How much for TDI Solo Cert?

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Called to two local SDI dive shops in Dallas area to check about SDI Solo course.
One asked to make online course for $119.95 and pay him $30 processing fee.
One of his instructors will go with me to close lake, but will not wet, just waiting during my two dives on the beach.
I really not understand the idea of this training, if instructor is not going wet. Instructor fee already included in 119.95 + 30, which sound for me strange.
Second SDI dive shop kindly ask to not do course online, but come to him, buy book for $30 and pay $249 for all in class and water training.
I forgot to ask if his instructor also will stay outside of the water during my two dives.
Unfortunately on official SDI site doesn't mention if 2 dives should be with instructor or alone.
I believe in buddy system and was looking for Solo course only to learn little bit more how to help myself in different situations and more practices with instructor.
Now I am not sure that this is that I want - do two dives while instructor will not be wet.
Would please somebody describe how his/her Solo course was organized?

That's too funny...

I suppose that's the way the supervised dives for a solo class should be conducted - from the shore. Otherwise, you're not really solo. Since the instructor would have no idea what went on under the water, the only standard would be that if you make it back, you pass.

 

[Steve_C]

I will just point out that there should be more to the solo dives than than just doing the dives. There is a precheck of how you prep for the dive including equipment. Do you have redundant air? If so, is it appropriate for your plan? Do you have a plan? Is it appropriate for solo? For this dive what are your planned activities? Is this a pinnacle dive (it should not be or even close to one). What are plans if you are injured and make it back to shore/boat? You will need to get help also by yourself. The instructor should be critiquing all this also.

Added: There is also the question of how comfortable you are actually doing the dive. That is impossible to assess if the instructor is with the student. In some situations the instructor from shore/boat can monitor where the student is, are they following the plan, etc.

 

[Roman_66]

Thank you for answers.
Interesting that answers from "What if you have a problem down there? You've only read about skills, does that mean you master them?" till "That is impossible to assess if the instructor is with the student. In some situations the instructor from shore/boat can monitor where the student is, are they following the plan, etc"
But anyway it is NOT that I was looking for "was looking for Solo course only to learn little bit more how to help myself in different situations and more practices with instructor."
Actually if instructor will not going wet anyway, the less expensive is preferable as it is the same SDI learning material.

And yes Steve_C, of cause I have redundant air (stage 30 cu) and I already learned how to use it. All your remarks about plan and pre-dive preparations are correct too.

 

[raftingtigger]

I charge $450 and the course is run over four to five days... I do not believe that price is excessive. And in fact it seems to me that paying $300 for a four-day program is way to little. Oh, and putting the program together in less than four days is possible, but I am not able to do so.

I haven't read the entire thread yet, so apologies if I am repeating someone. IMHO, for the information and skills you will get from the average instructor $500 is way too high. For instruction from Steve Lewis, if reading his fantastic books in any indications, $450 is a great deal.

Added now that I have read the entire thread: $450+ is reasonable from exceptional instructors that conduct a truly 4-5 day course and demand true proficiency (not the typical 'mastery' seen in many production classes). How do you find such an instructor? Talk candidly with some of their students, or better yet see some of their students dive.

 

[Robert Thompson]

Processing cert cards for students that you haven't been in the water with seems a bit too reckless. Just because a diver managed to survive a solo dive doesn't mean they performed safely or with the confidence they should have to recieve certification. The only way to know that is to dive with them.

 

[Doppler]

Sharing an amusing story about the early days planning SDI's solo diving specialty program... particularly in the context of a couple of postings above about instructors not getting wet.

When Bret Gilliam originally proposed the concept of a solo course, many of his instructor cadre had reservations. These ranged up and down the list of possible complications involving "sport divers" with the added gear needed to execute a non-deco, non-overhead dive with a degree of redundancy that diving alone dictates... now, put into context that 15 years ago, most if not all of the instructors teaching SDI programs, had years of experience teaching technical diving via TDI and IANTD before that. We simply saw a ****load of potential issues.

Another reservation was the name of it... An instructor-trainer with a membership number in the low teens joked: "If we call it solo, does the instructor stand on the dock and if the student makes it back, they get their card handed to them?" There were a few laughs about that... not one of us seriously considered that a responsible instructor would dream of issuing a card without diving with a course candidate!

Bret persisted and the course was called solo diver. A way around many of the other reservations was to set the pre-reqs for the course at 100 logged dives... the same incidently as the minimum to enroll as an instructor candidate for SDI.

The fact that there are SDI instructors out there who would hand out a card without diving with a candidate, saddens me. We laughed about someone doing that in 1999/2000, but I am crying about it now.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I think you and I agree on most of this....

Yes, we do...

I'm a certified Strawman assassin. That's one of the five specialties I selected when I got my Internet Diver certification - along with Red Herring, Circular Reasoning and several others. I'm working on my Advanced Internet Diver, where I will be able to combine strawman and circular reasoning in one post. That's why I'm diving here now, so I can meet the minimum number of required Internet dives to sign up for the class. After lunch, I'm going to use Bluetooth to download the underwater pictures from my GoPro to iTunes and then transfer them to the Dropbox, which counts as a Tech Dive. First time I tried that, it took so long to figure out how to get everything working that I ended up going into deco and had to decompress for an hour with a beer.

 

[tursiops]

I'm comfortable teaching the class (two dives required) by diving with the student on dive #1, but staying behind and out of the way while the student plans and leads the dive as if they were solo, then letting them go solo on dive #2. If dive #1 suggests they are not ready for dive #2, then we do dive 1 again and sort out the issues. Until they have dived solo they don't get a card from me. I have them do all the skills (except the 600ft surface swim) on dive #1, then repeat them on dive #2.

 

[Roman_66]

I'm comfortable teaching the class (two dives required) by diving with the student on dive #1, but staying behind and out of the way while the student plans and leads the dive as if they were solo, then letting them go solo on dive #2. If dive #1 suggests they are not ready for dive #2, then we do dive 1 again and sort out the issues. Until they have dived solo they don't get a card from me. I have them do all the skills (except the 600ft surface swim) on dive #1, then repeat them on dive #2.

This is exactly that I thought to have in Solo course !
Class explanations, paper work +dry exercises + at least one dive with instructor behind me to control my learned solo skills + one real solo dive (I think it is mostly for psychology check).
I will continue to search for such instructor in my area.

 

[tursiops]

This is exactly that I thought to have in Solo course !
Class explanations, paper work +dry exercises + at least one dive with instructor behind me to control my learned solo skills + one real solo dive (I think it is mostly for psychology check).
I will continue to search for such instructor in my area.

Yes, the first solo dive is a real head trip for most folks. Then it gets easier!

When you find instructors, ask them exactly how they manage the class. The SDI standards allow lots of variation, which can be both good and bad.