How did they pass?

[MNScuba]

I took my beginning course this past weekend and I have to say I am a little frightened. First off, I am not one to judge people so let's put that off to the side. I do however have an issue with people being able to pass the written portion of training with only 70% correct. I got a 90 average and I studied pretty hard for 3 weeks and not totally sure that is good enough! One guy didn't know the number 1 rule in scuba (never hold your breath) which was emphasized about 10 times throughout the book. Believe me... I'm not trying to put people down, or be judgemental... but it scares me knowing that these people will be someone's buddy or perhaps MY buddy! The same people were having problems in the pool as well. Again... I am NOT ripping on anyone who had problems in the pool, BUT... when it's the same people I have to wonder if they are really taking this seriously or are they doing it ONLY for a trip they are going on and want to dive a couple times? Out of a 10-person class, I think I found 3 people (including myself) that actually planned on doing local diving. That means that 70% of the class will probably either never dive after their trip or will dive about 2-3 times per year average... that is also scary. How do you know if you have a good dive buddy if you don't know the person? I don't have the luxury of having friends in the sport, so any dive buddy's I find will be by chance. There are a couple people from here I plan on diving with, but after reading their posts I can tell they are into the sport and really enjoy diving.

I guess I just want to throw this out there and see where it goes... This really has me concerned about the quality of divers that are out there. Also, what can I do so other divers who don't know me are comfortable with my ability? I know this is a lot coming from someone who hasn't even done the OW dives yet, so take it with a grain of salt and tell me what you think.

 

[JamesK]

I agree. This weekend at Blue Grotto, while descedning, I had someone swim right into the back of my legs. I was looking down at the time, and even looked all around before I descended. I was at about 10 feet, when I got flipped over from him coming straight at me from behind. We had about 20 ft visiblity at the time too. Then I had three people "land" on me while they were descending. I was just floating in about 15 feet, and people kept dropping on me. One came down back first onto me. These were people who were OW certified. It makes me wonder how often people dive. Then the folks I was with started talking about how dangerous "vacation divers" can be. Folks that only dive once or twice every two or three years. I think that is what some of these people were.

Being new myself, I think the best thing you could do to instill confidence in someone else about your abilities is be honest. Let them know if their are things that give you troubles.

Of course, take what I say with a grain of salt, because I just finally got my feet wet.

 

[Waterlover]

Now you can understand some other people's concerns about the quality of diver training these days.

Ken

 

[chiara]

Hi Murdock!

Not being able to score a high result on the written test doesn't necesarily mean the person won't be a good diver in due time, even if they seem to have problems in the pool.

Remember, water is not our element, otherwise we would be born with gills!

I dive all year long in cold, dark and murky water, then take a couple trips to paradise: there I meet people like me and people who only dive in warm water: who is best?

Difficult to judge; but do not judge someone from their first approach to a difficult sport.

Lots of success for what awaits you!

 

[MNScuba]

Example 1:
It gets to the part when you 'tour the shop' and the instructor goes, "Hey, what's this thing." (Pointing to an Uwatec Aladin Pro Ultra) and asks how long have we had 'em?

Example 2:
"At night you can sneak up to a lobster and whack 'em on the head and watch how fast they are."

Example 3:
Back to the shop tour...
Here's some fins... the difference is price. (To which another shop employee interrupts and clears up the awkward situation.) Eventually this person took over on the shop/equipment tour.

Example 4:
When going over smelling air:
"When you're smelling air, Nitrox is the good stuff... that'll really get you buzzed up!" Now, this wouldn't have been too bad had it actually had some educational value to it... but that was all he said about smelling air! Not how to avoid bad air, but how to get a good buzz from it.

OK, he was funny.. had some good stories and some good experience based tips, but an instructor he wasn't. Thank God there were other divemasters in the pool session that I could actually learn from. If it wasn't for this board, I'd really be lost in the 'real world' of diving.

 

[MNScuba]

Originally posted by chiara
Not being able to score a high result on the written test doesn't necesarily mean the person won't be a good diver in due time, even if they seem to have problems in the pool.

Remember, water is not our element, otherwise we would be born with gills!

I dive all year long in cold, dark and murky water, then take a couple trips to paradise: there I meet people like me and people who only dive in warm water: who is best?

Difficult to judge; but do not judge someone from their first approach to a difficult sport.

Chiara...
Like I said... I'm not here to judge people or rip on them. I'm sure most of the people in there will turn out to be fine divers. It's the people that take '0' initiative to learn about the sport or even READ the book and other materials the course comes with that bother me. I'm not book-smart, I learn by experience, so I can fully understand your points about 'due time'. I guess the point I am trying to make is that ANYONE can get certified and it basically means nothing which is a huge disappointment to me. Also... you are correct that water is not our natural element, which makes my point that much more serious. Getting certified only means you went through the process and paid the money... Getting certified SHOULD mean you went through an extensive course requiring you to know key elements. I know there is only so much you can do, but here's how it goes:

Did anyone get 1-10 wrong? How about 11-20? Yes? Which one? OK, number 15... let's see, that is B. Anyone else have any wrong?

That is pretty poor training if you ask me, now you take this person who gets 70% right and throw them in the water knowing barely half of the required skills to dive and ask them to take off their mask under water. They fail 3, maybe 4 times and get it on the 5th try... this is considered passing! Let's see... is this person going to be able to remain calm in the real world having to replace and clear their mask 4 times? I'm NOT saying they shouldn't become a diver, but they obviously need additional training that they aren't getting. But, I guess you can only cram so much into one weekend of training, huh?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Murdock 325,

It is worrisome when students do so poorly, but if they dive regularly, then they may not be the worst divers you'll meet. Remember that the certification is a lifetime certification!

If you continue diving long enough, you will meet the really scary diver. Here's how to recognize him (and it is almost always a him).

First, you hear his hacking cough, and smell his cloud of cigarette smoke before you see him. Second, he digs out a really old c-card, and says they didn't put pictures on them back then. If you're lucky, he also mentions that he hasn't been diving since that certification class, and he figures it is time to put that card to use. And (as you are noticing the huge scar on his chest) he says, "No, I've never had surgery. Why do you ask?"



Dive safe and often, and take a refresher class with a DM or Instructor any time you have been away from diving for an extended period of time.

 

[ScubyDoo]

Murdock,

It sounds to me like you are experiencing two separate problems:

1. A poor instructor
2. Students who dont care.

I was much like you. I was so excited about scuba diving that I watched the PADI video four times, and read all of my course material with great enthusiasm. Every night of class was like going to Disney World for me. Its hard for me to fathom anyone taking the class without having enough interest to study it rigorously, especially since there are life safety implications.

I was lucky in that my instructor was great, and my fellow students took it as seriously as I did. I, like you, do not have a lot of friends or family who dive, so inevitibly I will wind up with one of these poorly trained/motivated people as a dive buddy. When that day comes, I will do my best to educate them. If they do something really stupid (dangerous), I will probably end the dive and refuse to dive with them again.

I dont think this is a reflection of PADI or their training methods. Any certifying agency can and do have poor instructors and poorly motivated students. It sounds like you are very motivated so you should do well despite the handicap.

 

[MNScuba]

ScoobyDoo,
Thanks for the input, and I agree with you. I guess I overestimated my expectations due to my extreme enthusiasm for the sport. (Over 100 posts in about 2 weeks here alone). The videos were pretty much worn out and the book needs to be taped back together soon...

I'm sure I just got placed with a bad group of students.. most of which had plans of going to Jamaica/Cozumel within two weeks of the course and probably their only reason for being there. I have nothing against people who dive a couple times a year, as long as they take the initiative of a refresher course. One guy I had in my class hasn't been diving for 25 years and decided to get back into it... this normally would be a "Great, good for you!" situation, but of course he brought the "I know it all" attitude with him and therefore wasted $200 on a class just to annoy the rest of us that did want/need to learn.

I'm rambling on about the bad part of the class, but I don't want you all to think I actually had a bad course... I learned a lot due to the fact that the in-water instructors saw my enthusiasm and worked with me and even gave me some extra tips and techniques to try. You get out of something what you put into it... I guess I'd better take the rescue diver course if what I experienced this past weekend is the norm!

Happy Diving!

 

[ScubyDoo]

Strange as it may seem, there are those individuals who take Scuba about as seriously as they take a shower.

One of my good friends/ex-coworker took his OW last year and took a trip to Cozumel shortly afterwards. Sounds like he's really into it huh? Well, he turned around and moved to Tampa, Florida for a better job last April. This guy literally lives on the waters edge of Tampa Bay. He came back to Arkansas over the Xmas holidays and I asked him if he had been doing in diving since moving to Tampa, and he said he hadnt dove since his trip to Cozumel?????? Whats up with that? My god!! He can walk out his back door and do a shore dive!!! He's a partying kind of guy and I think he just took the class to meet chicks? I just dont understand it. Here I am thinking about filling up my bathtub to blow some bubbles in, and this guy has Tampa Bay right outside his back door and he doesnt ever dive@#%#?

Its like they say....it takes all kinds for this crazy world to go around. I guess we should just be happy that this crazy world is 70% water