Windknot
Contributor
I'll start by saying that I'm not sure if this post should go here. It is semi-technical related...and as usual...I shall wander aimlessly with observations and concerns until I eventually get to my question. So apologies/mea culpa's in advance and please feel free to repost this wherever it will do us all the most good.
As I sit here at my desk...instead of in my patrol car where I should be...(parked under a street light reading the DIR Fundamentals book)....I have taken a few moments to reflect on my past weekend and my SSI AOW certification dives at a quarry in Ohio (beautiful state by the way...smooth roads and NO ONE SPEEDS!!!). My pondering has left me somewhat pensive.
I feel empty.... unfulfilled following the completion of my AOW dives. My fellow classmates were exuberant by the end of the weekend, slapping backs and giving high-fives all around. I on the other hand, left feeling like I had been cheated out of some un-named experience.
My certification dives were nothing more than the instructor briefing us on the surface as to what we were going to do, then we followed in buddy pairs (sometimes) like a bunch of little ducklings following their mother. My "DEEP WATER" certification dive consisted of swimming around the quarry and then dropping over the ledge just long enough to hit around 85 feet and then a gentle climb back up....again, while we were all in a staggered line following...there was no one-on-one checks from the instructor to see how we were doing at depth....hell we were only AT depth for less than 5 seconds and then were on our way back up.
The "NIGHT DIVING" certification dive was the same, minus the drop off over the edge, except that there were a large number of "extra" divers from our area who tagged along for a fun dive at the same time. The stagger line went a little thin and some of our group got separated.
The remainder of our dives all went similarly...I know that in some circles or situations, what I got was incredibly better than many others have gotten elsewhere.
I still have 2 more dives to go to get my "ADVANCED OPEN WATER" card, yet when I receive it, It will seem like an empty, forgotten promise never fulfilled.
DOES THAT SOUND OVERLY MELODRAMATIC??? Add in a couple of love scenes and it would make a great dime novel.
Another way of expressing how I felt...there was an advanced class of some kind meeting at the campsite next to where I was parked....it wasn't a DIR class, but it was definitely professional and well planned. They were having a post-dive debriefing and discussing the effects of narcosis on the guys and gals there. The instructor called out each person's name and told them how they behaved under water!!!! I found myself getting closer and closer to their group...just so I could hear what they were doing, 'cause it was a much better run program than I was in. (I think that Ber Rabbit was there, but didnt want to interrupt the class to ask if that was her).
Well, now that I have the whining portion of my post taken care of, I guess I will start focusing closer on the question/direction I am looking to be put toward: My skills are not even close enough to get into the DIR/F class, and my AOW class has obviously not gotten me even close. Where should I go next?
I understand that there is a learning curve that I must follow, but when the initial training FAILS to provide you with the tools to succeed, where does one go next?
I just dropped $300 on a class that was essentially, read the book, watch the video, then follow the leader through the water!! If I were going to continue to blow money on SCUBA, I'd much prefer to do it on GEAR.
I may have even asked this question elsewhere in the past: Why is there not an entry-level DIR/F type class? Or a precursor class for those of us that are looking to go that direction?
ESSENTIALLY WHAT I AM LOKING FOR IS A "REAL" ADVANCED DIVING CLASS...that will get me truly ready for diving and give me the skills I need for the DIR/F class and beyond.
Any Suggestions? Other than to shorten up my posts?
As I sit here at my desk...instead of in my patrol car where I should be...(parked under a street light reading the DIR Fundamentals book)....I have taken a few moments to reflect on my past weekend and my SSI AOW certification dives at a quarry in Ohio (beautiful state by the way...smooth roads and NO ONE SPEEDS!!!). My pondering has left me somewhat pensive.
I feel empty.... unfulfilled following the completion of my AOW dives. My fellow classmates were exuberant by the end of the weekend, slapping backs and giving high-fives all around. I on the other hand, left feeling like I had been cheated out of some un-named experience.
My certification dives were nothing more than the instructor briefing us on the surface as to what we were going to do, then we followed in buddy pairs (sometimes) like a bunch of little ducklings following their mother. My "DEEP WATER" certification dive consisted of swimming around the quarry and then dropping over the ledge just long enough to hit around 85 feet and then a gentle climb back up....again, while we were all in a staggered line following...there was no one-on-one checks from the instructor to see how we were doing at depth....hell we were only AT depth for less than 5 seconds and then were on our way back up.
The "NIGHT DIVING" certification dive was the same, minus the drop off over the edge, except that there were a large number of "extra" divers from our area who tagged along for a fun dive at the same time. The stagger line went a little thin and some of our group got separated.
The remainder of our dives all went similarly...I know that in some circles or situations, what I got was incredibly better than many others have gotten elsewhere.
I still have 2 more dives to go to get my "ADVANCED OPEN WATER" card, yet when I receive it, It will seem like an empty, forgotten promise never fulfilled.
DOES THAT SOUND OVERLY MELODRAMATIC??? Add in a couple of love scenes and it would make a great dime novel.
Another way of expressing how I felt...there was an advanced class of some kind meeting at the campsite next to where I was parked....it wasn't a DIR class, but it was definitely professional and well planned. They were having a post-dive debriefing and discussing the effects of narcosis on the guys and gals there. The instructor called out each person's name and told them how they behaved under water!!!! I found myself getting closer and closer to their group...just so I could hear what they were doing, 'cause it was a much better run program than I was in. (I think that Ber Rabbit was there, but didnt want to interrupt the class to ask if that was her).
Well, now that I have the whining portion of my post taken care of, I guess I will start focusing closer on the question/direction I am looking to be put toward: My skills are not even close enough to get into the DIR/F class, and my AOW class has obviously not gotten me even close. Where should I go next?
I understand that there is a learning curve that I must follow, but when the initial training FAILS to provide you with the tools to succeed, where does one go next?
I just dropped $300 on a class that was essentially, read the book, watch the video, then follow the leader through the water!! If I were going to continue to blow money on SCUBA, I'd much prefer to do it on GEAR.
I may have even asked this question elsewhere in the past: Why is there not an entry-level DIR/F type class? Or a precursor class for those of us that are looking to go that direction?
ESSENTIALLY WHAT I AM LOKING FOR IS A "REAL" ADVANCED DIVING CLASS...that will get me truly ready for diving and give me the skills I need for the DIR/F class and beyond.
Any Suggestions? Other than to shorten up my posts?
