Horrible Divers Everywhere?

[Eric Sedletzky]

On the positive side, I'm amazed at the amount of info on the internet, videos on youtube and abundant knowledgeable people willing to help those trying to get better.

That’s very true, but they also have to be interested enough to better themselves and then they need to take action to find stuff on the internet. Not too many people are willing to do that, or it may not even dawn on them that there is a treasure trove of info on the net.

 

[Bob DBF]

There already are two cards. One says open water diver and the other is a "scuba diver" card that has restrictions on depth (40' if I remember right, and must dive with a pro.

Depends on agency. NAUI still issues Scuba Diver certification, and it is equivalent to OW. Also one may run across an old phart with an antique card with Scuba Diver on it as that was one of the two certifications back in the day, the other was instructor.


Bob

 

[scubadada]

My 1970 LA County card was for basic skin and scuba diving.

 

[pauldw]

Unfortunately most people don’t know enough to screen an instructor. And many of the better instructors seem to focus on advanced training. A few years ago I had three of my kids trained, OW,Nitrox & AOW, I found someone I trusted who was able to keep it fun, but got them dialed in with skills and trimmed out right from the start.

Every time I hear someone say it isn't the agency that matters, it's the instructor so just pick a good instructor, I wonder how exactly that's supposed to work. No dive shop I or any of my family members have taken a class from has ever provided a room full of instructors for us to interview and choose from. They've provided a class, and the instructor who teaches it is the instructor we have to choose from.

 

[AdivingBel]

Every time I hear someone say it isn't the agency that matters, it's the instructor so just pick a good instructor, I wonder how exactly that's supposed to work.

If you're concerned, I would start out looking for private instruction. I'm sure there are some really crappy instructors out there, but even a decent instructor might be challenged by a herd of water challenged individuals. It might cost a good bit more (not always; but probably won't get a groupon for a private class ), and it may be tougher to find depending on the area, but one-on-one training makes a big difference especially if you think you may have some water comfort issues or if you just want a superior product. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[Bob DBF]

Every time I hear someone say it isn't the agency that matters, it's the instructor so just pick a good instructor, I wonder how exactly that's supposed to work. No dive shop I or any of my family members have taken a class from has ever provided a room full of instructors for us to interview and choose from. They've provided a class, and the instructor who teaches it is the instructor we have to choose from.

Well, it's not easy. One has to find and talk to the instructors that are available. That means researching like you are buying a car, only you can't choose the brand first. ScubaBoard is good for asking about divers experiences with the instructors in your area and others. You may find going out of your area is a better choice.

Private instruction might be worth the premium, as the focus of training is on you and your specific issues rather than six other people and some knucklehead that shouldn't be diving to start with.

On the other hand, if one is more of a DIY type, just get a cert and sort it out on your own. That's how most OW dives do it, only they don't know it ahead of time, hence the thread.



Bob

 

[Steve_C]

I come here for different points of view and always get what I'm looking for.

Too poor to own a boat (too many kids). Maybe one day. I have a friend in Melbourne who has a boat, supposed to go with them in September.



I know now after last year...no more cattle boats for me..it was an experience though.

My point was not to avoid cattle boats. I like bigger boats. It was to avoid the cattle herd.

 

[tridacna]

More chest thumping on this thread than the main speaker at a Trump rally. Tough crowd...

 

[caruso]

will tear up the sand bottom a hell of a lot more than a diving class. A Try to have some perspective.

This is so not the point. There is no excuse for sloppy inept diving and incompetent instruction.

None.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Some people just cant dive.

Just the other day i've witnessed 2 divers at a famous wreck at a depth of 100FT acting like complete bell ends.

Their balance was terrible , they kept going from 60 to 100 FT like a yo-yo resulting in them smashing to the floor and absolutely decimating all of the corals near by, kicking up the sand on what they didint physically destroy.
I tried keeping up with them to keep an eye because i could tell they are a safety risk to themselves but they were going so fast i had to stop to avoid being exhausted .

Eventually i've seen one of them making the "lets go back" sign to his buddy and they begin their journey to shore but going in the complete opposite way, low on air and only getting deeper and further from shore. (None of them had a compass)
Thankfully for those numb-nuts a couple of tech divers were coming out of the deep waters and were able to escort them back to shore.
After they got out i approached and tried explaining and giving them some tips and i realized neither of them had a dive computer or any clue about dive charts.

Besides gently telling them off for all the damage they've done i also made sure they knew how easily one of them could have died now.
I also stressed to them that should they be in trouble they cant rely on each other to help because neither of them can even take care of themselves.

Mind you, both of them are qualified.