My Discover Scuba Diving Experience

[dmaziuk]

What's to "discover in a pool"? Maybe the instructor wants to find out if you can swim? If you're the type who has anxiety attacks or something else that might endanger him or her or anyone else?

As I recall Dive Friends Bonaire have a roped-off piece of sandy beach in front of the Yellow Sub. You don't drown and/or have a fit there, you can swim 10 more metres out and see the pretty fishes and corals.

The way I see it, a DSD isn't about seeing coral or fish....it isn't a Discover the Ocean experience. It is a Discover Scuba which to me means that you get a chance to feel what it is like to don a scuba kit and take that first breath underwater followed by a short swim.

The way I see it, there's people who are comfortable underwater and there's very little chance they'll have a problem breathing from an aluminum can. "Meh" is about all there's to discover there. And then there's people who aren't, and all that hassle with the gear just to sit on the bottom of a pool will likely provide them with something between zero and "meh" motivation to get comfortable.

If the purpose of the DSD is to create customers for the shops and agencies, then DSDs in a pool get a big fat F.

 

[TMHeimer]

The people who "aren't" comfortable underwater --I would guess-- would be the people who would have a problem or cause problems for others in a DSD OW situation. In my "perfect" world, one should be comfortable at least to some degree underwater before doing anything with scuba. Like maybe a bit of snorkeling? They're gunna have the same hassles with gear in OW and more risk. I'm more concerned about they're safety than if they get a little miffed at being in a pool. Our shop only does DSD in the pool. My guess is that being the N. Atlantic with at times questionable viz, it may be a bad idea to do it where the OW courses are done. I don't know, maybe seeing a few pretty fish on a shallow reef will turn somebody's life around (even though one would think they'd see that on the internet or TV). But again, I guess that is the case for some--even if they can't even swim at all. And that was before DSD was offered.
As far as drumming up customers, our OW courses were usually full each weekend April-Nov. and extended sometimes.
As far as those who are already comfortable in water, there is probably no need for DSD and they will go right to OW. I was one of those.

 

[CryHavoc]

I was orginal ly OW certified when I was in the Navy and had about 25 dives on Hawaii before my discharge in , 1982. I then went to college at the University of Missouri. Got married and my wife got her OW because her parents gave us a trip to the Bahamas. Sold my dive gear to pay rent one month. Because I chose a public interest career and had children, I didn't dive. In 2009, just before my second deployment to Afghanistan, my wife and I went on vacation to Key West and I announced I wanted to go diving. Went to a dive shop to inquire about a refresher course and they suggested a DSD course as cheaper than a refresher. Spent an hour or so in the classroom, then went to the pool for about 2 hours practicing basic skillls followed by 2 boat dives that afternoon. I had a great experience with Lost Reef Adventures. My wife chose to go through the OW course again. I used the DSD as a refresher substitute. Now I am a DM candidate and hope to have my instructor cert before the end of the year.

 

[TMHeimer]

CryHavoc, It worked well for you. Of course you were in the Navy, thus I assume a "water" person. My younger brother is a retired US Navy Capt. who dived frequently in the '80s. Last 5-6 years we meet in NY and do a day of diving. He hadn't dived at all since the '80s and jumped right back in. Many DSD students today are not in that situation.

 

[EricTheDood]

but I'm not sure if it's worth it since I don't want to plan every vacation around it

HA, you say that now...

 

[kafkaland]

If it weren't for DSD in the ocean, I probably wouldn't be diving today. Years ago I was on Hawai'i for surfing, but the waves weren't there. So I kept myself busy with kayaking and swimming with the dolphins, and night snorkeling with the mantas. On that boat someone suggested DSD. So the next morning I did my theory bit and the practical skills in the pool. And in the afternoon, a shore dive in the ocean. It was a bit choppy, but not out of my comfort zone. And once underwater, I enjoyed every second of it. Doing somersaults weightlessly (to the dismay of the instructor, judging by his faicial expression) and admiring the colorful fish and hard corals. And I was hooked. I must admit, though, that I was lucky to be one on one with the instructor - no one else had signed up for that day. I can easily see things going south for larger groups.

 

[TMHeimer]

Agree. I do think one on one in the ocean is the only "safe" way to do it. If the student panics and bolts the instructor can chase him/her without leaving others on the bottom. This could be a problem if there are even only 2 students--unless there is an assistant, but then that's back to one on one. I would imagine the % of accidents in relation to other PADI courses would be perhaps even less with a one on one DSD in the ocean.

 

[dalaimama]

The only DSD experience I've had was with my youngest son. He was 11-years-old and we were in the Mayan Riviera. He and his brother had already done a PADI Seals course a few years before so he wasn't new to the mechanics of diving.

The ocean portion was just him, his instructor, my husband and me. After he completed his skills, he spent the rest of the dive zipping around, with the three of us occasionally reminding him to check his air and watch his buoyancy. He loved it and having three experienced divers in the water with him gave me a level of comfort I think I needed.

Both he and my older son got there certification the following summer.