Resort Class policies
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Diverlady13
Contributor
That's fine, you don't have to agree with me, but if you didn't do the requisite training dives, corners were cut. There actually are reasons the dives are separated out the way they are, particularly for the OW certification. That is not a matter of opinion, it's a fact. I was a PADI Instructor for 20 years, retired December of 2020 and have certified over 1000 divers. As a shop owner for 20 years, my shop certified thousands. So take it for what it's worth, but you will be challenged to find an instructor worth their salt who disagrees with me on this point or with training standards. And I sincerely mean no offense, we literally all started at zero - but with less than 100 dives, you honestly don't know what you don't know. The more experience you gain, your perceptions may change.
I wish you a long, enjoyable and safe diving career
I clearly know that I have far fewer dives and experience than you do. You also weren't present at my OW training, so you really cannot say whether the instruction I got was good or not. All you can say is that you think that doing the pool work and two dives in a day was a standards violation. Even so, and I can't disagree and I am unable to find those standards anywhere, that doesn't mean the actual diving instruction was poor. It seems that it was far better than a lot of the instruction that others posted about. Our instructor was very thorough and very patient. We did skills mid-water, not on our knees. We had to complete all tasks successfully. There was no "well you'll get it eventually after you are certified". It was made clear that if it took extra time or extra dives, that was what would happen. Lots of other things as well, but you don't need a long list.
I do respect your experience and advice. I am constantly seeking improvement in my diving. I seek improvement in everything I do because I like to do things well and I'm a detail person. To the point someone else made, NO, I am not one of the people who thinks my instructor was a diving god, though I'm sure other people do feel that way about theirs. Everyone has their faults and I tend to be pretty critical. When I was first flying, I fired 3 instructors because they weren't good enough. I don't like shortcuts, especially when it comes to activities that may result in death if one's training and/or experience is poor or inadequate. What I can say is that I read a lot of threads here on ScubaBoard that continue to drive home that I was pretty luck to have gotten hooked up with the instructor I had because you can't really know until you're either in the situation or past the situation and looking back.
Diverlady13
Contributor
I never said I was an Advanced Diver. Where did you get that impression?? I took the courses back to back to get more training, not to be able to say that I'm an advanced diver. I still consider myself a beginner....maybe an advanced beginner.
EDIT: Ooops - this reply was actually meant for @ggunn
Diverlady13
Contributor
Nope. I have thick skin and really don't give a s&%t what other people think. I'm open to learning and improving and don't need others looking down on me because I have less experience. The only way to learn and improve is to keep on diving, which I do all the time. At least I'm honest about my skill level. I could have simply checked off that I don't log dives or that I have 1,000+ dives and wouldn't be hearing about how I don't know what I don't know. With my volunteer diving, I likely have more than 100 dives, but I don't log those because they are on hookah rather than scuba. They are still dives and still require some skill - and have helped me learn about new skills and gear.
Honestly, this attitude is pervasive in pretty much any skilled activity and it turns off a lot of people new to those activities. I've seen it here on ScubaBoard and on boat dives, seen it in my volleyball league, seen it even on the knitting forum that I'm a member of. It's "mean girls" at play. I get really tired of people telling newer divers that they don't know what they're talking about. Sure we don't know everything, but I'd say that most of us are probably at least semi-intelligent people who can educate ourselves about diving out of the water and then test out new skills in the water.
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The name of the AOW course is Advanced Open Water. I did not mean to criticize at all tho. You're off to a good start. People with 5,000 dives have accidents at times for failing something basic like dropping weights in an emergency.
That depends on the training agency. For NAUI it's Scuba Diver and Advanced Scuba Diver.
Who knows what the other 298 agencies call their courses.
Diverlady13
Contributor
Sorry - I edited my post. I clicked reply to you accidentally rather than ggunn who seemed to think I thought I was an advanced diver just because I took the AOW course. To be fair to him, I know that lots of people come off that course thinking they are advanced just because of those 5 dives. I'm definitely not one of those people. Over the years I've participated in many activities where one needs to develop skills over time. I'm always willing to admit that I'm new at something and need help. I'm fortunate to be able to travel frequently for diving and have been extremely lucky to get to observe some very experienced and skilled divers. I like to watch what other people do and pick up good tips and new skills.
Glad you were trained well and interested to continued learning. The above statement does seem a bit at odds with your earlier disagreement with a comment that cutting corners was not good instruction.
@Diverlady13
My personal experience? I did the book work on my own. (Tables baby...) Then 2 days in the pool. Then a REALLY terrible SIX DAYS trying to get in four check out dives in Antigua. Got the last two on the 7th and last day from a different company with a MUCH better instructor who actually cared. (And had a boat that worked.) amazing how much more we got out of those 2 dives. We actually lost a friend to diving as the first instructor was so terrible. She quit day one and laid on the beach the rest of the week.
Then we came to Coz and dove with a (Shut it you) Dive Goddess instructor. (hehe) Anyway, we knew enough to pretty much not die. We got a handful more dives under our belt and then we took advanced open water, which really should be called 'Ok, so now you kind of get it, lets really teach you some useful dive stuff.'
In the intervening years, I have dove with a lot of brand new divers. Mostly they are all a little shaky. Its the nature of it, I think. They all got something they worry about regardless of how they took the class. Me it was alway do I need more weight or less. Like EVERY dive. You need to do it to get truly, mostly competent. I sent a bunch of nieces and nephews through the one pool day class and they came out fine. They just needed an uncle to take them to Coz a bunch for experience.....
I think you got the idea. Get enough training to not kill yourself and AOW to actually give you some useful stuff and then dive as much as you can to get the practice. Just keep learning.
And then once you got enough dives, be sure to sit on the boat and give the newbies a little eye roll so they know you are an old salt. Then help them as soon as they appear to acknowledge your dive goddess status.... Try to also bring a wing and plate BCD into the discussion and spout some initials for your dive style.....
Seriously there is not much better than the look of amazement in the eyes of new divers in Cozumel, right?
My personal experience? I did the book work on my own. (Tables baby...) Then 2 days in the pool. Then a REALLY terrible SIX DAYS trying to get in four check out dives in Antigua. Got the last two on the 7th and last day from a different company with a MUCH better instructor who actually cared. (And had a boat that worked.) amazing how much more we got out of those 2 dives. We actually lost a friend to diving as the first instructor was so terrible. She quit day one and laid on the beach the rest of the week.
Then we came to Coz and dove with a (Shut it you) Dive Goddess instructor. (hehe) Anyway, we knew enough to pretty much not die. We got a handful more dives under our belt and then we took advanced open water, which really should be called 'Ok, so now you kind of get it, lets really teach you some useful dive stuff.'
In the intervening years, I have dove with a lot of brand new divers. Mostly they are all a little shaky. Its the nature of it, I think. They all got something they worry about regardless of how they took the class. Me it was alway do I need more weight or less. Like EVERY dive. You need to do it to get truly, mostly competent. I sent a bunch of nieces and nephews through the one pool day class and they came out fine. They just needed an uncle to take them to Coz a bunch for experience.....
I think you got the idea. Get enough training to not kill yourself and AOW to actually give you some useful stuff and then dive as much as you can to get the practice. Just keep learning.
And then once you got enough dives, be sure to sit on the boat and give the newbies a little eye roll so they know you are an old salt. Then help them as soon as they appear to acknowledge your dive goddess status.... Try to also bring a wing and plate BCD into the discussion and spout some initials for your dive style.....
Seriously there is not much better than the look of amazement in the eyes of new divers in Cozumel, right?
Diverlady13
Contributor
This is going to be my last post in this thread. How on Earth was I supposed to know that it's not within standards to do the course in 2 days?! PADI does NOT supply this information to students. It's not available on their website for students to read. LOTS of ops do the course over 2 days (for those that do the e-learning in advance). That includes a great big dive op in Florida who lots of you seem to think is the best op ever. I've never seen a comment about how that op is breaking standards, but maybe it's because it seems to be the sweetheart of most ScubaBoard members.
So, please tell me (or, really, don't) how I am somehow responsible for this supposed violation of standards. Your argument doesn't stand up. I can judge my instruction based on the actual instruction. I still do not feel that my instructor cut corners and it's ridiculous for anyone here to assert that without having been a part of my course. How many people here did their skills on their knees rather than at neutral buoyancy. Go pick on their instructor and leave me out of the rest of this conversation.
Please, nobody reply to this. I've come to find that this site is like most social media sites...filled with people who always know better and want to prove their prowess. I've requested that my account be deleted.
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