PADI Holds The New World's Record for Fastest OW Class

[elmbruker]

Because the world is a very "fast-paced-get-it-done-yesterday" arena these days, we get a lot of requests for an accelerated scuba program or "One weekend" courses. While we do offer accelerated programs and we offer our six week courses on Sundays, we do not offer "One weekend" courses. Since you may be wondering, we feel it is important to give you the reasons why and to offer you a couple of alternatives if you are on a tight schedule.

When we schedule a course one night per week, it gives you an opportunity to "have something come up at work" or to "run-a-little-late." If you miss a day or need extra help on one of the lessons, we are able to schedule a time for make-ups. The longer schedule format also allows you the opportunity to understand the knowledge development sections and gives you more time for practice during the pool sessions. All in all, it allows you to enjoy the learning experience and have fun in the process.

Regardless of the training agency, most Open Water Diver courses are college level courses. During the course you need to read chapters corresponding to the lessons, participate in diving activities that build on the previous activities, and demonstrate a level of understanding that will allow you to be safe and have fun in the "real world" outside of the pool. Each course module builds upon the lessons of the previous modules. There are videos, homework assignments, exercises and activities involved with each of these modules. When you do one module per week, you have ample opportunity for those unforeseen things to pop up in life as they sometimes do. This reduces your anxiety and stress level so that the diving experience can be fun and enjoyable

 

[elmbruker]

Yep, if you can believe it, that is from my PADI certifying LDS. Did you research your LDS/instructors? Did you go into it your class wanting to pass, or honesty want to learn something from it? It frustrates me how anyone could blame a agency, or dive master for their own negligence. If your certified with any agency, you take on the risks associated with diving. If you haven't learned to thumb a dive before leaving you comfort zone, or don't know how much gas you have at anytime of the dive...Take the OW class again with a different LDS, dive master, or agency and see if that helps. If you still haven't learned anything, and haven't yet learned how dangerous this sport is through your own ignorance...Sorry to say, but only you are at fault. You might not be mentally ready to protect yourself from serious injury that can result from diving. It might hurt your pride a little, but YOU are responsible for your own safety, Period! Accidents unfortunately happen, but if you follow someone, anyone down past your comfort zone, while neglecting to realize you might be "out of gas". Thats no accident! Thats negligence, and It's yours, PERIOD.

Disclaimer: This message not intended for personal use of on specific person!
Dive safe, educate yourself, there is only one of you.
I think this thread was a good read.

Bruke

 

[Storm]

I think this thread was a good read.
Bruke

It was until you tried to troll with it.

 

[craborn]

AL..... My first open water certification was the same way and was not PADI. Lucky for me I had great divers take my under their fins and trained me before I hurt myself or someone else. I think that is why I am so strict about training now.

 

[Web Monkey]

Mike....It seems to me that you expect newbie divers to be required to be trained to the Nth level of tech diving. Is it really necessary for joe diver looking for beer bottles in 30 ft. of lakewater....or on a guided salt water reef dive at 50 feet...to be able to computate gas management as if he's deco diving? The mechanics of static and dynamic trim...??? I mean seriously?? We're not talking about a moon landing here.

It's pretty sad when teaching a diver how to properly weight himself, adjust his trim to be horizontal, and plan to have enough gas to get himself and his buddy safely to the surface is considered "Nth level of tech diving"

Terry

 

[Mlody11]

I havent Read all 27 pages of this post but... I think that operating a car is WAY more dangerous than scuba diving and the state of Illinois only requires you to take a written test and test drive. Nuff said.

 

[Storm]

I havent Read all 27 pages of this post but... I think that operating a car is WAY more dangerous than scuba diving and the state of Illinois only requires you to take a written test and test drive. Nuff said.

Hardly... Mlody11...not a good anaology with this one.

I don't need stats on this one...just look at the daily carnage on the roads in North America... I understand and agree that operating a car can be more dangerous than diving, but the reason that operating a car is more dangerous is due to the fact that most drivers are not sufficiently trained and tested to ensure that they know how to drive safely, and know to take ACTIVE steps to drive properly.

Perhaps if we raised the bar on minimum driving requirments there might be a few less deaths each year due to inexpereinced drivers either getting themselves killed or killing someone else. DOT did just that here in my home province and the reduction in new driver accidents dropped dramatically.

 

[elmbruker]

Storm,

I personal wouldn't say that was a bad analogy. But, I would of said...that even though we receive drivers training certificates, we still speed, run red lights, and inadvertently cause accidents. Really can't blame the agency for any of mine, as most of them were caused by "ME" driving outside of posted limits! As before, really just trying to address the original question in this thread by not criticizing an organization for "our" diving accidents.

Bruke

 

[nyprrthd]

I agree that the analogy to driving isn't all that bad. Why?:

1. Both are activities that are inherently safe, but potentially dangerous.
2. Experience plays an important role in the development of habits; both good and bad. If your father cuts people off for no good reason, or runs through "yellow" lights, chances are you will pick up those bad traits. If you do something dangerous while diving, and no one corrects you, it can easily become a dangerous habit.
3. Practicing emergency skills can forestall future accidents. I always take a new car to an icy/snowy parking lot to test its handling characteristics in an emergency situation. Every test drive includes a hard braking test to see how the car deals with an emergency stop. OOA drills, flooding your mask, and other practices make a diver safer when/if the real thing happens.
4. The levels and thoroughness of training varies, depending on the instructor.
5. A student driver can try to learn everything he/she needs to be a safe driver, or can learn the basic minimum required to pass a driving test. Likewise for divers.
6. Other people's stupidity can endanger you.

I read through the PADI book again last night, and, now that I have a few dives under my belt, I believe that the text is reasonably complete. Boils down to the competency of the instructor, and the seriousness of the student. All comes back to the fact that it's your life, your dive, and your responsibility to make sure you know what you need to know to be safe. Most folks don't believe that "it" can happen to them, until they're lying in a hospital bed.

IMHO, new OW divers should be required to dive with a DM until they have 20-25 logged dives. Of course, there are people who forge their log books, but that's a different thread...............

 

[Storm]

Sorry guys and gals, I guess I didn't say that one right.

I didn't mean to imply that the analogy was incorrect, rather that the use of it in this case is faulty logic, and actually makes my argument for me, and not Mlody11's.

If you consider the fact that car accidents are responsible a large number sudden deaths and injuries (non illness related - just to keep us off the cancer kills more argument) and that in a large number of those accidents (just go to any insurnace company's payout statistics) an inexperieinced driver was involved, then it easy to conclude that the "only requires you to take a written test and test drive" (minimum standards for driver education) scenario is part of the problem.

This is why I was saying that comparing driving licensing requirements to diving requirements does not make for good sense when one is arguing that the current standards are enough. It is obvious, by the carnage on our highways, that the current driver education requirements are not enough. My premise was that perhaps the RTSC standards for OW training are in the same situation...not high enough.

By comparing the two (diving and driving) with all the similarities, Mlody11 was actually making my argument for me...somehting I do not believe was his/her intention.