A ScubaBoard Staff Message...
Hi everyone, I recently completed my PADI Open Water course and I'd like to share my experience with you. I believe my instructor's behavior was inappropriate, but as a newcomer to scuba diving, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Hi everyone, I recently completed my PADI Open Water course and I'd like to share my experience with you. I believe my instructor's behavior was inappropriate, but as a newcomer to scuba diving, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Before the course:
I found a Dive Shop on Tripadvisor with over 200 5-star reviews, which seemed perfect for the Open Water Course. However, the website link wasn't functional, so I reached out to the company on Instagram. They requested to follow me, which I found a bit strange, but I went along with it. The owner (only instructor) and I communicated via WhatsApp to plan the days since I was traveling for the course. He messaged me frequently, which was a bit overwhelming, but I assumed it was to keep in touch since I hadn't made a deposit. He even started liking my Instagram Stories.
I confirmed with him twice that he would provide all the necessary equipment, including a wetsuit. The night before the course, he asked me out for a drink, which I politely declined. Despite feeling uncomfortable, I decided to proceed with the course, considering diving as a community activity.
Day 1:
Upon arrival, I was informed that there was no wetsuit available for me that day, as he wanted to give me a "free" introduction in shallow waters level to gauge my comfort while him sharing his octopus (No Pool). Feeling uneasy in just a swimsuit, I reluctantly went along with it. He positioned himself above me - imagine two planks, one on top of the other. I didn't had a wetsuit, and I could feel something rubbing against my buttocks (I believe he was hard underneath his suit) I honestly had no idea of what he was doing or if it was normal, I was overthinking. we were at 6m dept. Anyways I started to panic, I was scared because it was my first time in deep water. I was alone with him, and he was controlling my air. I was breathing with his octopus and felt vulnerable. I just started to focus on my breathing. He started to massage my upper body. At this point I just froze. We finished and did some skills with my own BCD.
Skills on this day: Mask clearing, swimming without equipement.
Day 2:
The next day, he again claimed to have forgotten the wetsuit, stating it wasn't good for my buoyancy. We started with the tricks (complete mask removal, mask clearing) and then, he claimed that we needed to control my buoyancy. He then proceeded to remove my gear and repeat the exercise from the previous day, with me sharing his air from his octopus while he remained on top of me. I honestly kinda froze and started to focus on my breathing once again. I began to panic once more, unsure if this was standard practice. His behavior escalated when we approached the shore, he started taking inappropriate photos of other women but in the water, further adding to my discomfort. At the end, he stated that someone would come along tomorrow to finish my 2 other dives. At this point I wanted to end the class, but told myself that there was only 1 day remaining and the fact that someone would be there I would feel more comfortable. I didn't knew if it was common practice for new divers (him being on top of me and me sharing his octopus)
Skills on this day: mask clearing, complete mask removal, retrieving my regulator, sharing air & store used equipement.
Day 3:
He asked me a couple of questions in the car (about 5) and then informed me that was my written exam and there was no need to complete a formal exam; that I had passed. He then mentioned he didn't have a wetsuit for me, only a rash guard.
Then, another diver arrived for his refresher. He was quite old, and the instructor became rude to him. Honestly, I felt calmer knowing there would be someone else with us. We completed the 18m dive, and everything went fine. When we reached shore, the older diver asked if he could join us for the next planned dive (my 4th dive due in 30 minutes), but the instructor declined, stating that this dive would be a test for my class.
Once on the beach, the older diver and I started talking, and I could sense the instructor's discomfort about our conversation. He seemed eager for the older diver to leave and began speaking negatively about him behind his back.
Then I began my fourth dive (my instructor said he would bring my BCD but arrived only with his). He repeated the exercise of being on top of me and me using his octopus, which confirmed to me that it was inappropriate. It was only my fourth dive, so I questioned why he didn't do the same exercise with the older man. I believe he wanted him to leave so he could act inappropriately towards me again. This is when i realized is was NOT ok. I felt scared but relieved it was my last dive I was afraid to decline that he would fail me or worst, remove my regulator) At the end, we surfaced, he grabbed my gear, we went back down, and I focused on the skills and enjoying my last dive (without him on top of me), while he was just taking photos.
Skills on this day: how to prepare & store my equipment, mask clearing, safety stop, sharing air, use the compass, inflate my bcd, swim with a non-responsive diver, help a diver, safety procedures,
It took me a few days to process everything. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that his behavior was highly inappropriate. Not only was I knew nothing in diving, but he was also controlling my regulator (using his octopus), we were at depth, and he was positioned on top of me. I felt completely vulnerable and taken advantage of. Despite this, he certified me as a Open Water level 2 diver, but I honestly don't feel confident enough. What are your thoughts on this situation? Is it normal practice? What should I do? Have you ever reported a PADI ? TBH I feel kinda traumatized, I just wanted to learn to dive and I am left with this unpleasant memory. All of the part of him being on top of me and us sharing his octopus were lasting maximum 20 minutes every day. The other hours were used for the tricks and me diving with my own BCD. Total of hours for the whole class was about 11 hours.
It took me a few days to process everything. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that his behavior was highly inappropriate. Not only was I knew nothing in diving, but he was also controlling my regulator (using his octopus), we were at depth, and he was positioned on top of me. I felt completely vulnerable and taken advantage of. Despite this, he certified me as a Open Water level 2 diver, but I honestly don't feel confident enough. What are your thoughts on this situation? Is it normal practice? What should I do? Have you ever reported a PADI ? TBH I feel kinda traumatized, I just wanted to learn to dive and I am left with this unpleasant memory. All of the part of him being on top of me and us sharing his octopus were lasting maximum 20 minutes every day. The other hours were used for the skills and me diving with my own BCD. Total of hours for the whole class was about 11 hours.
