Messed up my OW dive - advice for the future please?

[Gareth J]

Hi Ally

It might be worth considering having a look at a club to learn to dive with. As a general rule, clubs have more time and a slower pace, which can be a blessing and a curse. (In most cases you pay to join the club, and the training comes at part of being a member, so there is no limit on the amount of time you can spend on learning.)
An intense course can be very good if you are short of time and water confident.
Most clubs teach on a weekly basis, which means a lot of repeating and reinforcing of skills learnt the previous week. However, this does mean it takes a number of weeks before you progress to the open water tuition. Also because clubs run on volunteers, that can add to potential for delays.

You don't say where you are based in the uk, this will help you find a local club if you are interested

As others have said, if you stay with PADI you can do a refereal to another facility, potentially in Spain, taking what you have learnt as a credit (so you don't have to repeat the lessons). However, you may well find some repetition beneficial if you are nervous or unsure of some of the skills.

Also, what you are taught at the start with all the agencies is very similar. The basic skills don't change between agency.
Buoyancy control, mask clearing, regulator clearing, AAS etc are basically the same with all the agencies.

Gareth

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I am sure a PADI instructor can fully enlighten me, but I did all my PADI OW dives in the sea, other than the swimming test and the first lesson. (This was many years ago).
The site was sheltered, shallow. Granted, I was in the warmer waters of the Red Sea in the winter. Rather than UK waters.

I am pretty sure sheltered water doesn't exclusively mean a pool. Just a controlled environment.

A lot of UK facilities teach the open water sessions in drysuits. It is generally far more comfortable for the students to be in a drysuit than a wetsuit. Water temperatures are still only between 7C and 15C dependent on depth in the local freshwater quarry.
Often the surface conditions are not much warmer....although we are going through a heatwave.

A recent shallow sea dive only reached 14C.

It is pretty consistent across agencies (well, the 3 that I have or currently teach under) that confined water has to be pool like conditions in terms of depth, calmness, and viz.

I think that if you teach for diving in cold open water, it makes an easier transition if the confined water that you use is also cold. At least if you have your students in dry suits, and they are able to get out and warm up if they get cold.

A big problem in my area is the high cost of pool rentals and the low availability of pools, as pool management typically doesn't like tanks being tossed about carefully (rubber mats go a long way to establishing goodwill with pool management).

Using lakes is a viable alternative, as lakes don't have to be rented, so there is no real time limit in terms of access. Of course, if the wind picks up, confined water sessions need to be rescheduled.

 

[gcarter]

I am sure a PADI instructor can fully enlighten me, but I did all my PADI OW dives in the sea, other than the swimming test and the first lesson. (This was many years ago).
The site was sheltered, shallow. Granted, I was in the warmer waters of the Red Sea in the winter. Rather than UK waters.

I am pretty sure sheltered water doesn't exclusively mean a pool. Just a controlled environment.

A lot of UK facilities teach the open water sessions in drysuits. It is generally far more comfortable for the students to be in a drysuit than a wetsuit. Water temperatures are still only between 7C and 15C dependent on depth in the local freshwater quarry.
Often the surface conditions are not much warmer....although we are going through a heatwave.

A recent shallow sea dive only reached 14C.

It is entirely acceptable to do confined water activities in open water if the right conditions are met.

 

[Storker]

It is entirely acceptable to do confined water activities in open water if the right conditions are met.

It isn't very common to experience pool-like vis in open water up in green water country. So if that's a hard requirement it'd be a standards violation to do confined water activities in open water up where Gareth or I live

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

It isn't very common to experience pool-like vis in open water up in green water country. So if that's a hard requirement it'd be a standards violation to do confined water activities in open water up where Gareth or I live

I know SDI defines pool like viz as 10 feet

 

[mmerriman]

I am sure a PADI instructor can fully enlighten me, but I did all my PADI OW dives in the sea, other than the swimming test and the first lesson. (This was many years ago).
The site was sheltered, shallow. Granted, I was in the warmer waters of the Red Sea in the winter. Rather than UK waters.

I am pretty sure sheltered water doesn't exclusively mean a pool. Just a controlled environment.
.

you are correct.

 

[Storker]

SDI defines pool like viz as 10 feet

So, about 3m, then. That's a rather murky pool...

If PADI does the same, I guess my OWD instructor was within standards. Good to know.

 

[kelemvor]

Question from the newbie in the back:

Many of you have honed in on the drysuit, particularly in that not only was she in one but that it was chosen over a wetsuit if I’m following along correctly.

Why is the drysuit such an issue in a new diver learning environment? Is that unsafe?

Using a drysuit is a whole separate set of skills to learn. Most shops that sell drysuits require the student to take a drysuit course first. Some charge, some include the course in the cost of the suit. In cold water locations, some of the shops roll it into open water because the water is just too damn cold to insist a diver use a wetsuit if they don't want to. Still there should be lots of extra instruction exclusively about using that drysuit. I remember ow class being very intimidating. I have nothing but respect for those that manage to do open water class in a drysuit - it seems like it would be much more challenging.

 

[mmerriman]

So, about 3m, then. That's a rather murky pool...

If PADI does the same, I guess my OWD instructor was within standards. Good to know.

PADI - "Confined open water is an open water site that offers
swimming-pool-like conditions with respect to clarity, calmness,
and depth. It has both shallow water and water sufficiently
deep to allow student divers to meet all skill performance
requirements." while no mention is made to distance - I'd suggest 10' isn't clear. Our training pool is 12' deep. state laws say Water Clarity At all times any swimming, wading or special purpose pool is in use, the water shall be sufficiently clear to permit a black disc six inches in diameter on a white field, when placed on the bottom of the pool at the deepest point, to be clearly visible from the sidewalks of the pool at all distances up to ten yards measured from a line drawn across the pool through said disc.

 

[Gareth J]

Using a drysuit is a whole separate set of skills to learn. Most shops that sell drysuits require the student to take a drysuit course first. Some charge, some include the course in the cost of the suit. In cold water locations, some of the shops roll it into open water because the water is just too damn cold to insist a diver use a wetsuit if they don't want to. Still there should be lots of extra instruction exclusively about using that drysuit. I remember ow class being very intimidating. I have nothing but respect for those that manage to do open water class in a drysuit - it seems like it would be much more challenging.

It is legitimate to do the openwater element of a beginners course in a drysuit. It may be very unwise/unsafe to dive in a wetsuit, where hypothermia is a risk.
I have dived in Norway where the teaching platforms are floodlite to allow diver tuition during the winter (dark) months. What I though was more interesting was the teaching platforms,3m, 6m, 10m, 15m and 20m where all set above a 300m fjord! Mind you, the visibility was excellent.

If you do the openwater element of the course in a drysuit, you automatically qualify as a drysuit diver .
We always teach the drysuit theory at the backend of our OD courses, then do pool sessions in drysuits with our students, prior to them moving to openwater.

I would say those that do the best ultimately, are those that use a drysuit during the course, rather than those who choose a wetsuit. Whilst a wetsuit is easier, the effects of cold hamper the student more. A warm student has a lot better concentration, and enjoys the experience far more, even if this means a little more in water time.

Gareth