Observed an OW class yesterday

[george_austin]

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.

You'll know the ones to avoid by the loud, boisterous (sic) behavior which is an attempt to frost over fear and anxiety but actually the dead give away is the "been there, seen that types" - (they haven't) I also stay away from the over equipped. I never point anything out except in a good natured, ribbing sort of way and even then only if I'm somewhat acquainted with them.

 

[EricTheDood]

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.

In hindsight, calling an ambulance was the wrong move. Trace had it right all along:

Divers discuss a poorly routed regulator hose.

View attachment 406462

 

[EricTheDood]

I think the solution for most of our troubles in diving is less gear, not more.

I dunno, what I've gathered from this thread is that one should dive with more gear. Knives to be specific.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

One component of dive planning is situational awareness. Identifying hazards that may affect your safety is part of that. Like Pete, on checkout dives part of the time is spent looking at other groups. Who is rushing through their dives, getting into the water with gear unsecured, overweighted, not properly equipped for the temps (saw one instructor take some students through in shorties, instructor was in an old ratty full suit and every one of them came out shivering after 20 minutes of skills. Water temp that day was in the mid 60's), and how they are buddied up.
All of those factors at a training site can have an impact on other's safety, enjoyment, and impression of the activity.
They are also great advertisements for shops and instructors that go the extra mile.

 

[jringold]

I’m one of those that got the rushed OW course at a resort in HI. I’m sure starting out even after I received my cert, I looked not unlike what you witnessed. The interesting thing is watching other divers I recognized pretty quickly on my own that I had some work to do. The two absolute best things I did was take the PADI Refresher and Peak Performance Buoyancy certs. I am now AOW and Notrix cert. But these two courses are the ones that really made the difference. In Refresh, we worked on skills that I was able to pass in OW but not comfortable with (clearing a mask at depth). PPB made the largest difference. That is where I learned about ‘dangles’, learned that my inflator is not an elevator, etc. After that course, my diving is immeasurably more enjoyable. After that course, I properly weight myself, once at depth never even touch my inflator, and essentially glide around the bottom. In OW, I never learned the concept of using my lungs to control my depth. I was too busy worried about drowning. I personally strongly recommend PPB for new divers. For me it was like the continuation or fine tuning of what I learned in OW.

Morgan

 

[The Chairman]

I saw Pete at the NSS-CDS workshop.

Is that what happened to your face??? Sry, I couldn't resist.

I think the solution for most of our troubles in diving is less gear, not more.

There's a solution! However, I remember diving without octos or SPGs. I like it better this way.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have no idea what happened in this particular class, and I am no defender of poor OW classes. I have probably mentioned over 50 times during my years on ScubaBoard that my own OW training was a festival of standards violations. I might be able to offer an insight into some reasons for some of the problems.

I did OW training for two different dive shops over the years, and in each case, the students all used the shop's equipment. As an instructor working for that shop, you have no choice but to use what the shop provides, and that can be a real mess. The second shop I used, for example, used those ridiculously ineffective hose securing devices, the ones that have a series of half circles into which you "snap" the hoses. The hoses then slide through to their full length, meaning they have almost no effect whatsoever. After much complaining, I finally got them to put bolt snaps on the consoles so they would not be dragging, but they were not happy with that added expense. Both shops used very ineffective but cheap alternate air securing devices that broke easily. I finally got a supply of extras to bring with me.

Shops are not eager to replace old and worn out equipment, and they wait as long as possible. Once again, it is the instructor who has to deal with it, and you learn after a while how far your complaining goes. You have to decide how important each issue is. Will it be a critical safety issue? If so, you must deal with it, but if not.....

As the Director of Instruction of the second shop told me in exactly these words, "instructors are a dime a dozen." He said he had someone showing up looking for work about every other week, so an instructor who does not like the way the shop does things can easily be replaced.

 

[Jack Hammer]

We all have to start somewhere. Loose tanks and danglies are gonna happen in OW classes, they "shouldn't" but they will. Often times there is more going on than what is seen from the outside. What that means is perhaps the instructor showed them their reg full of sand/dirt or loose tank that just got worse when they got in the water to instill the importance of why to address those things before splashing...
...or perhaps it was just crappy instruction.

I tend to worry more about my own diving and practices.

 

[TMHeimer]

I haven't witnessed such a scene at either the shop where I used to DM (well that would've been my fault too) or the one in FL where I took some courses. Securing tanks and danglies properly is not one of the hardest aspects of OW an instructor has to teach.

 

[HantsDiver]

It's very sloppy. 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.

Right... Can I ask what makes you think you can determine what is and isn't sloppy? And what is squared away? I usually jump off a boat with one fin on and no mask on. You won't usually find me with a reg in my mouth on the surface. You could call that sloppy. But there are good reasons for all of those things.

There was definitely a lot of fumbling around once these students got in the water. Much easier to make any adjustments before you get in the water, not after.

How much fumbling around does it take to stick a gauge/spg into a cumberband? I take my gauge out and look at it all the time when I'm diving. I then clip it back onto my harness.

If you don't ever watch other people and wonder what the hell they are doing, you're missing out. Quite the entertainment.

I have better things to do. When I'm diving if I see something that concerns me I say so and try and help people out. I get more enjoyment out of helping people and chilling with my friends, than feeling superior to others.

Then yesterday, there was also the rebreather guy (with multiple buddies) who came to the surface spluttering and seeming to have some issues, but since his buddies weren't dragging him out of the water or screaming for help, it must not have been too serious.

Perhaps his friends were inexperienced. Do you really not think it would be advisable to offer help in that situation? Or at least asked if they were okay?

All this might sound harsh. But diving isn't about standing around and feeling superior. It's about enjoying something with your friends. I'm pretty sure that if we were to dive together I'd be able to pick holes and ridicule you. But I wouldn't I'd smile and enjoy myself and try and help you. I've dived with total newbies up to very very senior technical instructor trainers. There is no way the best would ever stand around and do nothing, and then come onto a website and talk about it.