DM blew me off

[tkdgodess]

It was 7c last weekend, and i dive every weekend in cold water. Dive 1 was 67 mins, dive 2 was 53, both were bliss.

 

[nimoh]

I will be diving this weekend in a snowte. It is similar to a cenote, but rather than being a naturally formed whole, it is cut with a chainsaw.

There are several layers to penetrate on such a dive, first there is the crystacline about 10" thick and has zero visibility, so it is removed with a shovel. Then there is the icicline, slightly better visibility but impenetrable, so a section is cut out, exposing the snowte. Once in the snowte, the water temperature will be about 35F, with a thermocline at roughly 40', where the temperature will rise slightly.

...yes once again, I am bored and writing silly posts, but I am proud of coining the terms snowte, crystacline and icicline. This, in addition to coining the term algaecline on a dive in carwash last year

 

[Scuba_Noob]

So tell me, the water temperature in Thailand was 82f and the water temperature in Cozumel was 78f, what the water temperature where you live? Is it truly possible to enjoy diving in cold water?

I think all the relevant information (and opinions) have been expressed on the topic at hand, so let's go off on a tangent.

Water temperatures around 45-55f (8-12 degrees Celsius) around Vancouver Island. Best cold water diving in the world, according to many. Some of the highest concentrations of marine wildlife in the world. Check out some photos from the Pacific Northwest.

I dive for the animals, and I'm rarely disappointed here. I love it more than the warm-water diving I've done. I wear a drysuit with dry gloves (instead of the wetsuit of the tropics), so I'm relatively comfortable for most of the dive and a little chilly afterwards. Like TSandM says, a little bit colder, a lot more gear, often so-so visibility compared to the tropics - means your diving skills often are pushed harder and are forced to develop well.

In Calgary, I'm sure you can find a local lake to practice your skills with a buddy, rather than just being a vacation diver! Might be a little colder there. But at least you're pretty close to the coast

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Was I totally self reliant and did I have a handle on everything I was supposed to know? Probably not. So whose fault is that--I did everything I was told.

When a bony-looking dude with a black robe and a scythe shows up at your door, be sure to let him know that you did what you were told -- albeit without thinking it over on your own. He'll understand.

I'm not defending the DM or shop or instructors -- they obviously suck -- but they're still not responsible for your life. Maybe they are legally speaking, but that's more of a concern for your estate. You are responsible for keeping yourself alive, and you didn't do much better of a job with that than these guys did in training you to dive. And this issue is in no way exclusive to diving; I think this is more of a mindset that gets developed in certain people more so than others, but everyone needs at least a bit of that self-reliant they said it's cool but let me just look at this for a sec... attitude.

If you take nothing else away from this thread, please do remember that cursing someone else for letting you down while you die underwater is no way to go...even if you're right.

 

[t4e]

Thats's a question, how someone coming, let's say, to a PADI ***** Dive Club could possibly know, that the course there is shoddy and fast-track? One needs knowledge to make such a judgement. Otherwise he/she would trust the brand (reputable agency, licensed club / instructor / divemaster, etc.) But OP's story is really disturbing. He was in real danger and we can be grateful that he's still alive.

Nope, a prospective student has no idea what kind of course they are signing up for. It's unfortunate that certifying agencies allow their representatives and members to teach such courses. It is just as unfortunate that these shops who condone shoddy instructors, the course directors (or whatever they are called for each agency) and indeed, the shops themselves to be shoddy too. As I stated, the scuba industry is it's own worst enemy.

For those who remember fondly the teaching standards of NASDS, LA County, and YMCA, remember how good those courses were? Of course, they couldn't compete with the 2 day resort "wonder course".

to a certain extent i agree with you both, but i think our views might be different when i tell you that i do not agree with any OW certification that is done over the course of a weekend

when we decided to take OW we looked at all options we had and i immediately dismissed any shop that did them in a weekend, our course was over 10 weeks, with 2 hours classroom and 2 hours in the pool
yes, i realize that you will not know what kind of teaching you will get but such an extensive time will allow you to make a judgement pretty soon, that provided you do a bit of research ahead of time and educate yourself about the risks of diving and what you need to master by the end of it
i guess i was lucky to have a very through and safety conscious instructor
i had a big scare halfway through the course in the pool and i almost quit, but he reassured me and assigned a divemaster to be with me one on one to redo the skills that caused the scare
by the end of the 10 weeks he told me that he feels that i may not be fully ready for my checkout dives and should take another session in the pool, and i did
he did the checkout dives with myself and my husband and we passed with flying colours in 35F water lol that was april 2011
during 2011 we went in local quarries and whatnot just to practice and eventually in 2012 we ventured south for four trips and my confidence got better with each dive

i guess what i'm also getting at with this is that i don't believe for one second that anyone will be fully confident in their skills when they get their certification, takes time and practice but having the luxury of a longer course it gives you the opportunity to practice more then you would in a weekend one

 

[TSandM]

Can you have any fun diving in cold water? Well, here's a video of some Ontario friends of mine, a couple of weeks ago:

[video=youtube;abGTRufcjog]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=abGTRufcjog[/video]

 

[uncfnp]

Can you have any fun diving in cold water? Well, here's a video of some Ontario friends of mine, a couple of weeks ago:

[video=youtube;abGTRufcjog]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=abGTRufcjog[/video]

TSandM thanks for sharing but that one diver to the right was just a little bit worrisome...

 

[brnt999]

Yes--I think I read somewhere humping an airplance could be a sign of narcosis.

 

[TSandM]

Well, we don't talk about the dark side of DIR training . . .

 

[Hawkwood]

So tell me, the water temperature in Thailand was 82f and the water temperature in Cozumel was 78f, what the water temperature where you live? Is it truly possible to enjoy diving in cold water?

Why of course! Calgary does not support five dive shops just sending folks to the tropics.

This photo is from Vancouver Island. Some of the best diving in the world.



And this one is from right in your own backyard. Notice everyone is smiling - staff and students from last weekends Ice Diving class.