My OW certification checkout dives didn't go so well unfortunately.

[Twoblues]

Does the ow cert. still require removing the mask ,re donning and clearing? 'removing the BC rig and re-donning? My ow cert. was in 1996! Doing those tasks in the ocean would not be cool!

 

[60plus]

Yes. I think they can be done in confined water but where I dive that means near the shore rather than in a pool. It is good to learn to do it in roughish sea. I was talking to a group of very experienced BSAC instructors who were sharing a dive boat (a large stable RIB). BSAC qualification does not require BCD removal and donning in the water so despite their experience they had never learned it. On a previous holiday they had been on a small unstable RIB in rough seas and the divemaster would not let them wear their BCD, fins or weights on the RIB in case they fell over. Since that experience they could see the advantages of learning it on the PADI course. They had to improvise and learn on the spot.

 

[TMHeimer]

Does the ow cert. still require removing the mask ,re donning and clearing? 'removing the BC rig and re-donning? My ow cert. was in 1996! Doing those tasks in the ocean would not be cool!

Last time I remember you only doff & don the BC on the surface in open water. There is mask clearing, not sure about 30 seconds no mask breathing. No no-mask swim.

 

[Edward3c]

Yes. I think they can be done in confined water but where I dive that means near the shore rather than in a pool. It is good to learn to do it in roughish sea. I was talking to a group of very experienced BSAC instructors who were sharing a dive boat (a large stable RIB). BSAC qualification does not require BCD removal and donning in the water so despite their experience they had never learned it. On a previous holiday they had been on a small unstable RIB in rough seas and the divemaster would not let them wear their BCD, fins or weights on the RIB in case they fell over. Since that experience they could see the advantages of learning it on the PADI course. They had to improvise and learn on the spot.

BSAC used to teach ditch & retrieve in sheltered water training. It’s no longer in the syllabus, but some instructors still use it to build confidence.

BSAC training teaches divers to do risk assessments. An unstable RIB doesn’t sound like an appropriate diving platform. Kitting up in rough seas isn’t practical in U.K. waters, whilst trying to fit a weight belt of 6kg or more.

I’ve thrown my kit in and kitted up before now, but that was in calm tropical waters.

 

[Storker]

Does the ow cert. still require removing the mask ,re donning and clearing? 'removing the BC rig and re-donning? My ow cert. was in 1996! Doing those tasks in the ocean would not be cool!

When I took my OW in '12, mask remove/replace was mandatory in open water. In 10C water, it stings your eyeballs a bit, though. I got an extra session when one of the other students kicked off my mask. I was like "Hey, why is the world so blurry? Oh, there's a mask! Hey! It's my mask!" *grab mask, replace, clear*. I guess I was a bit task loaded at that time since I didn't notice the mask coming off, but fortunately I'd been doing quite a bit of snorkeling in my youth and was totally comfortable with getting water in my face.

The BCD doff/don wasn't done in open water. That's a mite complicated, especially for an OW student, when you're in a drysuit and all your weights are integrated on your BCD. 10+ kg negatively buoyant rig, 10+ kg positively buoyant diver...

 

[purbeast]

Does the ow cert. still require removing the mask ,re donning and clearing? 'removing the BC rig and re-donning? My ow cert. was in 1996! Doing those tasks in the ocean would not be cool!

The 4th dive that I missed had them taking the BCD off and putting it back on. I know they had to do it at the surface but I am not sure if they had to do it underwater or not.

As for the mask clearing, we had to do that on the first dive. First it's a partially cleared mask, then a fully flooded one, then you take our mask off, put it back on, and clear. If you can do one of those, you can do any of them.

Also for the training dives we were all wearing weight belts and had no weights integrated in our BCDs, since some skills require removal of weight belt.

 

[George Monnat Jr]

PADI Standards are remove and replace (doff and don) BCD on the surface only. It's usually done on/after the 2nd or 3rd dive, but it's easy to do at the beginning of your 4th dive.

When I got certified in '92, we still did buddy breathing off of the single regulators we had. My 'buddy' wouldn't let go of mine or swim up, so I was stuck on the bottom of the pool with no air. I had to 'convince' him to give it back, so I could breath. I'm glad most people dive with two regulators now to prevent that from happening.

 

[purbeast]

Yeah from talking to the rest of the people who completed the OW certification, at the beginning of the 4th dive before they descended is when they took the BCD off/on at the surface.

The one I was most worried about was the CESA just because I can't "hold" my breath very long and was concerned about blowing bubbles for 30 seconds straight. However, it was much much easier than I thought it would be. We also started at 20 feet so I only had to do it from 20 feet versus 30 feet, and also the fact that you have more air in your lungs down there was totally noticeable as I was blowing bubbles all the way to the surface. I felt like I could have continued for 20-30 seconds more once I hit the surface, I still had quite a bit of air left.

 

[George Monnat Jr]

Yep, the air expanding in your lungs definitely makes it easier - and is why you never hold your breath while SCUBA diving.

 

[TMHeimer]

I always mention that doing a CESA in the course means starting out with full lungs, which is not gunna happen. If you have enough air to fill your lungs you'll probably begin a normal ascent. When I practice CESA from 30' I start with half full lungs. Whether it is advisable to practice CESA is on another lengthy thread somewhere.