probably missing something)- all with scores of in water time and experience. How can you feel secure that you have taught your son everything that he needs to know to survive underwater? And if something heaven forbid were to happen to him, you'd never be able to live with yourself.

Spend the 200 bucks or so and buy the kid a present if he can't afford it himself. It'll be the best money you ever spent, and I'll bet he will enjoy the sport even more.

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. It's not worth sacrificing your kids life.

Sorry for the tone. This just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[joewr]

Bobb,

Not a good idea in any way, shape or form! How would you feel if your son died or became permanently injured due to your not being able to handle an emergency?

In 30 dives you have not seen all the things that can go wrong...and you certainly do not know how to handle them. For example, what if his wt belt slipped off and he suddenly ascended from 25 ft down...could that be a problem? Or if he got scared and held his breath during that ascent? Could that be a problem? How would you handle it? Or he lost his reg and you did not notice?

Or he decides that he and some buddies can do scuba without you and manage to get the gear somewhere where they can use it?

Or....

Not a good idea AT ALL!

Joewr

 

[SpyderTek]

Ok, Here I am, with only like a Dozen posts under his belt and I am going to make some very controversial statements that won't win me any friends but here goes...

What is so hard about diving? An instructor cant teach you what to do during an emergency. An instructor can only TELL you what to do during an emergency. What you actually do is unknown until you actually HAVE an emergency. So does anyone recommend an instructor CAUSE an emergency (one that s/he is sure to be able to rescue you from) so as to teach you how to handle an emergency?

My $300 buck? What did they buy me? The PADI dive book and Video and 2 hours in the pool being rushed through exercises so fast as to not even notice I was underwater for a second. Then a multiple choice written test that compared to getting a driver's license was a walk in the park.

I sincerely believe that I would be better qualified to scuba safely if my best friend were certified and rented the equipment and we spent a weekend in his pool together going real slow then going out to the local lake and taking my time getting used to the environment than I currently am having gone through a "Personal Executive training program".

Lets face it, SCUBA isn't hard to do. Just hard to do WELL. And the only way to learn to do it well is through experience not "education" (so to speak.)

Even if you go down to the Bahamas to say Club Med they will take you out on a 5 to 10 dives with less training than I got on how to ride my first 2 wheeled bicycle.

To sum up: I AM NOT recommending anyone dive uncertified or to encourage someone to feel "safe" diving with you just because you are certified. Rather, use some sense. Know your ability and personality. Know your buddy's ability and personality. Know your "student's" ability and personality and take EVERYTHING very seriously (life and death here folks) and VERY Slowly.

My 2 cents.

Spydertek

 

[ages]

In my humble opinion, the answer is -

Not only NO, but HELL NO!!

I cannot imagine after 30 dives feeling that I had the skills to teach someone to dive. Sometimes things are best left to the professionals, and this is definately one of those things.

ages

 

[Iguana Don]

Of proof that Darwin was correct!

ID

 

[Kane(adian)]

I may regret this, but...

I do have to agree with SpyderTek that the time I took to get certified was a waste of time. In all the time that I spent sitting there listening, watching videos, and actually in the water, I learned maybe a couple of things that were not in the book. However, it is one of those steps that everyone has to go through, unless you are indepently wealthy, so, I'd say bite the bullet and sign him up. That way, he can get air, go on boats, etc.

 

[Hocky]

Please don't take him diving without getting him certified!

There are a number of reasons why you shouldn't and most of them have been answered in the responses that you didn't want to hear so I won't harp on and reiterate what other people have said.

However.....if you find that you didn't learn a great deal from your instructor then don't take him back to the instructor who you learned from. Shop around and find someone who will put the time in to teaching him what he needs to know and then some correctly. When you start diving you don't want to start with bad habits so pick someone who you feel good about, and talk to other divers about the instructors they had. Go with a recomendation and your son will learn the right way to dive. Talk to people on this forum, find out where they learned to dive and I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

Detroit Diver started saying what levels instructors have to go through...OW-ADV-Res-Divemaster-Ass Ins-Instructor-Medic first Aid Instructor-Master Scuba Diver Trainer-Staff Instructor-Master Instructor etc etc and then there are all the specialties that we also take the time to do...There are good instructors out there and if you are looking for experience...years of diving and 1,000's of dives....these guys have it.

Hocky