New diver experience and expectations at ‘resort’ setting

[Aloha Joe]

Sorry this is long - I love diving, learning, and sharing things and am passionate about this.

I got certified in October and had 9 dives before this weekend. I just did my first 2 days of diving here (5 dives) and have mixed feelings about what I experienced. This is with a PADI 5-star Dive Instructor Training shop which is away from the main resort location. I chose this type of shop because I want to get my AOW and told them I’m looking for a shop that focuses on proper training and safety. I am/was considering getting involved as a dive pro, but if this is ‘the norm’ here then I don’t want to be a part of it.

The good: my second dive yesterday was AMAZING! It was a wreck dive to 100-110ft (?) We saw wales along the way, saw eels, turtles, rays, fish, and all kinds of stuff around the wreck. I made sure I had a buddy for this day and we did pre-dive check, had a dive plan, etc for that dive and it was fun. I made friends the first day, we all went out together afterwards, and I’ve been surfing and diving with for 3 days with some people I met on my first dive trip here.

The not so good: First day (2 tank) was afternoon shallow dives along a reef and mostly all divers with around 10 dives experience. Nobody talked about having a buddy, the 2 dive masters didn’t mention buddies (told people to check their own gear), and nobody recalled the DMs ever saying anything about splitting into groups when underwater. One guy was down to 500psi so the DM had him share air so he could extend his dive (breathing off someone’s octo and staying down).

We all went to dinner afterwards - 2 others shared my feelings, and it seems they were the only 2 that didn’t get certified at a resort. Some of the others didn’t think any of this was that big of a deal, but from discussions I gather they weren’t taught or don’t remember a large portion of the PADI OW skills. I asked the DMs about the ‘advanced’ dives and was told that they basically let anyone go since they need to make money. But I was told I looked comfortable so I should be fine. I was told the water can be more rough, more of a current, and there would be less instruction, and I was OK with that. We were told ‘it’s not like you just hop off the boat and drop to 100 feet” but that’s exactly what ended up happening.

I did the advanced dive and it was a similar crowd - not much diving experience. One girl who had been diving with this shop for 3 days was having panic attacks and only did 1/2 of her 3 days worth of diving (only 1 of the 3 advanced dives) and should not have been on an advanced boat. One guy came out of the water and needed to go to the hospital (maybe not dive shop’s fault, but maybe he wasn’t qualified or in shape to be on advanced dive?) For the first dive there was a last minute change of dive plans due to current - I had a buddy, made a dive plan, etc. and at the last minute we were told to do a ‘negative entry drift dive’ and were told to rapidly fire off the back of the boat. With no time to re-plan I was separated from my buddy before we got in the water.

Last comment (I could write so much more ) they were giving out ‘drift diver specialty’ add-ons, AFTER the dive. “You’ve done these 2 dives, if you want the specialty you can read, watch a video, fill out a form and get your certification”. So basically they let people ‘take the test’ before learning the information, and not really paying attention to what those people did during the dive. As much as I want to continue my training, I declined as ‘taking the test’ before being taught the material is against my belief system.

I really enjoy diving and love to learn and share things I enjoy. I loved skiing and being an instructor, sharing my passion and watching people progress from beginners to independent and advanced skiers. At the same time, I have a hard time being taught PADI methods and skills and diving with people and shops that completely ignore the key fundamentals. I get that people come here for a short period of time and just want to dive and have fun, not necessarily learn or practice skills. But I also get that diving accidents can be deadly.

There’s 1 other ‘5 star dive instructor training’ shop that I signed up with and I’m hoping it will be a better experience - supposedly it’s more of a locals shop which should help. I also want to check out the dive shop that focuses more on tech diving - maybe they’ll be a little more skills oriented too...

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading

 

[outofofficebrb]

There is so much wow-omg-ummwhat with this post I don't even know where to start. This shop is definitely not the norm and I think many people were in inappropriate and bad situations that they shouldn't have been in given their experience. I think the way this shop handles its divers and approaches the business is in all the wrong ways, especially from a safety standpoint.

Where was this and what shop is it? I think it would be good to know for other new divers what to expect at this operation and for them to make an assessment whether they are okay with it or not. Some newer divers, such as yourself, might not know that this is not normal and that it is not okay.

A 5 star resort is not a rating to how amazing or safe it is. I believe it is a designation based on the number of certifications they do in a particular time period along with what instruction they offer. So, they could be churning out certifications. Is there a PADI Pro who can confirm or shed more light on this?

I hope this resort hasn't turned you off to all resorts. Not all are like this and can vary in quality. It is up to the individual resort and operator albeit within agency guidelines unless they are breaking all standards...then that warrants reporting.

 

[GreggS]

Just where is this 5-Star PADI dive shop? I want to make sure I never book with them if they run such a haphazard operation.

If you are wanting to continue your training, it sounds like you need to get with a shop away from a resort setting that will take the time to do your training correctly. Even if it is just for recreational diving, if all of what you say about them is true, this outfit sounds like they could very well end getting someone seriously killed.

 

[woodcarver]

The 1st part of your post is exactly what most people want to experience at a resort. Meet people, see new cool stuff, all good. What followed with that dive op is what gets new divers killed, bent, or if they are lucky, just turned off from ever diving again. Contact your instructor and talk to him in person about what should be done as far as reporting the dive op.
You could post your experience in the Thumbs Down section in the meantime. Maybe there are others who have had the same experience with them. Not good, glad you made it back.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

This not the normal way a dive shop operates. PADI is the largest but is only one of many dive certifications. The PADI 5 star or 5 gold palm designation is a bought and paid for designation and has absolutely nothing to do with the shops service or safety record.

 

[drrich2]

The not so good: First day (2 tank) was afternoon shallow dives along a reef and mostly all divers with around 10 dives experience. Nobody talked about having a buddy, the 2 dive masters didn’t mention buddies (told people to check their own gear), and nobody recalled the DMs ever saying anything about splitting into groups when underwater. One guy was down to 500psi so the DM had him share air so he could extend his dive (breathing off someone’s octo and staying down).

Were these dives done in the context of an AOW course? I got that impression, but wish to confirm. You mention DMs; maybe I missed it, but did you mention the instructor in your post? Even if DMs were assisting, there should've been one.

A little follow up on a point or two, mainly relevant for when you are not taking a class. Different regions & dive op.s vary in whether & to what extent they push the buddy system. Some will go around making sure everyone has an assigned buddy (some divers don't like this!); some may not even bring up the subject - we're all adults, dive within your limits but you should know what those are, etc...

As to the DMs not saying anything about splitting into groups underwater, and a DM sharing air with a guy to extend his dive...was there a dive briefing? Since DMs were in the water (not the norm. in California from what I understand, outside classes), was it a group dive? Did the DMs split up and students didn't know which to follow? If it was a class, were some of the customers on the boat not students, but just diving?

I'm not interested in trying to rationalize everything you reported; some of it's obviously alarming. I'd like to figure out the specifics.

Richard.

 

[Aloha Joe]

These were rec dives, not a class. There were 2 DMs (instructors who weren’t teaching) on the first trip, 4 on the advanced trip.

I can understand advanced dives being relaxed about pushing buddies, but I would expect the crew to gauge the divers and offer some friendly reminders with a group of inexperience divers, especially the shallow boat.

The air sharing was between 2 newer divers. One hit 500psi early in the dive. He told the DM, and rather than surface he was told to share air with another diver to extend his bottom time.

I talked to a few other divers after the first day, and they also didn’t recall any discussion about groups in the pre-dive briefing. There was mention of groups on the second day, but even that was chaotic since the dive plan changed last minute and we switched to the ‘rapid fire’ negative entry drift dive.

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for the added info. Very interesting. I've only had one trip to dive California, a live-aboard; I did quite a bit of research in advance so I wouldn't run into too many surprises when I got there, and what I learned I still had in mind reading your review.

It's been my impression that the California dive 'scene' tends to feature less widespread 'hand-holding' than some warm water touristy destinations such as popular Caribbean locations. For example, the boat staff may not try to set up buddy pairs, there's likely to be no guide in the water unless you hire one (or are taking a class), and you may be able to solo dive without having a solo certification. Sort of like a water taxi to the dive sites, plus dive briefings before you splash, possibly onboard meal(s), and they take roll of who enters & exits the water to avoid leaving anyone behind.

Those of you with way more experience diving California than I, is that a fair appraisal? Anything you'd add to that?

That's why when you mentioned 'DMs' in the water, and that you'd wanted to take an AOW class, well, I thought you were in one on these dives. I would think the standard to be expected of professional conduct during classes with students will differ from non-class dives.

That said, newbies who don't know the California dive culture and come to it expecting what they're experienced at some other places could run into issues.

Richard.

 

[Steve_C]

You are from CA but were you diving in California or were you diving in HI or some place else?

 

[drrich2]

Good question; when he said:

I just did my first 2 days of diving here (5 dives) and have mixed feelings about what I experienced.

I took 'here' to mean California, but he mentioned seeing turtles. I know sea turtles aren't unheard of with California diving, but I didn't think they were a mainstay, and it's still fairly early in the year.

Richard.