So what is NOT covered in open water cert that should be?

[Tigerman]

I was reading a thread about a guys whose buddy’s bc inflator hose free flowed and sent her to the surface. I would like to think that I might be sharp enough to pull a dump and hold it open, but I don’t think it would have occurred to me until sometime later that the correct way to deal with this is to unhook the hose from the bc.

In and emergency, you will likely have to respond so fast that you won’t have time to figure out all the options and select the best one. Your best hope is to fall back on good training.

Well this thread that I mentioned above got me to thinking. I wonder what else is routinely left out of basic open water certification that really should be or used to be included?

My list so far:
Dealing with stuck inflator
Carrying cutting devices and freeing oneself from an underwater entanglement (I tied myself up on accident after OW and shared it on a thread here.

So what else would the seasoned salts among us add to the list??
Leah

First of all, nice thread.
It was me that posted the thread mentioned, and as mentioned in that thread, dealing with the stuck inflators where taught in class, however it didnt take.. I dont think Ill be forgetting it again soon tho..
Problem is of course that theres limits as to how much you can learn in basic training before you miss something, and I missed this one.. The one Ive been in need of remembering. Thats Murphys laws for ya.
The concept of mentioning and training basic skills in the basic classes apply to all activities and is a necessity. Question is of course, what do we find to be the most important things? When getting your drivers license, high-speed stunt driving is left out, and it is for a reason..

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Interesting the number of people who've mentioned gas planning.

And every time the subject comes up I get a flurry of PM's from people wanting more information.

That tells me there's not just a need for this information ... but a market for it.

The agencies should take heed ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[SparticleBrane]

Bob, perhaps you should start charging?

 

[SDAnderson]

Interesting the number of people who've mentioned gas planning.

1. The last 500psi of air in your tank is a gift to Neptune and doesn't belong to you. Get out of the water before you use his air or he will smite you.
2. Work first, play later. Swim into the current at the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
3. Boyle's Law can be your friend. Plan the deepest segment for the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
4. The Rule of Thirds is designed to keep you alive. After you have used one third of your air, turn and head for home. After you have used two thirds of your air, you should be at the exit point. The last third is your buddy's emergency reserve. If both you and your buddy get back to the exit point with a third of your gas left, it might be OK to toodle around for a bit (if you want) but don't forget who owns that last 500psi.

Is there more that new divers need to know?

 

[divemaster_jim]

1. The last 500psi of air in your tank is a gift to Neptune and doesn't belong to you. Get out of the water before you use his air or he will smite you.
2. Work first, play later. Swim into the current at the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
3. Boyle's Law can be your friend. Plan the deepest segment for the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
4. The Rule of Thirds is designed to keep you alive. After you have used one third of your air, turn and head for home. After you have used two thirds of your air, you should be at the exit point. The last third is your buddy's emergency reserve. If both you and your buddy get back to the exit point with a third of your gas left, it might be OK to toodle around for a bit (if you want) but don't forget who owns that last 500psi.

Is there more that new divers need to know?

Hey reefraff,
Cool way of putting that, mind if I borrow it?

 

[Thalassamania]

1. The last 500psi of air in your tank is a gift to Neptune and doesn't belong to you. Get out of the water before you use his air or he will smite you.
2. Work first, play later. Swim into the current at the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
3. Boyle's Law can be your friend. Plan the deepest segment for the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
4. The Rule of Thirds is designed to keep you alive. After you have used one third of your air, turn and head for home. After you have used two thirds of your air, you should be at the exit point. The last third is your buddy's emergency reserve. If both you and your buddy get back to the exit point with a third of your gas left, it might be OK to toodle around for a bit (if you want) but don't forget who owns that last 500psi.

Is there more that new divers need to know?

As far as I'm concerned the best thing you can do with your last 500 lbs is sit under the boat at about 15 feet and breathe it. It does no good whilst still in your tank. I have no problem with being asked to complete my stops with a 500 psi reserve, but being asked to be back on the deck ... I think that's foolish. Neptune does not own my last 500 psi, my spinal collumn does.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

1. The last 500psi of air in your tank is a gift to Neptune and doesn't belong to you. Get out of the water before you use his air or he will smite you.
2. Work first, play later. Swim into the current at the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
3. Boyle's Law can be your friend. Plan the deepest segment for the beginning of the dive, not on the way back.
4. The Rule of Thirds is designed to keep you alive. After you have used one third of your air, turn and head for home. After you have used two thirds of your air, you should be at the exit point. The last third is your buddy's emergency reserve. If both you and your buddy get back to the exit point with a third of your gas left, it might be OK to toodle around for a bit (if you want) but don't forget who owns that last 500psi.

Is there more that new divers need to know?

I think a more relevent question would be to ask how many new divers are taught that much?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[WVDiver]

#4 is a good one reefraff. Never have I heard it mentioned in an OW class.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Tigerman, thanks for posting the other thread. Having read your thread, gives me a bit of knowledge that I did not have before. Now if I am ever in that situation, I won't have to figure out the best course of action. Thanks to you post I have considered the event of a runaway inflator and now have a plan. Thank you for posting the info. It is one of those bits of info that a diver should know, but I did not know that I did not know until you posted your story.

 

[stardust]

reefraff,
Isn't that thirds rule a little stiff for open water, I wouldn't want to be held to that.