Diving Without certification...

[Rhone Man]

Is it a good idea? Probably not.

Does it nonetheless happen all the time? Yes.

My father taught me to dive 3 years before I was first certified (and about 10 years before he first got certified). He started diving about 10 years before PADI came into existence, and that was how diving was taught back then. Experienced divers taught newbies.

Does that mean it is a good idea to do it now, when professional training exists? I think the question answers itself.

 

[lmurtha1]

If you decide to do it, and all goes well, ask them to take you cave diving. It's one way to improve the gene pool.

do you really think i should?!!! maybe with no guideline too, i have a photographic memory..

 

[Akimbo]

So I'm talking with this guy and he has been diving for years, he said he wants to take me out to a shallow reef with his dive buddy that's 10-15 ft deep max. …

It depends entirely on how capable an instructor he is. A large number of folks learned diving from the Navy Diving Manual, though a tiny percentage. They later taught others. It is not rocket science, but there are a few really important things to know.

If you are a statistician for just about any political interest group you could conclude it is actually safer since there are more certified divers killed each year than uncertified. Of course, if that makes perfect sense to you then I recommend declining his kind invitation.

 

[adurso]

When descending, pinch your nose and blow gently
Never hold your breath
Do not ascend faster than your slowest bubble
Never hold your breath

These were my instructions; later I was told when it got hard to breathe pull the wire and come up....

As several others have mentioned there are bunches of us who learned on our own, or were led by an experienced diver.

Many of us got cards because it became difficult to get fills without a card.

With this said; today there are plenty of certification programs around, so there is no reason to do otherwise.

 

[lmurtha1]

Yes, I think many of you are right in just waiting it out, but then again I think that just because you are with an instructor does not mean they are worth 2 cents, I hear of many divers who think their instructors were less qualified then themselves?!.. vice versa, although my buddy has been diving for years, it does not make him a safe or effective instructor.

I can understand your point to breath holding being I freedive often. It almost becomes second nature to hold your breath from the second you go down till the second you surface. This is disastrous in scuba diving and I know this. This was the first thing my father told me when he introduced me to his gear.

As far as my buddy, he has been diving for over 15 years and the first thing he said to me after I asked how deep, he said that nothing that would involve deco stops etc..his best friend is a DM who lives in the keys and has a boat, he said he would take me out there and instruct me, not just go dive.

It just sounds so tempting and safe because of their experience and wanting to instruct me. Is it really much different than the actual dive class, besides the classwork, when we actually dive? Probably not.

Disclaimer: I fully take responsibility for all my actions now and in the future. Nobody is responsible on this forum for any accident or death that may occur next weekend..

That being said, Im still not saying Im going to do it, Im going to pray about it first..

 

[adurso]

If you question the idea this much it probably means you should forego the experience...

 

[lmurtha1]

If you question the idea this much it probably means you should forego the experience...

Not so much I'm questioning if I should go as much as if I do, will it end up beyond what they say. Deeper diving, 15 ft turns into 60-100 (doubtful in the keys), currents, visibility can all come into effect.

That being said, I think I'm going to do it as long as the conditions are right. I will have my own gear and being I'm with a DM, along with knowing the basic fundamentals in shallow water, I think it may just be a great experience. It would be different I guess if it was with some other newbs wanting to go diving rather instructing. I will let you know about it this coming weekend. Thanks again for all of your input on the situation. seems to be about 50/50

 

[boulderjohn]

Let's just say that the person instructing you is equally skilled at instructing as a qualified instructor. Let's say the DM guiding you is skilled as well.

And let's say something goes wrong and you end up hospitalized or dead.

Now let's compare what happens next.

The instructor has full insurance covering his actions while training you. Everything is covered.

The friend helping you has nothing of the sort, and the DM is acting outside of his covered responsibility, since he is not allowed to lead uncertified divers without a supervising instructor present. He, too, would not be covered.

 

[boulderjohn]

That being said, I think I'm going to do it as long as the conditions are right. I will have my own gear and being I'm with a DM, along with knowing the basic fundamentals in shallow water, I think it may just be a great experience. It would be different I guess if it was with some other newbs wanting to go diving rather instructing. I will let you know about it this coming weekend. Thanks again for all of your input on the situation. seems to be about 50/50

I am curious about two things:

1. Your math--or maybe your reading. The posts I read do not seem at all to be 50-50. You seem to be getting almost exclusively posts telling you not to do it. A quick skim of the posts shows more than 30 people telling you not two do it, about 2 telling you to do it, and several who make statements that seem to be ambiguous at best. How you get 50-50 out of it is beyond me.

2. Your reason for posting here. Since you are clearly going to ignore the advice of the vast majority of posters, then you really weren't interested in the advice.

Good luck on your dive. You will probably be just fine. Probably.

 

[iztok]

Not so much I'm questioning if I should go as much as if I do, will it end up beyond what they say. Deeper diving, 15 ft turns into 60-100 (doubtful in the keys), currents, visibility can all come into effect.

That is one of the things that is covered during your training. But seems that you have this covered already.