Open water cert in a pool?

[beejw]

Nemo33 i can see would be excellent for checking out new kit/winter training when real diving is blown out......snip....

not really. i just read through the site and theyre not allowing the use of private regulators with DIN valves at all, and if you have a yoke connection, you must have an air intergrated computer to be allowed to use it, otherwise you must use one of the aqua lung supplied regs...also, i get the impression that you dont use weights there, as it says to leave your weights and weight belts in the locker room....and youve gotta have full foot fins.

 

[String]

In that case its far too restrictive to be used for anything productive.

I like my regs, especially if diving to > 30m. They're serviced, in good working order and looked after by me. I know them. I dont trust rental regs especially deep. It maybe a pool but with 30m of water above you a dodgy reg is bad wherever the water is.

Full foot fins i also detest and find them very uncomfortable. I wear booties and my normal open heel fins even in heated pools.

As for weights, if not wearing a suit i suspect you could get away with it (most people could). If wearing a suit then no chance. Water would need to be > 30c for me to consider no suit though.

 

[beejw]

they say the water is 30c. ive dove a rental reg to 31meters (in thailand with an instructor) with no problems...then again i really didnt have a choice, as i didnt have my own regs then

i agree. full foot fins are unconfortable and run, unless you have neoprene socks, which can be hard to find.

 

[boulderjohn]

I supplied links to two sites that are acceptd for OW training by a number of agencies, and thousands of people are certified at those sites. Since no one commented, I suspect no one followed the links. They each make a typical quarry look like vast expanse, and the OP's site looks great compared to them, too.

Homestead Crater in Utah is a thermal pool inside a natural dome. It is completely enclosed, 95-96 degrees, and only a little larger than a good sized pool. Every dive would be a night dive were it not for the lights.

The Blue Hole in New Mexico is only slightly larger. It is also completely enclosed, and it runs about 80 feet deep. I saw it once when there were so many students in it that I think you could have run all the way across without getting your feet wet.

Because of the geography of the Rocky Mountain region, those are nearly the only sites available for a number of states for most of the year. People in the largest population center in the region, the Denver Metro area, have to drive 6-8 hours to get to either site, and these are the closest sites--really the only local sites--available for most of the year.

 

[wedivebc]

I believe PADI was asked about the qualification of WEM for OW a few years back, and even they thought it was a bad idea and didn't approve it. That's gotta say something.

That's because PADI standards certify you to dive under conditions similar to those you were trained on. Learning in a giant bathtub would be pretty limiting for any diver although JeffG mentioned the water was cold so you could probably do drysuit specialty
There is just so many things wrong with this idea I don't know where to begin.

 

[beejw]

I supplied links to two sites that are acceptd for OW training by a number of agencies, and thousands of people are certified at those sites. Since no one commented, I suspect no one followed the links. They each make a typical quarry look like vast expanse, and the OP's site looks great compared to them, too.

Homestead Crater in Utah is a thermal pool inside a natural dome. It is completely enclosed, 95-96 degrees, and only a little larger than a good sized pool. Every dive would be a night dive were it not for the lights.

The Blue Hole in New Mexico is only slightly larger. It is also completely enclosed, and it runs about 80 feet deep. I saw it once when there were so many students in it that I think you could have run all the way across without getting your feet wet.

Because of the geography of the Rocky Mountain region, those are nearly the only sites available for a number of states for most of the year. People in the largest population center in the region, the Denver Metro area, have to drive 6-8 hours to get to either site, and these are the closest sites--really the only local sites--available for most of the year.

I looked at the sites, but im not overly qualified to go making accusations and commets on what PADI, NUAI or any other organisation for tha matter is accepting, however, i feel, personally that these sites in no way prepare anyone for true "open water" diving in the ocean.


On another note, (stick with me here, this is pretty wild) Would it be tangible to build an indoor facility with simulated ocean conditions, like surge, current, surface chop and variable temperature, or even having seperate pools for different temperatures, one with nice warm water, one with cooler water and one with cold water for those doing dry training or those wanting to test there new suits? If they could manipulate the water enough, which the can do, as is evident with wave pools around the world, this would make a tangible facility, much better then nemo 33. If i had the resources I'd do it.sorry for the semi hi-jack, but im just wdonering if something like this would be accepted by the wider community? or is it still "just a pool".

 

[String]

The cost involved with that would probably mean entry would be so high it'd be cheaper for people to go to the real sea and dive.

Just the cost involved heating millions of gallons of water would be incredible without anything else.

 

[captain]

This points to one of the problems with the scuba industry as a whole. Maybe there shouldn't be as many LDS's and training available in areas that don't have reasonably close diveable water. And maybe the people who live in those are as should not consider taking up diving as a sport. But the industry is geared to certifying as many as possible and selling equiptment to as many as possible. What happens after the certs and equiptment is bought doesn't concern the industry.

 

[boulderjohn]

This points to one of the problems with the scuba industry as a whole. Maybe there shouldn't be as many LDS's and training available in areas that don't have reasonably close diveable water. And maybe the people who live in those are as should not consider taking up diving as a sport. But the industry is geared to certifying as many as possible and selling equiptment to as many as possible. What happens after the certs and equiptment is bought doesn't concern the industry.

Not sure I understand your point. What do you think the industry should do differently?

Are you arguing that there should be a regulatory body that determines how many dive shops and divers can live in a certain geographical area?

Colorado has among the highest per capita number of divers in the U.S. Should a moratorium be issued that prevents any new divers here until enough certified divers die or move out?

Should the dive industry turn people away when they come in and ask to be certified?

 

[captain]

Not sure I understand your point. What do you think the industry should do differently?

Are you arguing that there should be a regulatory body that determines how many dive shops and divers can live in a certain geographical area?

Colorado has among the highest per capita number of divers in the U.S. Should a moratorium be issued that prevents any new divers here until enough certified divers die or move out?

Should the dive industry turn people away when they come in and ask to be certified?

I'm not suggesting anything just giving an opinion. With no nearby dive sites how many times a year on average does the average Colorado diver dive and where. Where are "open water" checkouts done?
I would guess not as often as those who live in coastal states or near the Great Lakes.
The the thread is about certification without an "open water" dive. The definition of "open water" is different to different people on this thread. Some feel "open water" should be the ocean, other say a quarry or a river or a pond is "open water". Until the industry has a definition of what "open water" is comprised of such as depth, visibility, temperature, current, marine life, surface conditions, etc than a pool is as good as anything.