Do you consider Discover Scuba to be safe?

[DivemasterDennis]

There are pool experiences- closed water, and these are very safe. The discover scuba diving experience in open water is safe if conducted by a trained and insured professional in accordance with agency standards. I do these. I limit students to 2, and depth to 8 meters. The quality and amount of training/orientation varies greatly from place to place and provider to provider. Those in Hawaii are very thorough and safe. The same is not true at all locations in Mexico, though many are just fine. This is one area where credentials and agency affiliation mean something. I don't have personal knowledge of every offering, but have been told that some cruise ship discover scuba excursions at some caribbean islands are pretty sketchy.
DivemasterDennis

 

[dmoore19]

I did not do a DSD. I took the class and got my certification and completed it locally. My first dive in saltwater was in Mexico. Upon my return I was talking to my neighbor. He had been to Hawaii for his honeymoon. He had done a DSD while there. We were talking about it and he told me that during his DSD he was taken to around 100' with an instructor one on one. I must say I was surprised when he was talking about it. That is not what I would consider safe.

 

[eternaljonah]

I think dsd's are great a quick theory class, and in the pool for ow 1(mask clear,reg recovery,alternate air source) then off to see some fish. some times as deep as 12 mt , most of the time its one on one and there is physical contact the whole time. up and down along an accent line. Hey anything could go wrong and it would be easier to handle then 4 divers on ow dive 1 during the open water course. i find it relaxing and fun, and its a great way to share your passion about the ocean with people whom never dived and may not even swim properly but then again i live in asia..

 

[nimoh]

There are pool experiences- closed water, and these are very safe. The discover scuba diving experience in open water is safe if conducted by a trained and insured professional in accordance with agency standards. I do these. I limit students to 2, and depth to 8 meters. The quality and amount of training/orientation varies greatly from place to place and provider to provider. Those in Hawaii are very thorough and safe. The same is not true at all locations in Mexico, though many are just fine. This is one area where credentials and agency affiliation mean something. I don't have personal knowledge of every offering, but have been told that some cruise ship discover scuba excursions at some caribbean islands are pretty sketchy.
DivemasterDennis

while I agree that a trained professional increases safety, insurance does nothing for it. Perhaps "safe if conducted by a trained and competent professional" would be better?

 

[corvettejoe]

I see it as perfectly safe so long as the divers are kept in close supervision and given the proper "how to" and stay within the various agencies definitions of the non-certified discover scuba dives.

The depths you are going are pretty safe for any kind of NDL diving and really the only major issue would be to embolize... which is why they stress big time DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!!!

It's no different that a beginner OW diver's first step into the open water. They just won't get any kind of certification that comes from the extra training/course is all.

There's nothing holding anyone back from doing "discover scuba" dives the rest of their life, but then you have to sit through the class and be pretty limited in what you can do any time you dive.

It's one of these courses that got me into diving. I didn't do it myself, but a buddy did a resort dive on one of his trips and loved it. He came back and told me about it and how he wanted to get certified, so we called up an instructor friend and here we are

 

[MalibuJerry]

Discover Scuba starts with classroom instruction on the basics of how to be safe, a confined water environment to go through skills, and an open water dive. With a good instructor who is looking closely at the participant there is no reason why it should be any more dangerous than an open water class. A good instructor will be able to observe in the confined water portion whether or not the participant is comfortable in the water on scuba. I think it is a great way to introduce kids (and non-diver adults) to the underwater world.

 

[toddthecat]

The depths you are going are pretty safe for any kind of NDL diving and really the only major issue would be to embolize... which is why they stress big time DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!!!

Because a DSD would NEVER get confused with all the new gear about which button on the LPI does what, accidentally inflate, then get into a runaway ascent from 60 feet. 'Never hold your breath' is called 'the number on rule of diving'. Not 'the only rule of diving'.

---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 02:37 PM ----------

Is it "unsafe"? I suppose it's certainly more risky. Not sure if I can call it "unsafe".

That's all in semantics. One might call driving drunk "unsafe" while someone else calls it "more risky". Do all drunk drivers crash? No. So perhaps it's just "more risky". If the term "unsafe" is being reserved to guaranteed injury/death, then I suppose I would say an astronaut taking his helmet off during a spacewalk would be most certainly deemed "unsafe".

Seems as though we do agree on the fact that it isn't advisable to take someone who has never used scuba to those kinds of depths. DSD is supposed to be trying out breathing underwater and getting used to the gear, wearing it, and how it works. That can be done in 10 feet just the same as 60 feet. It just so happens that 10 feet mitigates a lot of risk...

 

[Karibelle]

Because a DSD would NEVER get confused with all the new gear about which button on the LPI does what, accidentally inflate, then get into a runaway ascent from 60 feet. 'Never hold your breath' is called 'the number on rule of diving'. Not 'the only rule of diving'.

A properly conducted PADI DSD would not be at 60 feet, and if the diver did become confused and accidentally inflate, his instructor should be close enough to "make immediate physical contact with, and adjust buoyancy for, and render assistance to, participants."

Seems there are differing opinions on DSDs conducted in confined water only, as opposed to those that then go on to the optional open water portion. I'm in favour of both, and see it as an excellent way to show students what they might experience if they become certified.

 

[chrpai]

That's all in semantics. One might call driving drunk "unsafe" while someone else calls it "more risky". Do all drunk drivers crash? No. So perhaps it's just "more risky". If the term "unsafe" is being reserved to guaranteed injury/death, then I suppose I would say an astronaut taking his helmet off during a spacewalk would be most certainly deemed "unsafe".

Seems as though we do agree on the fact that it isn't advisable to take someone who has never used scuba to those kinds of depths. DSD is supposed to be trying out breathing underwater and getting used to the gear, wearing it, and how it works. That can be done in 10 feet just the same as 60 feet. It just so happens that 10 feet mitigates a lot of risk...

To me, and I'm no useless college English professor, "unsafe" is a stronger word then "more risky". Saying something isn't advisable isn't a fact, it's an opinion and I'm not sure we agree. I do think we are fairly close though. I recognize the risk in such activity and I do see it as a form of trust me diving but then again so is most initial dive training. Am I ready to condemn it as patently "unsafe"? The jury is out for me.

 

[toddthecat]

A properly conducted PADI DSD would not be at 60 feet

Right. That's the point I made before.

Also, no one has made mention to any agency standards. Straight from the PADI Instructor Manual:

Program Standards
Depth
Confined Water — 6 metres/20 feet.
Open Water — 12 metres/40 feet.