Should Padi OW be called Resort Diver?

[RJP]

Maybee I'm overthinking this.

Or, maybe you're underthinking it?

It's the instructor, not the agency. When I finished my OW class - with a PADI instructor - I was able to plan and execute dives indepent of a DM or instructor. The PADI standards themselves say that is what should happen. If that does NOT happen... that's the instructor (and perhaps the student's) fault. Not PADI's.

 

[chrpai]

I think he's about right on.

PADI already has such a course, it's called Scuba Diver. I can't say I've ever seen anyone take it though. Funny thing is every instructor will go on about course standards and how *THEIR* divers are taught well and never told they need to follow a DM around. And yet I meet so many of my neighbors who are "divers" and that is exactly what they think they need. I've had several turn me down for a dive in Lake Travis because "they would only want to go with a dive master".

The stated message and the implied / received message is very different.

 

[rhodges]

Something has been ticking away at the back of my lil brain.
This ALL refers to freshly minted divers NOT guys who have their card cos they need it to do charter dives etc.
From what I've seen,experienced and heard the Padi open water dive course doesn't equip you to go out with your buddy and run your own dive. According to Padi it does but reality seems to be totally different.
Once someone has a few dives under their belt and/or have done the "advanced" course they have the skills needed to dive proficiently. Their weighting is about right,they have good Boyancy control etc.
On that basis I just wonder if the Padi OW shouldn't be called resort diver and you dive with a dive master as a minimum.
Maybee I'm overthinking this.

I see where you're coming from. My OW class was lacking, but i didn't know it at the time. Thanks to scubaboard and all of its wonderful members i can dive and not look like an incompetent idiot. I still only have OW simply because i hate to give PADI anymore of my hard earned money, but i have great buoyancy, trim, and dive well in general, or so I'm told.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

There are plenty of divers out there that want to have someone lead them. There are also plenty of resort operation out there that cater to this want.
Progression, building confidence and competence is entirely up to the diver.

It is up to them to hire the right tool for the job (Instructor) to help them meet their goals.....if they do have goals of progressing.

Progression requires desire, commitment, time and money. Many posters in this thread already know this.
New divers have to decide forthemselves if they want to commit their personal resources to advance themselves.

I'm all about taking the occasional kick at the PADI ball. I have taken good and bad PADI classes, it's probably the same with most other agencies, so do your research.

But all kidding aside.....if a diver lacks skill, confidence, and the ability to plan a dive.....it's on THEM.
Any diver that has higher skill, confidence and ability had to work at it. They have done it by seeking out good Instructors, and going diving......most have spent a lot of money on dive trips, and diving in a variety of conditions.

There are plenty of Instructors out there, representing multiple agencies, that can get you to where you want to go in terms of progression.
There are slacker Instructors AND Students out there; there are also highly comitted Instructors and Students out there as well.

Find an Instructor that shares your outlook, and hire them for the services they can provide you and start progressing.

It is up to the Student.

Cheers,
Mitch

 

[Wineaux]

I'd have been pretty pissed off if, after taking my OW in Monterey in February (thankyouverymuch), I was handed my card and told "Congratulations, you can only dive at a tropical resort.".

 

[RJP]

I'd have been pretty pissed off if, after taking my OW in Monterey in February (thankyouverymuch), I was handed my card and told "Congratulations, you can only dive at a tropical resort.".

Hey, I dive in NJ... Monterey in February IS a tropical resort!

:d

 

[Frosty]

Hey folks just to be clear. What I posted was based on what I have seen personally and instabuddies I have dived with.
Divers NOT actually ready to be an equal teammate in a buddy situation.
Maybee I've been unlucky but having dived with folks from the US,europe,NZ,australia,Japan and the pacific islands it does seem to be universal that the four dives haven't been sufficient to prepare them.
I guess what I'm struggling with is that nothing else I'm involved in in life would 3 hours of training be concidered qualified.
Perhaps resort diver is the wrong word. Maybee the word I was looking for was restricted diver.

 

[boulderjohn]

After getting certified, I did my first two years of diving in tropical resorts where I had pretty much everything done for me. I thought that was the way diving was. Then I went sopmewhere whre I was expected to do things for myself. I had to remember all the things that were in my OW course but I had forgotten over the years.

Being dependent upon a DM in a tropical resort is not part of instruction; it is a learned behavior.

 

[RJP]

I guess what I'm struggling with is that nothing else I'm involved in in life would 3 hours of training be concidered qualified.

Did your OW course actually have only 3 hours of training?

 

[boulderjohn]

.
I guess what I'm struggling with is that nothing else I'm involved in in life would 3 hours of training be concidered qualified.

Did your OW course actually have only 3 hours of training?

Good question. If you had a 3 hour course, you should report your instructor as soon as possible. That's pretty darn absurd.