Observed an OW class yesterday

[divad]

I was fortunate to have instructors who made sure we entered the water squared away. You set up your own gear for pool/OW sessions, and did buddy checks, but instructors checked everyone over before getting in the water.

Care to identify them so that someone might benefit from this otherwise dreary thread?

 

[The Chairman]

Deleted

Why did you delete it? You had a really valid point. I'm a bit embarrassed that I drive this all over:

Don't be afraid to say it like it is!​

 

[FinnMom]

On my final dives with my students we play a game: who would you dive with and who should you avoid? I want them to ID divers on the boat they would want to emulate and those who they should avoid. It's not to make them feel superior, but to make them start to make conscious choices about who they will dive with as well as how to attract good divers. After all, the best accident is the one you prevent from happening or at least avoid. The only way to learn how to choose your dive partner wisely, is start being critical of the divers around you. Not to be mean, but in order to preserve yourself and your fun. They look for danglies, nervousness, fear, over confidence, FIGJAMs, new equip, abused equipment and so on. It adds a bit of self applied peer pressure as they realize that divers are doing the same thing to them.

So critique other divers. Learn their good habits and avoid their bad ones. Be careful about voicing your opinion to them. Many don't care what you think and will actually resent you pointing out their deficiencies. Keep your observations to yourself for the most part. You'll know when you can share them.

That above part with the students is a brilliant idea. Also helps them realize the small signs in themselves that betray nervousness, know-it-all attitudes, etc.

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To the OP about voicing criticism. Try to be creative in your approach to criticism, it can get much better results for you. People tend to shut down, turn away or get annoyed/defensive/in denail when faced with something negative. Often you can get further by pointing out only how things could be done better, or with no comparison just how it could be done next time. In the spirit of this I esp. like the way the Brits say "silly" when they mean "stupid"

 

[FinnMom]

Care to identify them so that someone might benefit from this otherwise dreary thread?

I'm enjoying the thread. If you are not, please feel free to seek better entertainment but don't rain on our parade.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Well, Pete since you asked why I deleted it, it was my truck.

Reposted ...

 

[Hou s4m]

I notice OW arent aware of their gears yet. We were like that too once. Having a good instructor highlighting proper housekeeping is essential. Ive seen a diver getting his octo stuck between corals and how quick panic takes over. U can tell by the way they breathe. With the usual group i dive with, there is always a dm assisting the instructor for OW course. These divers are then identified to others once they join the leisure dive. So we are aware of these new ones and everyone can look after each other.

I agree with diver observation. Im still new myself but i put the effort to trying to be safe and having a quality dive. I've dove with divers (some who are AOW) who drags themselves at the bottom, stirring silts, breaking corals, finning 45deg, unaware of people around him, colliding into other divers, not doing safety stop, etc. all without even noticing or knowing the mistakes they made. Knowing who these people are allows me to distance myself from them next time, in the event anything happens you dont want to become the 2nd victim. Its not easy to point their mistakes to them moreover since some started scuba much earlier than i.

 

[The Chairman]

Well, Pete since you asked why I deleted it, it was my truck.

True confessions... Nice truck. At least it's a Kayak on top!

 

[divad]

Re "don't rain on our parade."

It's dreary to hear about horrible instructors over and over (unless you revel in that sort of thing), but It would be nice to hear about a positive experience and the name of the shop/instructor that provided it.

 

[The Chairman]

That above part with the students is a brilliant idea.

Thanks! I try not to let it devolve into elitism. It only works if the mirror gets turned within.

Then there was the time we were getting ready to splash off of a Boynton beach boat. My AOW student noticed a guy with his regs on backward, with his regs to the left, rather than the right and he pointed it out to me. In turn, I pointed it out to the diver and he got hostile claiming that I was being a dive Nazi. so, I kept my two students back until he splashed. He caught his dangling octo in the ladder as he giant strided in and it tore off at the coupling. Oh my god, the bubbles were everywhere and we were expecting him to come right up. When he didn't, the diver on the deck jumped in and helped him out. He came up with no mask, a bloody nose and a swollen eye. He recalled the divers that had already splashed and we headed back in to a waiting ambulance. The whipping hose took off his mask and beat the crap out of him. We dove that afternoon instead. The student who saw the accident before it happened told me he understood why I wanted to splash after this guy and accused me of clairvoyance. I pointed out that he was the one who initially saw the problem. When you see a train wreck, do your best to avoid it and the aftermath. BTW, a week later the captain told me that the diver was way upset that the BOAT had lost the reg that was pulled off, his mask and his weight pockets. He thought they should comp him diving and replace all that gear and the hose. His carelessness caused all of us to miss the morning dives which cost the boat a lot of money and he wanted to be compensated for it.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I ended up in a similar situation with squared away Hogarthian gear. Climbing into Jackson Blue at night for the first time in years, no one told me the last step off the ladder was a doozy. Ended up getting my one leg caught on the rung, flipped upside down in my doubles, whacked my head, heard a tearing sound in my knee, and was fine the next day when I saw Pete at the NSS-CDS workshop.

One cave instructor I know was wearing squared away gear and tripped over the chain at Ginnie. We aren't perfect. For sure cleaning up danglies will reduce your chances of ending up having an accident, but plenty seems to happen even when you are wearing equipment that is streamlined and cleaned up.

I think the solution for most of our troubles in diving is less gear, not more. Let's face it, the SPG, the additional second stage, and the BCD are the perfect storm of discord. One wrench and a couple port plugs and divers will lose 30% of their PAR (personal @$$hole rating).