Do you consider Discover Scuba to be safe?

[Texasguy]

When I took my OW, it was a while until I was allowed to dive in a a spot deeper than 6 feet. Even before that I had to pass all my class tests. However, it seems Discovery Scuba allows people to do some scuba only after a few hours of class.

Do you think the instructions to be enough for students? If I were the instructor, I think I'd be more scared than the students.

 

[Darkprincze]

For my discover scuba, we were told never hold your breath and down we went into a 4m deep pool. It's not a qualification. It's a try dive. In my opinion, for me, it should have been held in water shallow enough to stand up in. For a beginner at the time, 4m seemed really deep. I think discover scuba are sold as sea safaris and people are doing them as a one off. All very nice until there is a problem.

Paul.

 

[FM1520]

My 12 year old did it, very safe - practically one on one with the instructure. Its free and usually once a month at Sport Chelet.

 

[nolatom]

Well, let me put it this way...


Yes.

 

[Steve_C]

For my discover scuba experience in Hawaii we had a bit of basic instruction and an hour in the pool including spending some time on the bottom. Then a couple hours later we did a shallow beach entry dive on a coral reef with a depth of say 20 ft.

I felt fine. It was my first scuba experience and hooked me in a way that a pool session would not have. Having said that I had lots of snorkel experience in a variety of circumstances and conditions and felt very comfortable in the water from the beginning. Not skilled, but comfortable.

I have also run shotgun on a DS dive or two in mexico where the DM had a DS student and I roamed around keeping them in eyeshot. (I had dove with him several times before. He kept the student over the sandy areas to not hurt the reef and I went over the reef)

Whether it is safe or not I think depends tremendously on the instructor, the student, and the dive conditions.

 

[TMHeimer]

Whether it is safe or not I think depends tremendously on the instructor, the student, and the dive conditions.

From what I've read, this seems to be the case. I have had no exposure to DSD either as a teacher or a student (other than the training in DM course), but have read that accidents can and do occur in cases where there is misjudgement by the instructor-- ei. too many students, not being right up close to within a distance where aid can be immediately given, etc., leaving one student to go to another. I believe there is a push by PADI to improve overall safety for these classes. But I'm no expert on the details of the whole thing. I don't think I'll be teaching DSD any time soon, but will study it closely should the opportunity come up.

 

[Altamira]

I signed up two grandchildren for the Discover Scuba at Barefoot Divers in Roatan. I will admit I was skeptical at first, but after listening to the academic portion, and watching the one-on-one shallow and open water dive sessions, I was a convert. Result=one starts Jr OW next week, and the other decided diving may not be her thing. It was a relatively inexpensive way to gauge the real interest before laying out the cash for OW.

 

[toddthecat]

I have heard of and seen dive ops (won't name names) that have taken DSDs to 40-60ft in the ocean on their first dive. Safe? Not in my opinion. Will they keep doing it? Sure, until something goes terribly wrong.

 

[spectrum]

It's totally instructor and scenario dependent.

Good guidance, some diver aptitude, modest depth and one on one is very safe

If it turns into a whatever it takes thrill dive with multiple divers all bets are off.

Pete

 

[LindaSSF]

My husband avoided diving in our 30 year marriage. He finally admitted he was afraid he couldn't clear his ears. I arranged a DSD in Curaçao when our cruise ship stopped there this Spring, and he loved it!

The instructor had 2 DSD, a refresher diver and me. I buddied my husband as we went 21 feet to the Tugboat. The instructor took the other DSD diver and the refresher diver as a buddy pair and supervised my husband. The instruction & comfort level for the DSD's was perfect.

The one DSD decided it wasn't for her. My husband is starting an OW course soon.