drrich2
Contributor
It was my understanding that the goal of OW training was to produce an independent diver, one who possessed a certain "mastery" of basic skills. Meaning they didn't require too much guidance or hand holding.
I thought the PADI "Scuba Diver" course was for those that only wanted to dive with a guide.
That's where I think a lot of controversy lies, particularly regarding independent navigation skill. A lot of new OW divers have adequate mastery to dive without much hand-holding or guidance in a quarry or shore diving in Bonaire. If they only have a Scuba Diver cert., they can't do either without a guide. Now, that same diver might be fine for a guided dive in Cozumel or St. Thomas, but not an unguided dive charter off the coast of California. The OW cert. lets the diver decide, and the Scuba Diver cert. does not.
And ironically, I think many divers never get 'good' with independent navigation, or at least may be diving a long time before that happens. When the topic came up in the past, one 'sensitive point' I recall is some people are avid divers, and have a spouse who's a casual diver, and the spouse gets certified and dives as a buddy but never cultivates good navigation skills (and may refuse to). People may decry basic recreational standards all the day long, but tend to stop short of "Yeah, and my wife has no business being certified, either!"
Richard.