rstofer
Contributor
I think that navigation gets a short deal and I think that 'some' classes don't deal with buoyancy and trim as well as they might. I think that 4 dives for OW totaling, perhaps, 80 minutes is a little short. I think that students are often (NOT always) left overweighted. I think the 4 dives are just the beginning of a training program.
I realize that OW tries to touch on a lot of subjects but I just don't think the 4 dive format is enough training. I think that AOW and Rescue add a lot to the program. But even then, navigation doesn't get much attention until it is done as a specialty and the same goes for any of a number of topics including search & recovery, night diving and deep diving (although I am not a fan of depths beyond 60' for Jr Adv OW).
In the old days, the NAUI program consisted of Open Water I, OW II and Advanced OW. By that point, a diver had done a number of supervised dives and had developed a lot of skills. Navigation and search & recovery were covered in depth (pun intended) as was deep and night diving along with some amount of rescue. A complete rescue course was essentially the only 'specialty' and everything that is now considered a specialty was included in the 3 program sequence.
I believe the 4 dive format is a little short. But the 'market' has decided that it is what it is. It's just that I believe it is a little light.
The 4 dive format does cover the essential safety skills: mask R&R, CESA, air sharing, a very limited amount of navigation (which can be formidable in limited viz, there's a reason I know this) and touches on rescue. But it's still just 80 minutes underwater. There's a limit to what can be covered.
So, that's my opinion...
Richard
Richard
I realize that OW tries to touch on a lot of subjects but I just don't think the 4 dive format is enough training. I think that AOW and Rescue add a lot to the program. But even then, navigation doesn't get much attention until it is done as a specialty and the same goes for any of a number of topics including search & recovery, night diving and deep diving (although I am not a fan of depths beyond 60' for Jr Adv OW).
In the old days, the NAUI program consisted of Open Water I, OW II and Advanced OW. By that point, a diver had done a number of supervised dives and had developed a lot of skills. Navigation and search & recovery were covered in depth (pun intended) as was deep and night diving along with some amount of rescue. A complete rescue course was essentially the only 'specialty' and everything that is now considered a specialty was included in the 3 program sequence.
I believe the 4 dive format is a little short. But the 'market' has decided that it is what it is. It's just that I believe it is a little light.
The 4 dive format does cover the essential safety skills: mask R&R, CESA, air sharing, a very limited amount of navigation (which can be formidable in limited viz, there's a reason I know this) and touches on rescue. But it's still just 80 minutes underwater. There's a limit to what can be covered.
So, that's my opinion...
Richard
Richard
