Pool practice ahead of my first ever PADI Open Water dive?

[TMHeimer]

But resort style training is not uncommon in 2 days. CW in the morning, 1 OW dive in the afternoon, 3 OW dives the next day, and off you go, you get your participation trop.... ahem ... certification card.

I think I'm out of the loop here. Total CW in one morning? Covering all the skills? I'll talk PADI-- How do resort style training places avoid all sorts of Standards violations?-- over time especially?
To be ludicrous, I suppose it could be done if the morning is midnight to noon.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I think I'm out of the loop here. Total CW in one morning? Covering all the skills? I'll talk PADI-- How do resort style training places avoid all sorts of Standards violations?-- over time especially?
To be ludicrous, I suppose it could be done if the morning is midnight to noon.

Well, I had one 4 hour pool session on a Friday night then open water dives on Saturday and Sunday. When I became an instructor, I realized HOW MANY skills were skipped.

I can't speak to things I don't see however. I've only seen in different locations throughout the world of "learn to dive in 2 days". PADI standards allow for it. If students perform the skills once and an instructor signs off on it, then PADI is going to take that instructor's word on it. It is unfeasible to do otherwise.

And honestly, any agency that allows 3 training dives in a day allows for 2-day resort courses. With the way some PADI shops flipped to SSI in Europe, I'm sure that if they offered a 2-day OW course, they still do.

There is one shop in my area that is run by a CD that has a few training deaths in the past few years that has a resort style, but 3 days (Friday night CW, Sat/Sun OW).

I think it is as obvious as the sun that I'm cynical on the industry. Maximum profits have the side effects of some people dying. As long as the number of people who die is below a certain threshold that causes governments to regulate or lawsuits from families of the deceased that costs agencies money, the practices we see will continue.

 

[Compressor]

Well, I had one 4 hour pool session on a Friday night then open water dives on Saturday and Sunday. When I became an instructor, I realized HOW MANY skills were skipped.

I can't speak to things I don't see however. I've only seen in different locations throughout the world of "learn to dive in 2 days". PADI standards allow for it. If students perform the skills once and an instructor signs off on it, then PADI is going to take that instructor's word on it. It is unfeasible to do otherwise.

And honestly, any agency that allows 3 training dives in a day allows for 2-day resort courses. With the way some PADI shops flipped to SSI in Europe, I'm sure that if they offered a 2-day OW course, they still do.

There is one shop in my area that is run by a CD that has a few training deaths in the past few years that has a resort style, but 3 days (Friday night CW, Sat/Sun OW).

I think it is as obvious as the sun that I'm cynical on the industry. Maximum profits have the side effects of some people dying. As long as the number of people who die is below a certain threshold that causes governments to regulate or lawsuits from families of the deceased that costs agencies money, the practices we see will continue.

Thank you for your points. They are excellent.

One of the effects of rushing people into certification is that skills required for safe and comfortable diving are not over learned. I mentioned above in my post. But also there is another deficiency that I observed in many new graduates.: lack of pride in what they have learned. When it's done so quickly where the physical part is completed, the student is tired mentally and physically. The attitude states; "I'm made it." Rather it should be: "I learned so much and accomplished to learn a new set of skills that while not perfect I will have for the rest of my life." Furthermore the love for the sport did not get planted in the diver.

I realize that our society is fast paced and perhaps does not have time for instilling such value in students.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

One of the effects of rushing people into certification is that skills are not over learned.

Did you mean "ever" or "over"?

But also there is another deficiency that I observed in many new graduates.: lack of pride in what they have learned. When it's done so quickly where the physical part is completed, the student is tired mentally and physically. The attitude states; "I'm made it." Rather it should be: "I learned so much and accomplished to learn a new set of skills that while not perfect I will have for the rest of my life." Furthermore the love for the sport did not get planted in the diver.

In my area, many of the people just want a c-card so they can go diving on vacation. They have no interest in becoming cold water divers. I can understand this. It isn't easy to dive in cold water, especially when they take their OW course in winter. While Seattle has mild winters, the weather still sucks most of the time, and when you learn in a wetsuit, oh God that isn't fun.

I think there's a general sense of "thank God this is over" and often "I don't ever want to dive in cold water again" (though I have converted a couple people into cold water divers that hated their open water experience).

I realize that our society is fast paced and perhaps does not have time for instilling such value in students.

When an on the knees certification is considered as good as a neutrally buoyant and trim with more repetition to ensure skills mastery, that's what you get.

I will say that my retention rate when I was out of my IE and teaching on the knees was very poor. Now that I teach neutrally buoyant and trim, it has flipped.

Quality of instruction is very controversial. ScubaBoard is absolutely NOT representative of the industry.

 

[Dubious]

how would you suggest I use that private pool time to best get back up to speed?

Leaving behind the valid concerns of everyone else, the things you can practice in the pool will be limited. Here are some ideas

1. Perform swim buoyancy exercises to see how breathing changes your position in the water. This also helps teach breath control.
2. practice exhaling at the surface (I used to be way overweighted because I failed to fully exhale)
3. Practice finning in and out of the water. Some new divers tend to bicycle kick instead of flutter (I did this). You can practice all kicks in and out of the water though it helps to have someone coaching you.
4. Practice mask clearing while sitting on the bottom and/or at a depth where you are neutral.
5. Practice mask removal and putting the mask back on land (with a hood if you will be using one). I had to do this after my check out dives. I originally had trouble making sure the skirt of the mask was not over the hood which made for some horrible diving although it did force me to work on clearing my mask over and over again.
6. Practice the free diving skills you were taught in the confined water training.

 

[JaminBrown]

@euroguycc

I’m a new diver, with only 24 dives. But to me, whomever is instructing you has failed on a massive scale.

My training had 5 classes on 5 different days with 5 pool sessions of an hour each after each class. There were a few months after the last class before the open water checkouts, and I was offered a new pool session prior to hitting the ocean.

Your instructor should be making sure you are ready to attempt your open water dives. The fact that you aren’t means they have failed.

 

[oly5050user]

Hello,

I am in the process of getting my PADI Open Water Diving Certification in SoCal. I had the first pool session on 7/18, but nothing since then.

I am scheduled to have my first open water dive off a boat this coming Sunday 8/9.

As of today I have all the gear for this coming open water dive (wetsuit / bcd / tank / regulator / weights / gloves / fins / mask / snorkel / boots).

I will have access to a pool by the end of the week, and was planning to use that opportunity to refresh my memory / re-practice mask clearing / proper trim etc under water, but found out that since I'm yet to be certified, I can't use the tank under water unsupervised...

So - without using the tank - how would you suggest I use that private pool time to best get back up to speed?

Alternatively, any suggestions re: "extending" my snorkel so I could still breathe while remaining underwater for a while?

You say you had 1 pool session. Was this a all day affair? Did you assemble and disassemble scuba unit 5 times? Did the final written exam or quick review associated with eLearning? Your suggestion about extending snorkel suggest a poor understanding of what effects of increased pressure is. If you feel uncomfortable about the certification dives arrange more pool time with instructor, even if means increased cost to you.

 

[Neilwood]

Leaving behind the valid concerns of everyone else, the things you can practice in the pool will be limited. Here are some ideas

1. Perform swim buoyancy exercises to see how breathing changes your position in the water. This also helps teach breath control.
2. practice exhaling at the surface (I used to be way overweighted because I failed to fully exhale)
3. Practice finning in and out of the water. Some new divers tend to bicycle kick instead of flutter (I did this). You can practice all kicks in and out of the water though it helps to have someone coaching you.
4. Practice mask clearing while sitting on the bottom and/or at a depth where you are neutral.
5. Practice mask removal and putting the mask back on land (with a hood if you will be using one). I had to do this after my check out dives. I originally had trouble making sure the skirt of the mask was not over the hood which made for some horrible diving although it did force me to work on clearing my mask over and over again.
6. Practice the free diving skills you were taught in the confined water training.

Unfortunately he has said he had private pool time but was unable to use the tank (due to pool restrictions) so your suggestions are impossible apart from the freediving one and a limited amount of finning.

 

[Jafo19D]

So what is considered CW in the ocean?

When I did my OW there were no pool sessions, it was all conducted during 6 sessions in the ocean off the boat. I remember the instructor during the first session(s) explaining that the dive(s) were considered CW because of such and such but I can’t remember the explanation.

 

[mhattenhauer]

So what is considered CW in the ocean?

When I did my OW there were no pool sessions, it was all conducted during 6 sessions in the ocean off the boat. I remember the instructor during the first session(s) explaining that the dive(s) were considered CW because of such and such but I can’t remember the explanation.

Confined open water means :

"2. Confined Water Dives

This is what it’s all about – diving. You'll develop basic scuba skills in a pool or in confined water – a body of water with pool-like conditions, such as off a calm beach. "

this is from the PADI website