Continuing on:
Bullet points 6 & 7 for PPB dive 1, bullet point 6 for PPB dive 2:
• Hover for 60 seconds without rising or sinking more than 1 metre/3 feet by making minor depth adjustments using breath control only (open-circuit scuba), or using very minor hand/fin sculling only (rebreathers).
• Make minor depth adjustments using breath control only (open-circuit scuba).
• Hover for 90 seconds without rising or sinking more than 1 metre/3 feet by making minor depth adjustments using breath control only (open-circuit scuba), or using very minor hand/fin sculling only (rebreathers).
In the open water course, students must:
(CW3) Underwater:
5. Hover using buoyancy control for at least 30 seconds, without kicking or sculling.
(CW4) Underater:
6. Orally inflate the BCD to hover for at least one minute, without kicking or sculling.
(CW5) Underwater:
4. Complete a simulated dive – Minidive – including:
• With a buddy, practice previously learned skills with emphasis on neutral buoyancy, hovering and swimming.
So hovering for 60 seconds and then 90 seconds is really such a big step from 30 seconds, then 60 seconds? Conclusion: basically the same.
Bullet points 7 and 8 for PPB dive 1, point 5 for PPB dive 2:
• Swim horizontally, while neutrally buoyant without touching the bottom or breaking the surface of the water with equipment or body.
• Demonstrate efficient fin kicks, using long, slow strokes and gliding.
• Demonstrate efficient fin kicks, using long, slow strokes and gliding after each kick.
In the open water course, students are to:
(CW4) Underwater:
5. With a buddy, swim over a simulated environmentally sensitive bottom while maintaining buoyancy control.
(CW5) Underwater:
4. Complete a simulated dive – Minidive – including:
• Demonstrate awareness and make efforts to avoid contact with simulated sensitive bottom and fragile aquatic organisms.
(OW2, OW3, & OW4) Underwater:
13. Avoid contact with sensitive organisms and the bottom, and resecure any equipment that becomes loose.
So inefficient kicks are part of open water and these are finally introduced in PPB? Give me a break. Drifting after a kick is really a skill? "I know how to pause finning. I'm an awesome diver!" LOL.
Bullet point 10 for PPB dive 1:
• Adjust weights (trim) and practice hovering in different positions – vertical, horizontal, feet slightly elevated and head slightly elevated.
We all know Buddha hovers are bullsh!t. Horizontal is just more of the same. Feet/head slightly elevated, meh. Not that different from just a hover.
Bullet point 7 for PPB dive 2:
• Flood and clear your mask while holding a specific hover depth and compensating for sudden buoyancy changes (rebreather divers
only).
I don't know about you, but I don't consider any skills to be mastered if they are not done neutrally buoyant and they don't change depth dramatically. It isn't that high of a bar, but appears to be for many instructors. So it comes down to this. If one is a sh!tty instructor, PPB is raising the bar. If one isn't a sh!tty instructor, then PPB isn't.
It all comes down to how standards (and the spirit of the standards) are interpreted.
Bullet point 8 for PPB dive 2:
• Maneuver as close to a nonliving portion of the bottom (rock, sand, etc.) without touching it and then back away using neutral buoyancy with hand or fin sculling.
Okay, so this is one new one. I will concede that. But teaching hand sculling? That's just insane. That's what bad divers do. Why would anyone teach bad habits? Oh yeah, those same instructors place students on the knees.
At least there is some leeway there for good instructors to teach backfinning. But it really should be required. From the lowest common denominator of standards interpretation, there really isn't much of a difference. For a good instructor, there's just backfinning.
So in conclusion: take fundies!
