OW checkouts

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outlawrench

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Huntsville, AL
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As I said in an earlier thread I just finished my pool dives and have to wait a whole month before scheduling will allow me to do my checkout dives. Are these dives going to be repeats of the confined water only deeper? I've found numerous descriptions of the confined water dives listed but the openwater all I can find is "you will demonstrate skills already mastered in the pool as well as other skills" or the like. What are the other skills?
 
the only skills you havent done in the pool that you will have to do in the ocean is basic compass navigation. you will have to swimm in a straight line on the surface, and will have to swim a straightline with recipricol heading uw. your instructor should have you practice these on land before going into the water.

The only other thing that may be different is the introduction of new gear (ie hood, gloves, full exposure pretection) which you may not have had in the pool. Generally if you were comfortable in the pool you will do fine in the ocean.

If you are diving PADI, you can look in your student logbook and each dive will tell you what skills you will have to do. or you can contact your instructor and they should be able to break it down for you..
 
From what I remember the 1st half or so of a dive would be doing drills and then we would go over to the reef and kick around for a little bit. Before that we also had a day of just being in a wetsuit doing different kicks and entry/exits and a weight check with a BC.
 
As I said in an earlier thread I just finished my pool dives and have to wait a whole month before scheduling will allow me to do my checkout dives. Are these dives going to be repeats of the confined water only deeper? I've found numerous descriptions of the confined water dives listed but the openwater all I can find is "you will demonstrate skills already mastered in the pool as well as other skills" or the like. What are the other skills?

If you are diving PADI, you can look in your student logbook and each dive will tell you what skills you will have to do. or you can contact your instructor and they should be able to break it down for you..

Good answer from annieols, outlawrench. If you are doing a PADI course, you've already learned the skills necessary for your open water sessions; now you'll be demonstrating that you can do them in open water.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me or any other PADI Instructor.

Bonne chance,
 
I wasnt really worried about it I had not trouble with any skill other than putting on my bc underwater which I will be practicing in the pool over the next couple of weeks. Also I had not even checked out the log book to see if there was any info in it, I actually assumed that all the pages in there were same blank pages (you know what they say when you assume).
 
Another answer wrt PADI: The main differences that come to mind are:
Added skill: compass
Changed skill: the CESA will be vertical
Reduced skill: you won't do the no-mask swim (although you'll still remove and replace your mask).
And descents will vary, starting with using a descent line or sloping bottom for dives 1 and 2, using only a visual reference for dive 3 and having no visual reference for dive 4 (you can use your depth gauge).

enjoy
 
As the others have said, the open water dives are just repeats of the skills you already practiced in the pool, just performed in open water. I did my first OW dives in a lake with not much to look at except an old toilet, a shopping cart and a few other items laughingly referred to as the "artificial reef". I did them there because when I went on my first true dive vacation I didn't want to spend valuable vacation time in paradise finishing my training. I actually had a great time on my OW certification dives. Just go do it and enjoy, it only gets better!
 
As I said in an earlier thread I just finished my pool dives and have to wait a whole month before scheduling will allow me to do my checkout dives. Are these dives going to be repeats of the confined water only deeper? I've found numerous descriptions of the confined water dives listed but the openwater all I can find is "you will demonstrate skills already mastered in the pool as well as other skills" or the like. What are the other skills?

Other skills? That just wouldn't be fair!

It's all about demonstrating what you have learned in the pool. Also for the first time you will put it all together and actually swim somewhere and hopefully see something besides band aids and hairballs. If you hit a snag it's just as much about fine tuning till you get it right.

As far as other skills they may be including some of the "soft skills" like watching out for your buddy and situational awareness.

If you can get out and do a few open water skin-dives between now and then it could do you a world of good. It's a great way to preview the site. Nothing will tone your legs to make you cramp proof like skin-diving.

Also be sure to keep visualizing yourself nailing the skills and everything about these virtual dives.

Pete
 
As I said in an earlier thread I just finished my pool dives and have to wait a whole month before scheduling will allow me to do my checkout dives. Are these dives going to be repeats of the confined water only deeper? I've found numerous descriptions of the confined water dives listed but the openwater all I can find is "you will demonstrate skills already mastered in the pool as well as other skills" or the like. What are the other skills?

Like the others have said it's just practicing the pool stuff plus the compass work. With the latter don't sweat it, i thought it was going to be hard but the worst thing was my instructor getting me to practice on land with a towel over my head in front of all the other divers having tea between dives and looking like a right prat, guess it was sort of an initiation.
 
I wasnt really worried about it I had not trouble with any skill other than putting on my bc underwater which I will be practicing in the pool over the next couple of weeks. Also I had not even checked out the log book to see if there was any info in it, I actually assumed that all the pages in there were same blank pages (you know what they say when you assume).
If a PADI course;
Tank removal and replacement underwater skill is only performed in confined water.You will not be required to do that on the training dives.If your instructor requires it he/she is breaking standards. You will do a removal /replacement on the surface.
The blue "training" log book has pages specifically for the training dives in addition to regular log pages.Look for the ow training dive pages and skills are spelled out there.Instructor is also required to brief you on skills immediately before the individual training dives and immediately debrief you after the dive.
 
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