If you were to redo the scuba industry how would you do it?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

That's how I understood this thread, although it seems I can't get 2 words in without someone wanting to debate me.

"If you could have any car, what would it be"
"A Lamborghini Reventon would be fun!"
"Oh, but what about insurance, where would you drive it, it doesn't have a trunk, then you need a garage, and maintenance costs would bankrupt you!"
"..."

Not the Bugatti Chiron?

 

[Dan G]

Most people would still seek training for scuba, I think, since it’s a totally unnatural act but I think the “agencies” make to much of it.

Perhaps, but I'm not sure about that. Lots of people new to skiing/riding are convinced by friends that the friend can teach them. I see them on the slopes all the time. As a ski instructor, I met plenty of them. I have little doubt there are lots of divers who think they can teach a friend to dive.

 

[lexvil]

You have more faith in people than I do. I predict many would believe they can learn all they need to know about scuba on the Internet. Watch a few Youtubes and you're off.

Also, if training were not required to rent gear/tanks or be taken on a dive boat, would that mean doing away with standards? Could anyone then call themselves a scuba instructor? How would a diver know how to choose an instructor? Sounds like a mess to me.

im more along the line of it not being my business, someone doing something beyond their ability in scuba isn’t likely to harm anyone else, same with rock climbing unless someone falls one someone else, skiing actually poses greater risk to others.

 

[lexvil]

If the certifications actually have meaning, then yes.

 

[lexvil]

Perhaps, but I'm not sure about that. Lots of people new to skiing/riding are convinced by friends that the friend can teach them. I see them on the slopes all the time. As a ski instructor, I met plenty of them. I have little doubt there are lots of divers who think they can teach a friend to dive.

It’s probably wise to seek some instruction but just how did those first divers do it without instructors?

 

[VikingDives]

What makes this a even bigger issue is places like the blue hole in NM or the creator in UT are “open water” its really just a swimming pool.

I tell my students that when they go to the sea, they should have a guide until they understand what they are getting into...

I've shown tech instructors from Mexico videos from BH and they were amazed that I wan't wearing a hood and gloves (when I was fat, I used to dive BH in a 3mm occasionally). They thought I was crazy.

You aren't learning "a thing" in OW that makes you a better diver - everything is psychological. You and I might call cold water a swimming pool, but our Mexican friends would find our dives challenging in that same pool. Deep/dark/"I can't see the bottom" water is all that's required for an OW student to learn to overcome the fear of the deep.

It is all about the "devil you know." You and I are used to cold, but we'd probably have a hard time in Iceland or Canada. I'm sure my highly experienced Mexican instructors would have higher SAC rates than me in Blue Hole, even though I can't ever match them in a cenote - but dammit, I will keep trying!

 

[VikingDives]

This is a bread-and-butter offering from PADI already and is called Discover Local Diving. Basically certified divers that want to dive with a local Divemaster. In fact it is one of very few programs a DM can run. The "hour in the shop" generally takes place at the dive site and during the surface interval. It's a great option if you are new to an area or are a relatively new diver, or both.

Paying someone who knows the area, and can show you right off the boat, cool things is one of the best services money can buy.

I have a stack of c-cards, but whenever I go somewhere new, I pay a local to show me around. Why? Not for fear of drowning or getting lost at sea, but because there's no better way to get introduced to the good/bad/ugly/local conditions than someone who dives there every day.

If I'm going to your neighborhood, I'm betting that you probably know more about the local pizza joints than I do, and I'm willing to buy you a couple of slices of the best pie in town if you can keep me from eating cardboard for 2 weeks while I figure things out myself.

 

[lowwall]

It’s probably wise to seek some instruction but just how did those first divers do it without instructors?

The first scuba divers were all highly experienced free divers. They were already experts in mask clearing, equalization, buoyancy control and locomotion both underwater and on the surface. In addition, the early cylinders were so low in capacity that getting bent wasn't a concern.

With that background, literally all the additional info they required was how to hook up the reg and turn on the air, and to not hold their breath when ascending.

 

[lexvil]

The first scuba divers were all highly experienced free divers. They were already experts in mask clearing, equalization, buoyancy control and locomotion both underwater and on the surface. In addition, the early cylinders were so low in capacity that getting bent wasn't a concern.

With that background, literally all the additional info they required was how to hook up the reg and turn on the air, and to not hold their breath when ascending.

So what you’re saying is someone can get comfortable in the water, strap on scuba gear and live?

 

[VikingDives]

I think we disagree somewhat. I believe buddy diving should be taught as sticking together within a diver-length or so of each other, reasonably vigilant and ready to assist. If two people want to dive "in the vicinity" of each other--maybe their goal is to be photographers--then I believe they should be taught that those dives are to be planned and executed as solo dives.
One or the other--solo diving or team diving--not a muddling of the two.

I'm a firm believer in team diving, except that tomorrow I'm going to solo dive and probably do some deco .

When I teach, I teach both. My students are taught team diving principles and I trust that they will never have to do a CESA. I also teach them to be excellent donators of air because I expect them to dive with divers who will not be good buddies.

I teach my divers to be in my peripheral vision at all times, and never to play "follow the leader" with a dive pro, because they learn in class how hard it is to catch up to someone swimming away from them, make contact and signal OOG. I also teach them how to respond if they are left behind by an instabuddy.

I teach the benefits of the long hose, but I also teach the realities of diving a standard rec. configuration.

In a perfect world, we'd all have each other's backs. But, that isn't the state of things as they stand. I teach my students to be solo divers and excellent buddies because then they are prepared to handle a problem alone and the team, if there is one, becomes a bonus.