How did they pass?

[100days-a-year]

My little bride got certified 6-7 yrs ago thru Put Another Dollar In,she failed the 1st test by 3 questions,She re-took it and barely sqeeked by.In the past years she's dove about 75 dives a year in various areas in Fla.Depths up to 120'.Current up to 2kts. and vis as low as 5' .This summer she had to rescue a tired ,confused diver in 1.5kt. current .She is the most attentive buddy I've dove with.The lesson here ....some people test poorly.Finding a good buddy can be difficult,but having a list of desirable traits and undesirable is a start.Write'em down and don't compromise.

 

[Se7en]

100 days

I'd suggest that your wife fell victim to the test being presented in a manner that was not appropriate for her. Instead of the written multiple guess type test, her instructor should have given her the test verbally perhaps.

Some people just do badly when tested in a certain manner, a good instructor should recognise this, and use a different method to ensure that they are getting a true indication of the pupils knowledge.

(I'm assuming by the amount of diving she has done that she DOES actually understand the material, and just had difficulties with the test. If she doesn't understand deco theory, or the physics of diving etc, then she should not have been certified)

Mike

 

[JamesK]

Scubabunny,

Thanks for the tip.

Blue Grotto is a spring near Gainseville Florida. Here is a map of what it looks like. http://www.divebluegrotto.com/bluegrottomap.jpg

As you can see, the surface is kinda small. That day, their were quite a few divers there too. I was on the platform when the other divers descended on top of me. At one time, I was practicing my skills, and had my regulator out of my mouth. That was pretty interesting. LOL.

I have yet to do a boat dive, but when I do, I will keep your tip in mind. Thanks.

 

[decapoddiver]

I am a big fan of keeping up on your diving skills. There is a saying that I like, "Hammering 2 nails a year doesn't make you a carpenter just like diving 2 times a year sure as hell doesn't make you a competent scuba diver". I know this isn't a popular opinion but shoving a dive sticker on your vehicle and taking a BOW class doesn't qualify you as proficient.

 

[MikeFerrara]

It's not popular because so many divers resemble that remark.

 

[ScubaStan]

I feel the need to post.

I was B O/W certified in December of 1989 at Monterey Bay and enjoyed a few post cert dives during a vacation to Mexico a month later. March of 1990, I moved back to the dry desert of NM until 2 years ago when my wife and I moved to Ventura. The lure of the Channel Islands have grown stronger and frequent trips to the harbors only makes it stronger.

I took a refresher course and found out that I still had the skills and knowledge from my classes. Needless to say, even I was impressed. I am a "safety first" type of person. I know all my future diving partners will rely on my remaining calm and composed in the face of an emergency to help them and the same goes vice versa. I have invested in some and plan on making dives every other weekend if not more. I also am setting myself up for advanced training and specialties as my ultimate goal is Divemaster. I am not going to rush my training so I can get my card, I want to learn and be safe and be able to be effective in case of dire circumstances.

Remembering my training for Basic O/W, I took the class as a college elective course and I learned a lot and really had fun. Plenty of time for studying, questions, execrcises, training, etc. We had 2 instructors, 4 assistants and some equipment specialists. Several students were booted from the class for various reasons, but in my opinion, deserved it due to being very unsafe. Safety is paramount, number one, top of my list for any dive I have done or will ever do. I just hope that it is the same for every buddy I will ever have the pleasure diving with.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

One thing I have done when diving with someone new is compare log books. Don't demand their book, offer yours and say something like "Let's compare logs so we know a little more about each other." Then READ the log. Check dates and any notes about the conditions. Even though they may have more dives than you they may not have been in the environment you are currently planning to dive. Do a thorough buddy check, review all hand signals and practice your out of air plan, get familiar with the operation of your buddy's gear. Any chance you might encounter zero visibility? Then do your reviews with your eyes closed after reviewing with them open. Can both of you communicate "up", "OK", "out of air", "squeeze", etc. without being able to see the other person? Can you manage your out of air emergency plan with your eyes closed? Are you familiar enough with your own and your buddy's equipment to find and work the power inflators without looking? Can you ditch weights without being able to see what you're doing? Plan your dive including depth, time, minimum air pressure to begin ascent, objective of the dive (photos, tour, hunting, etc.), and who will lead as well as signals to indicate a change of leadership just in case. Decide how close you like your buddy to be, some people are of the "same dive, same ocean" buddy school while others prefer to hold hands the entire dive. Find a buddy who fits your style or decide on a happy medium "within arms reach" is a good one.
When I run into a buddy who thinks my "slightly anal retentive" preparation procedure is stupid then I have serious misgivings about their dedication to safety, mine as well as their own. Every safety conscious diver I've met has played along with my scenarios and some have added a few exercises of their own. If you don't feel safe with a particular person don't dive with them. If you're on a trip let the DM know you're not happy with the attitude your buddy has about safety and ask to be reassigned or dive with a DM. Remember, it's your life!

There are lots of good divers out there and this is a good place to find them.

Happy diving and if you're ever in Ohio, look me up! I'd be happy to show a newbie around!
Ber

 

[MikeFerrara]

Good advice. I see these things overlooked time and time again.

 

[MNScuba]

Great suggestions... never thought of most of those ideas, especially communications without seeing each other. What would you use then, lights? noises? Probably all covered in AOW I suppose, huh?

 

[simonk999]

I'm in roughly the same boat as ScubaStan, so to speak -- I don't dive that regularly, but have internalized the training, so I feel I am competent, and of course, reading the board is great too, to pick up additional tips.

I dive maybe 2-3 times a year (trips per year, not actual dives), with sometimes up to 6-8 months in between, and each time, while there's some anxiety (which is probably good) before the 1st dive, everything I do is pretty automatic. Now, I haven't had to cope with a real emergency situation, knock on wood, but took Rescue last year and generally feel I can handle myself. Of course, it's kind of a catch-22 -- you won't really find out unless you really do have an emergency, but on the other hand, you'd really prefer not to get into such a situation. One of the techniques they touch on in Rescue is "practise by visualization". Whenever I read the board, I find myself doing this, and I think there's something to it.

But getting back to the question at hand, competence is all in the individual diver, no matter how well "trained" he/she is, it's how the training is put to use, or ignored, as the case may be.