PADI vs NAUI

[Blackwood]

Somehow the old adage, "Experts built the Titanic while noobs built the Ark" seems to come to mind here.

... of course, depending on what you choose to believe, the Ark was either designed by God or it never existed at all ...

Yah, but to those who believe the former, God is the original noob.

 

[The Chairman]

some are just not up for any challenges if they have something to loose.

I guess your mind was on something else... again.





That being said, I don't try to delineate between a "sport" or "hobby" diver. It's a fool's errand to define something in such a way. What does it really matter? My diving is my sport, my hobby, my living and a large part of my life. You can think you're better than me and it won't hurt my feelings.

Yeah, I stopped logging dives right after becoming an instructor. I shoot fish and applaud the person who get's the biggest kill. It's all good.

 

[The Chairman]

Sub optimal is either too long or not enough taught.

So you agree with me that Thal's course is sub optimal because it's too long. I'm OK with that.

Every instructor has strong points and weak points. Improvement should be continual in every area. The man who ran my ITC was legendary in his use of time and we weren't allowed to waste a moment of it during our presentations. It was his contention that there's a lot of time wasted by instructors in many ways. As an instructor watching other instructors, I can agree with him. Time is money as well as it is skill and knowledge. You can increase efficiency without decreasing quality. In fact, bored or cold students make lousy students and I aim to never have one. Personally, I like the way things are divided right now. The one thing I would change would be the name of "AOW" to "OW II".

 

[Clammy]

Here's the problem, Clammy:

You and I are thinking of definition 1. Those who disagree with us will cite definition 3, which would include knitting, Xbox, and scuba diving, among many, many others.

Well no, not really because in this case those that disagree with us are intentionally differentiating hobby vs sport. In this case, definition 3 essentially shares it's definition with hobby. So in that sense, it's more accurate to see it as NetDoc does in that they are one in the same.

 

[Clammy]

Spearfishing (on scuba) is a sport, I shoot fish I win they loose that simple. Unless the next guy gets the biggest fish. As we do have tournaments and we do get judged... That by defintion is a sport. Would you like another example...?

I intentionally did NOT bring up sport fishing. First, I agree FREE DIVING and fishing is a sport but there's probably ANOTHER few hundred threads on whether or not hunting while in SCUBA is as much a sport as shooting penned animals or fishing (with rod) in a stocked pond. Second, to say SCUBA is a competitive sport because people have hunting competitions is like saying kicking a ball around is a sport because the game soccer exists. You can say hunting competitions while in SCUBA gear is a sport but that's different from defining the act of SCUBA diving itself as a sport. At best I think SCUBA diving can become a TOOL which you must practice and use to get better.

 

[CUTEBALDDIVER]

I've always wondered why NAUI does not mention this specifically. It is an important skill. I have my students do it anyway.

Here in the Philippines, NAUI instructors require no mask breathing.

NAUI DM 49497

 

[daniel1948]

... I agree FREE DIVING and fishing is a sport ...

Competitive freediving is definitely a sport. But recreational freediving (to just look at the pretty fishes and the corals, or to swim with wild dolphins, etc.) is an "activity", in my opinion. Just as racing is a sport, but jogging for exercise is an activity. I took a freediving class, where we dived competition style. But my goal was to improve my skills to increase my enjoyment of recreational freediving, which for me is a lot more fun than diving on a line.

 

[daniel1948]

The person who began this thread in 2003 by asking what are the differences between PADI and NAUI has never made another post on Scuba Board. That was his or her first and last. I find that very amusing, for a thread that has lasted almost 8 years and logged almost 600 posts.

 

[Blackwood]

The person who began this thread in 2003 by asking what are the differences between PADI and NAUI has never made another post on Scuba Board.

He's probably still trying to read this whole thread.

 

[Seraphimx]

On the criteria for selecting a course I will say that for me the only criterion was convenience. I knew that there were different agencies, but I had no idea what the difference was or even if there was a difference. I knew that there was a "trial dive" (e.g. PADI Discover Scuba) in which I could make one scuba dive with no more instruction than would be offered there and then, and with no previous training or experience required. I also knew (or thought I knew, since the reality was different) that I would have to take my mask off and replace it under water. (I was actually only required to flood it half way and clear it for that dive.)

I don't think I was aware that I could take the pool and classroom portion of an OW course at home and finish the OW at a resort. In fact, I was so nervous about the idea of taking my mask off, and breathing while my nose was directly exposed to water, that I postponed learning to dive for several decades, though I've been a snorkeler all my life, as well as a freediver if 5 or 6 feet of depth qualifies to be called freediving. As a child I regularly dove to 6 feet or so in the pool and in the ocean. And since getting my scuba certification I've taken a freediving class as well, and have made a dive to 28 meters. 20 meters is no longer too terribly difficult for me. Scuba and freediving are very different activities, and I enjoy both. I have no interest in the extremes of either.

When I finally decided to give scuba a try I inquired about a class at the resort I was at for snorkeling on Bonaire. I checked "Yes" under "Do you take any prescription medicines" and was informed I could not take even the PADI Discover Scuba class without a doctor's authorization, so it was not until a year or so later, at a resort in Belize, where I came prepared with the doctor's form, that I took the class.

There was one dive shop on the island. There was no choice of agencies or shopping for the best price. I was there for snorkeling, and trying out scuba was a fortuitous addition to my planned activities. On my PADI Discover Scuba dive, I was so seasick by the time we reached the dive site, and had so much difficulty equalizing my ears, that I decided not to continue, but the next week I decided to give it another shot, and I did so much better that I went on and got my OW certification.

If I had known about the "resort course" system, I would have chosen my agency based on speaking with the instructors beforehand to gauge their attitudes, rather than on any consideration about the underlying agencies or costs. I figure all the agencies are adequate, and instructor attitude is what matters. I was fortunate, as I've commented before, that my instructor in Belize was very competent, and very patient with me, especially with my difficulty equalizing on those first couple of dives, and my nervousness about taking off my mask, which in the end turned out not to be hard at all.

So to summarize, for me, convenience was the only criterion: I wanted to take the class somewhere I was going to be anyway. I suppose for some people cost could be a consideration. But I figure that cutting corners on cost is seldom if ever a good idea, especially on training in an activity that poses significant risks for the untrained or poorly trained. I think my training was adequate for the kind of diving I do. And I do believe that the risk increases when one moves from recreational diving to technical diving, where a direct ascent to the surface is no longer an option.

I think he pretty much nailed it.

99% of people who start diving will not know ANYTHING about diving skills. I didn't know if my agency was any good. They told me CMAS was started by Jacques-Cousteau and I was like COOL. I WANT IT!.

My 1st in-pool trainer was a spartan task master. He had us for a whole semester so he had time to burn and made us do drill when we had covered a subject and there was spare time (college class). My OW cert instructors were pretty laid back and honestly kinda useless. So as in any organisation, the person who teaches the class makes the difference. Even if PADI makes it's requirements SOLID, it's always the subjective view of an instructor that determines if it's a pass or no.

As a shopper, you'll most likely compare prices and convenience, you SURELY won't look at a OW class' curriculum and buy corresponding to that. A more advanced diver, yes. A beginner, not really.

And seriously, between 350$ and 400$ there's not much of a price difference for anyone to really consider the 350$ except if it's more convenient.

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http://www.diveaqua.com/dev/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=157
99$ scuba class + kit (99$)... see that would make me reconsider if I was a non-diver.