Sooooooo, no more Fish ID courses from Kosta? Oh well.....Thanks for catching my typo.
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Sooooooo, no more Fish ID courses from Kosta? Oh well.....Thanks for catching my typo.
Ah! He has answered. So he objects to having more divers collect debris, and he is OK with destroying a reef to kill a lionfish, and he hates whale sharks. OK, fine. He seems to have missed the point that it may not matter to newer divers what HE likes or dislikes, or that what he is good at may not be what others are goos at, but they would like to learn about.
Why not? It is a great course if taught by someone knowing the fish, especially if coupled with the REEF.org materials.Sooooooo, no more Fish ID courses from Kosta? Oh well.....
What makes it "nickel and diming"? If you want to go out and learn those things by yourself, go out and learn by yourself. If you want a qualified instructor to teach you, why not take a class? If you do take a class from a professional instructor, why shouldn't that instructor be paid?I am simply against cynical nickel and diming -- that's all -- in an already expensive pursuit; have nothing against whale sharks; trash collecting; and have never harmed a reef, while pronging tasty lionfish . . .
That's a fair criticism of all mainstream agencies, not just PADI. Who doesn't offer boat diver, drift diver, and similar?I am simply against cynical nickel and diming, in an already expensive pursuit; have nothing against whale sharks; trash collecting; and have never harmed a reef, while pronging tasty lionfish . . .
You can do the skin diving anytime after Confined Water #1. Confined Water #1 is first because you can get credit for it from DSD.My gripe with PADI is the inflexibility in their courses. I couldn't start a course with skin diving skills like I can with any other agency. That's a super useful tool for me when teaching open water, as it eases students into scuba. Moving surface skills around should also be a non issue, same with free flowing regulator. Plus, I cannot add performance requirements for certifications.
When I read comments like this, that start with someone criticizing PADI for the 'knees' approach, I have to chuckle, because I am always reminded of one of my favorite ads in a scuba magazine (from 2013):Hartattack:Moreover, the student never learned correct buoyancy techniques with their Open Water Course because they were on their knees most of the time with seven other students.
You are missing a great opportunity to come you with your own specialty, like octopus arm wrestling, shark dentistry, orca proctology, hagfish de slimeing, puffer fish dribbling...the options are limitless.