My First-time Nightmare Dive

[scubatomwetzel]

Sorry to hear you had a major lack of training. take a moment and relax. Reserch for a better course that meets your needs.
I teach a 6 to 8 week program. 5 or more pool sessions and lectures. Then we go to the ocean and do the dives over several weekends.
l also been teaching 37 years and refuse to teach the short quick courses.

Good Luck

Tom

 

[spectrum]

I made a lot of assumptions. I underestimated what a tough sport scuba diving is and overestimated the control of the imagined rigid standards Australian Government must have placed on dive schools.

Oh please no! "tough sport" hardly. Yes a few things to learn and yes out of the water gear can be a little hefty but that all fades with a little experience. As a diver you in the water experience should be very restful, almost zen like. Once you learn the dance it's all really quite pleasurable.

Here in the US the government is not involves, it's all about agency (PADI, NAUI, PDIC.....) management and we have our bad apples too.

Pete

 

[DivingVietNam.com]

Very Sorry this Happened to You and Your Husband...
A Dive ?????? for this PRICE IS STUPID...
Please pay a fair Price for New Class DO NOT GO BACK THERE..
If You Make People MAD they will Tell Every Person they can TELL and YOU SHOULD DO THAT...
Go To Reviews of Hotels, Flights and Vacation Rentals - TripAdvisor Where I am #1 and Tell them if they have listing for Shop..That You where treated like this..
As for Fair Price here in Nha Trang Viet Nam I charge $350 but have these same kind of Operators Here and They charge $250 so Your Price STUPID..

Aloha Mark Scott
Mark Scott's Diving Vietnam - Teaching and Diving in VietNam with ALOHA.

 

[Fatterboy]

There are a few persons from your country on scubaboard, I would recommend making contact with them and finding an appropriate class, I would also recommend notifying the parent certification agency of the class/school owner and making your concerns heard. I can barely swim, the instructors where my wife and I took the course were pleasant and helped everyone with their trouble areas while staying within the established guidelines. They always took the time to assist as much as possible and identified people that they felt may not make it and tried to respectfully let the student know how much trouble they were in.

I know there are 2 sides to every story. I regret that your experience was such a poor one. Diving is the most fun I have ever had in the water...period

 

[SeahorseDeb]

I want to add something here to this thread that hasn't been mentioned. Before I do that, I want to tell you that some elements of your experience had the trademarks of a similar experience that happened to me. The only difference was I was recertifying because I had been out of the water awhile. A refresher course wasn't my choice, I wanted the entire beginners course. During the class, I saw many examples of things that were not in compliance. I received my certification, but I never went back to that shop. I went to another, and WOW what a difference in their training and ethics!! By the way, I also have knowledge that one diver died, and another became crippled for life while under the first shops tutelage. So, in conclusion, I'm glad neither of you were hurt .

So, as the other posters said, find a different shop, talk to them, and of course, filter your questions and concerns here. We care, and we don't charge a penny!!

 

[xyrandomyx]

Man, what a horrible introduction to such a great sport. 'Would I do better under better instruction and with more practice?' -- absolutely. I hope you manage to get over being shaken up a bit, find the budget to try again and find a decent instructor.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Don't give up. Find a competent instructor. As said earlier, diving can be a Zen-like experience once you have the skills down. Now that you've had a terrible experience, you know the questions and expected answers you will share while interviewing your next potential instructor.

 

[TSandM]

It's not a tough sport. But it does involve lugging heavy equipment around. The good news is that that gets easier and easier with time and dives -- when I did my OW class, I couldn't climb out of the pool with an Al50 (very small tank) on my back. Last week, I climbed out of the same pool wearing steel doubles. It hasn't been gym time, either . . . it's just been hauling dive gear! It GOES get easier.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It's not a tough sport. But it does involve lugging heavy equipment around. The good news is that that gets easier and easier with time and dives -- when I did my OW class, I couldn't climb out of the pool with an Al50 (very small tank) on my back. Last week, I climbed out of the same pool wearing steel doubles. It hasn't been gym time, either . . . it's just been hauling dive gear! It GOES get easier.

It has made you a brute! Sweet.

 

[drbill]

Rather surprised that an Australian shop would use a Danish instructor who apparently had limited English skills.

I would demand my money back and look for a shop with a better instructor.

Don't give up on the incredible underwater world because of this terrible experience.